Measures to support teachers clear Senate

OKLAHOMA CITY – Several education bills to support teachers will soon be considered by the House after receiving approval from the full Senate. Senate Education chair Adam Pugh, R-Edmond, authored the bills to repeal the state’s outdated teacher evaluation system, create a mentor teacher program and establish a comprehensive website for open teaching positions.       

Senate Bill 1535 repeals the Oklahoma Teacher and Leader Effectiveness Evaluation (TLE) System and empowers local boards of education to decide how best to evaluate their local teachers, while maintaining performance metrics, classroom observation and feedback mechanisms.     

“The TLE is a legacy policy from the Obama administration’s Race to the Top program, and Oklahoma teachers didn’t like it then and, more than a decade later, they still don’t,” Pugh said. “It’s time to get rid of this burdensome, top-heavy teacher evaluation system, and instead let our local districts, school boards and parents decide how best to evaluate their teachers.”      

SB 1631 would direct the Commission for Oklahoma Educational Quality and Accountability (OEQA) to establish a two-year mentor teacher pilot program. It would allow one teacher from each of the state’s more than 500 districts to attend OEQA’s training to learn important classroom skills. Two protégé teachers would also be selected from each district to learn from the mentor teacher.       

“Having mentor teachers is critical to inspire and help others be better in their profession, especially younger teachers who are new to the classroom,” Pugh said. “Providing this important training and ensuring we have three mentor teachers in each district will create a domino effect of excellence. This will be a vital tool in improving retention and recruitment in districts around the state.”           

Last week, the Senate also approved SB 1618, directing the State Department of Education to develop and operate a website listing school district employment vacancies where districts could submit their vacancies and candidates could submit applications and resumes.

“Last summer, I met with teachers around the state to get their ideas on changes they’d like to see implemented, and one of their top requests was to have one spot where they can go to see what teaching positions are available statewide,” Pugh said. “This is already done for state employees, so it only makes sense to have a dedicated website for the available teaching positions in our school districts too. This will make it easier for teachers to see what’s available, and also help school districts with recruiting.”

All three bills are now eligible to be heard in House committee.

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For more information, contact:  Sen. Pugh: (405) 521-5622 or Adam.Pugh@oksenate.gov