Press release from POE
SB0441 passed in the House Rules Committee today 7-1. School districts will be required to go 165 days (this includes 5 professional learning days and parent/teacher conference days) and 1,080 hours, unless they can meet the cost-saving and academic guidelines set forth by the State Department of Education, which will be written in the future. This bill now moves to the Senate floor. Those requirements will have to be approved by the legislature next year if this bill passes. Professional Oklahoma Educators (POE) supports local control regarding this issue.
“If Texas adopts the 4-day school week statewide along with their current salary schedule, I fear we will see many Oklahoma teachers and support staff move to Texas. Oklahoma faces fierce competition for teachers with Texas. We appreciate that Governor Stitt understands how the market works. He knows what Oklahoma needs to do to keep our professional educators in Oklahoma. The parents of Oklahoma will demand that our legislature pay competitive salaries and also allow for competitive school calendars,” says Ginger Tinney, Executive Director of POE.
School districts across the country are moving to a 4-day week schedule. Twenty-five states have at least one school district using a 4-day school week. POE conducted a survey of over 6,500 parents, teachers and school staff. An overwhelming majority of respondents are in favor of 4-day weeks. Anecdotal evidence suggests schools that have adopted 4-day school weeks have better attendance among students and higher morale among students, teachers and school staff. As long as financial support of education is lacking in Oklahoma, school administrators will be forced to continue implementing cost-saving measures.
“We applaud the Superintendents who have been innovative in finding creative solutions for the funding issues and recruitment of teachers,” says Tinney.
POE will continue to share feedback, members’ comments, survey results and other information with legislators throughout the session so they can make better-informed decisions.
We deeply appreciate our members, and POE will continue to strongly advocate for you. We will keep you updated on this important issue.
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