Teachers; allowing the Teacher Empowerment Revolving Fund to be used to support compensation of teachers certified in special education. Effective date. Emergency.
SB 1617 amends Oklahoma law to direct the Teacher Empowerment Revolving Fund to cover the state’s share of additional pay for special education teachers. It requires school districts to pay 5% of base wages for special education teachers, with the state covering the remaining 5% using funds from the existing revolving fund (previously used for other teacher stipends). This policy change, effective July 1, 2026, directly affects all Oklahoma public school teachers certified in special education. The bill ensures the state’s funding obligation is met through the revolving fund rather than new appropriations, aligning with Section 13-110 of state law.
Bill status
in committee
1 of 4 stages cleared
Introduction
Feb 2026
Committee Review
Floor Vote
Governor
Introduced Feb 2, 2026
Last action Mar 4, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison
What changed between versions
Introduced
→
Floor (Senate)
·
4 edits
MODERATE
The bill was amended to clarify the Teacher Empowerment Revolving Fund's purpose and increase special education teacher compensation. The changes add a new priority for funding advanced teacher certificates and increase the required pay premium for special education teachers from 5% to 10% above prevailing wages, with state and district each contributing 5%.
Scope change
The bill now explicitly prioritizes funding for advanced, lead, and master teacher certificates in addition to special education teacher compensation.
FISCAL
Added a new funding priority to support public school districts that assign advanced, lead, and master teacher certificates, allocating funds on a first-come, first-served basis.
Changed the funding split for special education teacher pay so that school districts and the state each contribute 5% of the required 10% premium, rather than the district providing the full amount.
REQUIREMENT
Increased the required pay premium for special education teachers from 5% to 10% above the prevailing wage for nondisabled teachers in the same district.
TECHNICAL
Replaced the introductory 'As Introduced' text with 'Senate Floor Version' and added committee amendment notation to reflect changes made during floor consideration.
Floor votes
How they voted
No floor votes recorded yet.
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
7
Key actions
1
Committee
1
Feb 10, 2026
Upper · Passed
Reported Do Pass as amended Education committee; CR filed
upper
Feb 2, 2026
Introduced
First Reading
upper
2 primary · 0 co-sponsors
Sponsors
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