The Senate and House recently completed their committee work on bills from the opposite chamber. As of last week, we had considered well over half of the House bills sent to us.
Five of my House bills will next go before the full Senate and four more were approved in their first committee and will next be heard by the Appropriations Committee. One will modify the definition of enabling child abuse to include the willful or malicious harm or threatened harm of a minor or failure to protect from such harm and the act of willfully or maliciously injuring, torturing, or maiming a minor. Another would prevent providers from charging outof- network costs for durable medical equipment prescribed by a beneficiary’s physician that isn’t readily available within their network.
Education continues to be one of our main focuses this session. However, there’s been some misinformation circulating about the Senate’s education plan. We’ve already passed numerous Senate bills to increase teacher pay, authorize maternity leave, and address a number of other important issues. However, the misinformation is about our amendments to House Bills 1935 and 2775 to mirror the Senate bills in the House.
Here are the facts: the Senate education plan, including our original Senate bills and our approved amendments to these House measures, seeks to invest more than $700 million in new funding in our schools, teachers, and students, which is the single largest appropriations increase to education in history. The Senate, unlike the House, wants to invest $500 million for teacher pay raises and to substantially increase the State Aid Formula. While the House wants to provide a $2,500 across-the-board pay raise, the Senate plan would reward all of Oklahoma’s public school teachers while recognizing the experience and commitment of those who have chosen to make teaching their lifelong career.
Our plan would provide a $3,000 raise for newer teachers who have up to four years of experience; $4,000 for those who have worked five to nine years; $5,000 for 10-14 years of experience; and $6,000 for those who have taught for 15 or more years.
We also included a $30 million appropriation to create the Rewarding Excellent Educators Grant Program to allow districts to implement qualitative bonus pay plans for eligible teachers and support staff that play a critical role in keeping schools running.
Our Senate bills would also provide eight weeks of paid maternity leave for teachers; create the Oklahoma Teacher Corps Program to cover the tuition and fees of students who agree to teach for four years in a Title I School; and provide $500 annual stipends for mentor teachers. We’re also working on a pilot program to provide on-site childcare services for districts, contracted childcare to the district, or stipends for employees to help cover childcare costs. Other efforts include providing funding to reimburse teachers for additional certifications and credentials they get, and paying for schools to undergo risk and vulnerability assessments to ensure they are as safe as possible.
A lot will happen before the last day of session later in May but I’m hopeful that these important education policies will get approved and sent to the governor’s desk.
If you have any questions or concerns about legislative issues, please contact me by writing to Senator Jessica Garvin, State Capitol, 2300 N. Lincoln Blvd. Room 237, Oklahoma City, OK, 73105, emailing Jessica. [email protected] or calling 405-521-5522.
