Equity in School Resources
All kids in Oklahoma’s public schools should get what they need to be successful. That means adequately funded schools, smaller class sizes, and qualified, well-supported educators in every classroom. When Oklahoma’s public schools have the resources they need, our kids will be better able to learn, grow, and reach their full potential.
The Advance Oklahoma’s Kids Coalition is working to address resource equity in Oklahoma’s public schools through our B.O.O.K. (Better Outcomes for Oklahoma’s Kids) Policy Initiative by focusing on supporting policies and programs which ensure adequate resources for all students and strengthen the teaching profession.
WAYS WE ARE FIGHTING FOR RESOURCE EQUITY FOR STUDENTS, TEACHES, AND SUPPORT STAFF
ADEQUATE SCHOOL FUNDING
We believe the Oklahoma legislature should provide automatic Inflation adjustments in state aid funding. Oklahoma still ranks at or near the very bottom in per pupil funding, and education advocates continue to be concerned that school funding will be frozen or fail to increase by the amounts needed to ensure public school districts have the resources to educate their students. While Oklahoma schools must grapple annually with the higher cost of doing business that results from inflation and new mandates and responsibilities, the Legislature has been very inconsistent in allocating additional funds for K-12 education.
Our B.O.O.K. initiative proposes Oklahoma legislators provide for a minimum annual funding increase that takes inflation into account to ensure that schools have the resources they need to maintain teaching and support staff positions and cover higher operating costs. The inflation adjustment should provide a minimum annual increase without precluding larger increases to support special and ongoing initiatives. At the same time, there may also need to be provisions to suspend annual increases during times of revenue shortfalls when state agencies are facing across-the-board cuts.
APPROPRIATE CLASS SIZES
We believe it is time to restore the class size limits of 1990’s landmark HB1017 (K-6th grades max 20 students, 7-12 grades max 140 students a day). Concerns with large class sizes were a common refrain heard from our B.O.O.K. stakeholders. "Class sizes must be small enough where teachers can meaningfully interact with each student," wrote one of our survey respondents. "It doesn't matter how great the teacher is, they cannot build relationships or offer individualized education if there are too many students in their classrooms." The research on educational outcomes is clear that small class sizes are especially beneficial for students in kindergarten through third grade, and have the greatest impact on low-income students and students of color.
As Oklahoma increases teacher pay and state aid funding in line with our B.O.O.K. recommendations, legislators should commit to doing away with all exemptions to class size limits by 2030. Until then, as an interim measure, limits should be more strictly imposed on lower grades where the impact on student outcomes is the greatest. If legislators in 1990 had the good sense to insist that there should never be 30 first-grade children squeezed into a classroom, the same should be true thirty-five years later.
SCHOOL CHOICE ACCOUNTABILITY
We believe there must be a greater level of accountability to taxpayers for Oklahoma’s Private School Choice Programs. Many of our B.O.O.K. stakeholders raised strong concerns about the diversion of public dollars to private schools that operate free of the formal rules and responsibilities we insist that our public schools adhere to as a condition of receiving taxpayer dollars. Oklahomans have the right to expect to know more about how and where their dollars are being spent and what results they are receiving for this investment of several hundreds of millions of dollars.
Among the common-sense proposals that lawmakers should enact to ensure greater transparency and accountability in the programs are:
Disclosing the number of students and amount of tax credits received by each participating private school;
Limiting the amount that private schools that receive tax credits can raise tuition to avoid cost-shifting;
Requiring that students benefitting from the Parental Choice Tax Credit take the same standardized assessments as public school students so that student outcomes can be assessed and compared;
Allowing families to benefit from only one of the private school choice programs, to avoid the stacking of credits that may exceed the full private school cost;
Maintaining the current budgetary caps on the EOE scholarship and PCTC at least until more is known about who the programs are serving and the results they are producing.
INCREASED TEACHER AND SUPPORT STAFF PAY
We believe Oklahoma should commit to paying teachers and support staff at least 90% of the national average. The average teacher salary in Oklahoma ranks 35th in the nation, almost 15% below the national average. If Oklahoma has made progress in bringing teacher pay somewhat closer to the national average, the same cannot be said for educational support professionals. Full-time support worker pay in Oklahoma is dead last among the 50 states and DC and a full 25% below the national average.
Oklahoma should commit to a concrete plan to ensure pay increases for teachers and support workers until Oklahoma reaches and stays at at least 90% of the national average. As other states will likely increase educator pay in future years as well, this will be a moving target. Given that Oklahoma does enjoy a lower cost of living than many states, it is reasonable to set the target at less than 100% of the national average; however, making a firm commitment to raise salaries for teachers and support staff will send an important signal that the state is serious about ensuring that our education professionals are valued and paid competitively.
INCENTIVES FOR LOW-INCOME SCHOOLS
We believe Oklahoma should incentivize teachers to serve in low-income schools. Anyone familiar with the teaching profession knows that while the job is always challenging, the challenges tend to be much greater in some schools compared to others. In particular, teachers in schools with high concentrations of low-income students must manage higher levels of chronic absenteeism, student turnover, and disciplinary issues, as well as lower student performance. Keeping high-quality teachers in high-poverty schools is at once more urgent and more difficult.
Options might include providing loan forgiveness for teachers who work in high-poverty schools for a certain number of years; tying base pay in part to a school's socio-economic profile; and/or providing bonuses for teachers who agree to transfer to a high-needs school. Whatever the specific solution, it is clear that narrowing the achievement gap and ensuring that our public schools provide the best possible education for all children regardless of their zip code should be a strong focus of education policymakers in the years ahead.
QUALITY CLASSROOM SUPPORT
We believe Oklahoma’s classroom teachers deserve a greater level of classroom support. Increasing teacher pay is one component of what's needed to support teachers, but it is not sufficient alone. Throughout our B.O.O.K. consultations, we heard over and over that teachers feel overburdened by their workload and range of responsibilities, and that too many teachers are not receiving the support they need to be successful. These concerns affect teacher morale and contribute directly to the decision that far too many teachers make to choose a different line of work.
With so many Oklahoma teachers joining the profession each year under emergency certifications, the need for newer teachers to enjoy the guidance and experience of more seasoned colleagues is especially important. While districts may choose different approaches to mentoring based on what best meets local needs and circumstances, the Legislature can encourage mentorships by providing a dedicated funding stream that all districts are eligible for. One program currently operated by Oklahoma State University, OK-Thrive, supports early career educators with professional development and coaching, but in its first full cycle has only been able to serve 80 teachers in 25 school districts. Mentorships could also be a specific component of the Oklahoma Teacher Empowerment Program that offers annual stipends to teachers recognized as among the best in their district.
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RESOURCE EQUITY!
ADDITIONAL SCHOOL EQUITY RESOURCES FROM OUR ADVANCE OKLHAOMA’S KIDS COALITION MEMBERS
Mental Health
Expand access to resources that empower parents with the tools they need to support their children through life’s challenges—inside and beyond the classroom..
School Funding
Better understand the five different public school options, as well as the different ways in which public tax dollars are being used to fund private schools in Oklahoma.
Rural Schools
A closer look at Oklahoma-specific data included in the National Rural Education Association’s 2023 report. Including insights into educational outcomes, student and family diversity, and more.