House Education Plan

Education remains a top priority for House Republicans, and we have been focused on developing an education plan that works for every student, every parent and every teacher.

The education plan proposed by House Speaker Charles McCall comes in two parts: first, a $500 million funding increase for public schools, and second, the Oklahoma Parental Choice Tax Credit Act.

The $500 million increase in funding for public schools proposed in House Bill 2775 is broken into three parts. First, $150 million toward public schools to increase teacher salaries by $2,500 across the board. Second, $50 million to be distributed in a proportional manner through a formula that addresses funding disparities for public school districts that receive below-average funding from annual local tax revenue. Third, $300 million to be distributed to public school districts on a per-pupil basis, capped at $2 million per district.

Under this bill, students living in House District 2 would receive nearly $10 million total in additional funding. Here’s the breakdown: 1. Belfonte: $212,494.14 2. Braggs: $140,998.55 3. Brushy: $508,005.52 4. Central: $550,003.89 5. Gans: $466,071.21 6. Gore: $573,834.97 7. Keys: $736,237.26 8. Liberty: $456,611.67 9. Marble City: $109,943.95 10. Moffett: $490,949.50 11. Muldrow: $1,525,782.27 12. Roland: $1,138,817.75 13. Sallisaw: $2,031,797.03 14. Vian: $960,292.31 House Bill 1935 proposes the Oklahoma Parental Choice Tax Credit Act, which is designed to work in all parts of our state, including in rural communities. The plan includes a $5,000 credit per private school student and a $2,500 credit for students educated by other means, including homeschooling.

To claim the credit, the student cannot be enrolled full-time in a public school district, public charter school, public virtual charter school, or magnet school. The taxpayer will have to retain all receipts of private school tuition and fees or qualified expenses as proof for each tax year the credit is claimed. Additionally, this tax credit can be stacked with Lindsey Henry Nicole Scholarship.

The measure also states that the Oklahoma Tax Commission will create a form to allow taxpayers to request that the credit amount be advanced to the taxpayer in two installments of $2,500, one per semester, to help families who can’t afford private school without the credit.

The effective date of the legislation will be July 1, 2023, which is the first day of Fiscal Year 2024. The tax credit portion will be retroactive to Jan. 1, 2023, to enable individuals to claim the full credit this year.

Whatever parental choice in education plan we proposed, we had to ensure it doesn’t hurt our public schools. Policies like vouchers and education savings account are less likely to benefit everyone equally and have a higher risk for fraud and abuse.

This is a policy and funding plan designed to help every kid win. It does what’s best for our students, supports strong parent involvement in their children’s education and ensures that our teachers have the resources needed to excel in their jobs.

The House has approved both bills, and they’ve now moved over to the Senate for consideration.

Rep. Jim Olsen represents District 2 in the Oklahoma House of Representatives, which includes portions of Sequoyah County.