Incentives for students studying teaching pass through the House

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. (KOKH) — State lawmakers are encouraging students to become teachers and stay in Oklahoma classrooms.

HB3564passed through the House this week.

The bill would create a scholarship fund for high school students working for teaching degrees.

Representative Mark McBride, (R)- Moore, said the scholarship could impact around 1,200 to 1,500 students.

The idea for the legislation came from a conversation he had last year with the superintendent of Moore Public Schools.

"I asked him what do you need? What does Moore Public Schools need? Do you need money?" McBride said. "And he said, 'no Mark we don’t need money. We need new teachers in the pipeline. We need teachers that feel like they’re respected, and we need to retain these teachers who are retiring early if we can.'”

For the program, a recipient would have to agree to teach in an Oklahoma public school for five years.

The student would receive $1,000 for the first three years of college and $2,500 for their final year.

The program also allows state regents to make incentive payments after a student graduated.

After graduating from an approved teacher preparation program, a teacher could receive up to $4,000 for five years.

“They got to take out student loans and all this stuff," McBride said. "And here’s an opportunity and path that that person can say, 'man I can do this. I’m going to have to take out a student loan to get through this but this is going to pay me back'.”

McBride said the funding could be costly.

“We’re really good at passing things, but there’s no funding mechanism," McBride said. "I’m going to put $40 million set aside in trust and they can pull from that $40 million as that scholarship goes.”

But in the middle of a nationwide teacher shortage, that money could go a long way to fix the problem.

“I decided it’s time to put our money where our mouth is and figure out a way to retain teachers in the state, or get teachers, or encourage high school students to go into the teaching profession," McBride said.

McBride also helped co-sponsored another bill aimed at helping teachers.

HB3351 would allow families to get a tax credit if they donate money to their child's teacher.