OK
Oklahoma Senate Bill SB242

Oklahoma 2025 Regular Session

Oklahoma Senate Bill SB242 Compare Versions

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5353 STATE OF OKLAHOMA
5454
5555 1st Session of the 60th Legislature (2025)
5656
5757 SENATE BILL 242 By: Pugh
5858
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6060
6161 AS INTRODUCED
6262
6363 An Act relating to higher education; creating the
6464 Veterans Entering Teaching (VET) Act; providing short
6565 title; defining terms; creating the V eterans Entering
6666 Teaching (VET) Program to provide tuition and
6767 mandatory fee assistance to certain eligible
6868 students; providing for eligibility; requiring
6969 eligible students to execute certain agreement;
7070 providing contents of agreement; providing
7171 eligibility retention requirements; providing for
7272 amount of assistance; prohibiting assi stance for
7373 certain courses or units; directing assistance to be
7474 allocated from certain fund; prohibiting individuals
7575 who accept certain assistance from also being
7676 eligible for certain program; directing certain
7777 federal benefits to be exhausted first; establishing
7878 assistance cap for each academic year; allowing funds
7979 to be set aside for full commitment; requiring
8080 repayment of assistance for failure to meet certain
8181 requirement; providing for calculation of repayment
8282 amount; providing for deposit of repayment amounts in
8383 certain fund; allowing for application of hardship
8484 waiver; providing for promulgation of rules; creating
8585 the Veterans Entering Teaching (VET) Revolving Fund;
8686 specifying source of fund; providing for
8787 expenditures; providing purpose of fund; providing
8888 for codification; providing an effective date; and
8989 declaring an emergency.
9090
9191
9292
9393 BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
9494 SECTION 1. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
9595 in the Oklahoma Statutes as Sect ion 3234 of Title 70, unless there
9696 is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
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148148 A. This act shall be known and may be cited as the “Veterans
149149 Entering Teaching (VET) Act”.
150150 B. As used in this act:
151151 1. “Eligible student” means a student who was discharged under
152152 honorable conditions from the United States Armed Forces who enrolls
153153 in an Oklahoma educational institution regardless of the home of
154154 record for the student;
155155 2. “Home of record” means the place where a student was living
156156 when he or she enlisted or was commissioned into the United States
157157 Armed Forces or reenlisted in the United States Armed Forces;
158158 3. “Oklahoma educational institution ” means an institution of
159159 higher education within The Oklahoma State System of Higher
160160 Education; and
161161 4. “Program” means the Veterans Entering Teaching (VET)
162162 Program.
163163 C. There is hereby created the Veterans Entering Teaching (VET)
164164 Program to provide tuition and mandatory fee assistan ce to eligible
165165 students to earn a degree from an approved teacher preparation
166166 program at an Oklahoma educational institution if they agree to
167167 teach in a school district in this state for three (3) consecutive
168168 years.
169169 D. To be eligible to participate in the program during the
170170 2025-2026 academic year and thereafter, an individual shall:
171171 1. Enroll in an Oklahoma educational institution;
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223223 2. Submit an application on a form prescribed by the Oklahoma
224224 State Regents for Higher Education;
225225 3. Declare a major in an approved Oklahoma teacher preparation
226226 program leading to a standard teaching certificate; and
227227 4. Execute an agreement pursuant to subsection E of this
228228 section.
229229 E. An eligible student who meets the criteria of subsection D
230230 of this section shall execute a n agreement stating that he or she
231231 shall:
232232 1. Agree to earn a bachelor ’s degree from an approved teacher
233233 preparation program at an Oklahoma educational institution leading
234234 to a standard teaching certificate;
235235 2. Agree to meet the requirements of Section 6 -187 of Title 70
236236 of the Oklahoma Statutes to earn a standard teaching certifica te;
237237 and
238238 3. Agree to teach in a school district in this state for three
239239 (3) consecutive years. The individual shall not be required to
240240 teach at the same school district for thre e (3) consecutive years.
241241 F. To retain eligibility for the program, an eligible student
242242 shall:
243243 1. Maintain good academic standing and satisfactory academic
244244 progress while enrolled in an Oklahoma educational institution
245245 according to the institution ’s standards; and
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297297 2. After earning a bachelor ’s degree from an approved Oklahoma
298298 teacher preparation program, submit annual proof of employment with
299299 a school district in this state to the Oklahoma State Regents for
300300 Higher Education.
301301 G. 1. The amount of assistan ce shall be equivalent to the
302302 amount of tuition and mandatory fees for courses in which the
303303 eligible student enrolls for completion of a bachelor ’s degree from
304304 an approved Oklahoma teacher preparation program. Assistance shall
305305 not be allowed for courses o r other postsecondary units taken in
306306 excess of the requirements for completion of a bachelor’s degree or
307307 taken more than five (5) years after the individual ’s first semester
308308 of enrollment in an Oklahoma educational institution.
309309 2. Assistance provided purs uant to this subsection shall be
310310 allocated to the Oklahoma educational institution from the Veterans
311311 Entering Teaching (VET) Revolving Fund created pursuant to Section 2
312312 of this act.
313313 H. An eligible student who accepts assistance pursuant to this
314314 section shall not also be eligible for the Inspired to Teach Program
315315 created in Section 698.1 of Title 70 of the Oklahoma Statutes.
316316 I. An eligible student seeking tuition and fee assistance
317317 pursuant to this section who is eligible for federal education
318318 benefits shall exhaust all available federal benefits first.
319319 J. Subject to the availability of funding, the amount of
320320 assistance provided to eligible students shall not exceed Two
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372372 Million Dollars ($2,000,000.00) for the 2025-2026 academic year and
373373 every academic year thereafter. Assistance shall be provided on a
374374 first-come, first-served basis and shall be granted without any
375375 limitation other than the amount of funds available for the program
376376 and the number of eligible students who apply. The State Regents
377377 may, at the time assistance is provided on behalf of an eligible
378378 student, set aside funds in the Veterans Entering Teaching (VET)
379379 Revolving Fund created pursuant to Section 2 of this act for the
380380 full commitment made to the student.
381381 K. An individual who has receive d program assistance pursuant
382382 to this section and who fails to comply with the agreement executed
383383 pursuant to subsection E of this section shall be required to repay
384384 an amount to be calculated as follows:
385385 1. Determine the total amount of program assistance provided
386386 pursuant to the provisions of this section;
387387 2. Divide the amount determined in paragraph 1 of this
388388 subsection by twelve (12); and
389389 3. Multiply the amount determined in paragraph 2 of this
390390 subsection by the number of months the individual did no t fulfill
391391 the requirements of the agreement executed pursuant to subsection E
392392 of this section. Repayments shall be deposited into the Veterans
393393 Entering Teaching (VET) Revolving Fund created pursuant to Section 2
394394 of this act.
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446446 L. An individual who has rece ived program assistance pursuant
447447 to this section and who fails to comply with the agreement executed
448448 pursuant to subsection E of this section due to hardship
449449 circumstances may request a waiver from repayment from the Oklahoma
450450 State Regents for Higher Educa tion.
451451 M. The Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education shall
452452 promulgate rules to implement the provisions of this section.
453453 SECTION 2. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
454454 in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 3235 of Title 7 0, unless there
455455 is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
456456 There is hereby created in the State Treasury a revolving fund
457457 for the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education to be designated
458458 the “Veterans Entering Teaching (VET) Revolving Fun d”. The fund
459459 shall be a continuing fund, not subject to fiscal year limitatio ns,
460460 and shall consist of all monies received by the State Regents from
461461 legislative appropriations provided for the purpose of implementing
462462 the Veterans Entering Teaching (VET) Pr ogram created in Section 1 of
463463 this act. All monies accruing to the credit of the fund are hereby
464464 appropriated and may be budgeted and expended by the State Regents
465465 for the purpose provided for in this section. Expenditures from the
466466 fund shall be made upo n warrants issued by the State Treasurer
467467 against claims filed as prescribed by law with the Director of the
468468 Office of Management and Enterprise Services for approval and
469469 payment.
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521521 SECTION 3. This act shall become effective July 1, 2025.
522522 SECTION 4. It being immediately necessary for the preservation
523523 of the public peace, health, or safety, an emergency is hereby
524524 declared to exist, by reason whereof this act shall take effect and
525525 be in full force from and after its passage and approval.
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