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53	53	STATE OF OKLAHOMA
54	54
55	55	1st Session of the 60th Legislature (2025)
56	56
57	57	SENATE BILL 7 By: Seifried
58	58
59	59
60	60
61	61
62	62
63	63	AS INTRODUCED
64	64
65	65	An Act relating to higher education; creating the
66	66	Oklahoma Teacher Recruitment Academy to be
67	67	administered by the Oklahoma State Regents f or Higher
68	68	Education; providing purpose; defining term;
69	69	directing the State Department of Education to
70	70	identify and publish certain list by certain date;
71	71	providing eligibility criteria; requiring execution
72	72	of certain agreement; directing assistance amount t o
73	73	be equivalent to certain tuition and fees;
74	74	prohibiting assistance for cert ain courses or units;
75	75	establishing assistance cap for each academic year;
76	76	allowing funds to be set aside for full commitment;
77	77	directing assistance to be allocated to certain
78	78	institution of higher education from certain fund;
79	79	directing certain benefits to be exhausted first;
80	80	providing for retention eligibility; requiring
81	81	repayment of assistance for failure to meet certain
82	82	agreement; providing for calculation of repayment
83	83	amount; allowing request for hardship waiver;
84	84	requiring certain institutions of higher e ducation to
85	85	develop and promote, in certain coordination, certain
86	86	public awareness program; directing the State Regents
87	87	to submit certain report by certain date; providing
88	88	for contents of report; providing for promulgation of
89	89	rules; creating the Oklahoma Teacher Recruitment
90	90	Academy Revolving Fund; specifying source of fund;
91	91	providing for expenditures; providing purpose of
92	92	fund; providing for codification; providing an
93	93	effective date; and declaring an emergency.
94	94
95	95
96	96
97	97
98	98
99	99	BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF TH E STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
100	100
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151	151	SECTION 1. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
152	152	in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 6 -305 of Title 70, unless there
153	153	is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
154	154	A. 1. There is hereby created the Oklahoma Teacher Recruitment
155	155	Academy to be administered by the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher
156	156	Education to provide tuition and mandatory fee assistance to
157	157	individuals to earn a bachelor’s degree from a teacher preparation
158	158	program accredited by the Commission for Educational Quality and
159	159	Accountability if the individuals commit to teach in one of the
160	160	critical shortage subject areas identified pursuant to paragraph 2
161	161	of this subsection in a public school in this state.
162	162	2. For the purposes of this section, “critical shortage subject
163	163	area” means a subject area identified by the State Department of
164	164	Education that is in critical need of certified teachers. By July
165	165	30, 2025, and by July 30 every three (3) years thereafter, the State
166	166	Department of Education shall identify and publish on its website a
167	167	list of the top five critical shortage subject areas taking into
168	168	consideration the results of the educator supply -and-demand study
169	169	conducted pursuant to Section 6 -211 of Title 70 of the Oklahoma
170	170	Statutes. The eligibility of an individual who has executed an
171	171	agreement pursuant to subsection C of this section shall not be
172	172	affected by the removal of a subject area from the Department ’s list
173	173	of top five critical shortage subject areas.
174	174
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225	225	B. To be eligible to particip ate in the Oklahoma Teacher
226	226	Recruitment Academy during the 2025-2026 academic year and
227	227	thereafter, an individual shall:
228	228	1. Enroll in an institution of higher education within The
229	229	Oklahoma State System of Higher Education. An individual may enroll
230	230	first in a two-year institution and subsequently transfer to a four -
231	231	year institution to complete the requirements for a degree from an
232	232	approved teacher preparation program;
233	233	2. Submit an application on a form prescribed by the Oklahoma
234	234	State Regents for Higher Ed ucation; and
235	235	3. Execute an agreement pursuant to subsection C of this
236	236	section.
237	237	C. An individual who meets the eligibility criteria set forth
238	238	in subsection B of this section shall execute an agreement stating
239	239	that he or she shall:
240	240	1. Agree to earn a bachelor ’s degree from an approved teacher
241	241	preparation degree program leading to a standard teaching
242	242	certificate;
243	243	2. Agree to meet the requirements of Section 6 -187 of Title 70
244	244	of the Oklahoma Statutes to earn a standard teaching certificate in
245	245	a critical shortage subject area identified pursuant to subsection A
246	246	of this section; and
247	247	3. Agree to teach in a public school in this state in a
248	248	critical shortage subject area identified pursu ant to subsection A
249	249
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300	300	of this section. The individual shall be required to teach for one
301	301	school year in a public school for each academic year the individual
302	302	received tuition and mandatory fee assistance pursuant to this
303	303	section.
304	304	D. 1. Subject to the availability of funding, t he amount of
305	305	assistance shall be equivalent to the amo unt of tuition and
306	306	mandatory fees for courses in which the individual enrolls for
307	307	completion of a bachelor ’s degree. Assistance shall not be allowed
308	308	for courses or other postsecon dary units taken in excess of the
309	309	requirements for completion of a bachelor ’s degree or taken more
310	310	than five (5) years after the individual ’s first semester of
311	311	enrollment in an institution of higher education within The Oklahoma
312	312	State System of Higher Educ ation.
313	313	2. The amount of assistance provided to eligible students shall
314	314	not exceed Ten Million Dollars ($10,000,000.00) for the 2025 -2026
315	315	academic year and every academic year thereafter. Assistance shall
316	316	be provided on a first -come, first-served basis and shall be granted
317	317	without any limitation other than the amount of funds available for
318	318	the Oklahoma Teacher Recruitment Academy and the number of eligible
319	319	students who apply. The State Regents may, at the time assistance
320	320	is provided on behalf of an eligib le student, set aside funds in the
321	321	Oklahoma Teacher Recruitment Academy Revo lving Fund created pursuant
322	322	to Section 2 of this act for the full commitment made to the
323	323	eligible student.
324	324
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375	375	3. Assistance provided pursuant to this subsection shall be
376	376	allocated to the institution of higher education from the Oklahoma
377	377	Teacher Recruitment Academy Revolving Fund created pursuant to
378	378	Section 2 of this act.
379	379	4. An eligible student seeking tuition and fee assistance
380	380	pursuant to this section who is eligible for federal edu cation
381	381	benefits or Oklahoma Higher Learning Access Act benefits shall
382	382	exhaust all such available benefits first.
383	383	E. To retain eligibility for the Oklahoma Teacher Recruitment
384	384	Academy, an individual shall:
385	385	1. Maintain good academic standing and satisfacto ry academic
386	386	progress while enrolled in an institution of higher education
387	387	according to the institution ’s standards; and
388	388	2. After earning a bachelor ’s degree, submit annual proof of
389	389	employment with a public school in this state teaching in a critical
390	390	shortage subject area identified pursuant to subsection A of this
391	391	section. The proof shall be provided for a number of school years
392	392	equal to the number of academic years for which the individual
393	393	received tuition and mandatory fee assistance pursuant to this
394	394	section. The individual shall not be required to teach at the same
395	395	school for the number of school years required by this paragraph.
396	396	F. An individual who has received Oklahoma Teacher Recruitment
397	397	Academy assistance pursuant to this section and who fails to comply
398	398
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449	449	with the agreement executed pursuant to subsection C of this section
450	450	shall be required to repay an amount to be calculated as follows:
451	451	1. Determine the total amount of assistance provided pursuant
452	452	to the provisions of this section;
453	453	2. Divide the amount determined in paragraph 1 of this
454	454	subsection by the number of months assistance was provided; and
455	455	3. Multiply the amount determined in paragraph 2 of this
456	456	subsection by the number of months the individual did not fulfill
457	457	the requirements of the agr eement executed pursuant to subsection C
458	458	of this section. Repayments shall be deposited into the Oklahoma
459	459	Teacher Recruitment Academy Revolving Fund created pursuant to
460	460	Section 2 of this act.
461	461	G. An individual who has received Oklahoma Teacher Recruitment
462	462	Academy assistance pursuant to this section and who fails to comply
463	463	with the agreement executed pursuant to subsection C of this section
464	464	due to hardship circumstances may request a waiver from repayment
465	465	from the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education .
466	466	H. An institution of higher education within The Oklahoma State
467	467	System of Higher Education that has enrolled students participating
468	468	in the Oklahoma Teacher Recruitment Academy shall develop and
469	469	promote, in coordination with surrounding public school dis tricts, a
470	470	public awareness program to make students and their parents or legal
471	471	guardians aware of the Oklahoma Teacher Recruitment Academy.
472	472
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523	523	I. On or before July 30, 202 6, and each year thereafter, the
524	524	Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education shall electronically
525	525	submit a report to the Governor, the President Pro Tempore of the
526	526	Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the chairs
527	527	of the committees with responsibility over higher education in both
528	528	houses of the Legislature. The report shal l include the following
529	529	information:
530	530	1. The number of Oklahoma Teacher Recruitment Academy
531	531	participants enrolled in each institution of higher education by
532	532	year of enrollment;
533	533	2. The number of Oklahoma Teacher Recruitment Academy
534	534	participants who graduat e with a bachelor’s degree from an approved
535	535	teacher preparation program and the critical shortage subject area
536	536	in which they are teaching in a public school in this state; and
537	537	3. The number of Oklahoma Teacher Recruitment Academy
538	538	participants who fail to comply with the agreement executed pursuant
539	539	to subsection C of this section.
540	540	J. The Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education may
541	541	promulgate rules to implement the provisions of this section.
542	542	SECTION 2. NEW LAW A new section of l aw to be codified
543	543	in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 6 -306 of Title 70, unless there
544	544	is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
545	545	There is hereby created in the State Treasury a revolving fund
546	546	for the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Educatio n to be designated
547	547
548	548
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598	598	the “Oklahoma Teacher Recruitment Academy Revolving Fund ”. The fund
599	599	shall be a continuing fund, not subject to fiscal year limitations,
600	600	and shall consist of all monies received by the State Regents from
601	601	legislative appropriations provid ed for the purpose of implementing
602	602	the Oklahoma Teacher Recruitment Academy created in Section 1 of
603	603	this act. All monies accruing to the credit of the fund are hereby
604	604	appropriated and may be budgeted and expended by the State Regents
605	605	for the purpose provi ded for in this act. Expenditures from the
606	606	fund shall be made upon warrants issued by the State Treasurer
607	607	against claims filed as prescribed by law with the Director of the
608	608	Office of Management and Enterprise Services for approval and
609	609	payment.
610	610	SECTION 3. This act shall become effective July 1, 2025.
611	611	SECTION 4. It being immediately necessary for the preservation
612	612	of the public peace, health, or safety, an emergency is hereby
613	613	declared to exist, by reason whereof this act shal l take effect and
614	614	be in full force from and after its passage and approval.
615	615
616	616	60-1-192 EB 12/5/2024 1:25:24 PM

Oklahoma 2025 Regular Session

Oklahoma Senate Bill SB7 Compare Versions