SB 1894: Teachers; professional development programs; changing maximum number of professional development hours. Effective date. Emergency. - Oklahoma

Floor (House) → Floor (Senate) · 4 edits

MODERATE

The bill was converted from a House version to a Senate version, which updated the legislative session details and sponsor information. Substantively, the Senate version modified the professional development requirements by changing the maximum allowable hours from 150 to 200 over a five-year period for teachers with less than five years of experience. It also added specific mandates for dyslexia training starting in the 2023-2024 school year and clarified the composition of professional development committees to include a majority of classroom teachers.

Scope change

The bill's scope regarding professional development hours was expanded for new teachers, and new training requirements were added for dyslexia awareness.

REQUIREMENT

Increased the maximum professional development hours for teachers with less than five years of experience from 150 to 200 hours over a five-year period.

Added a mandatory dyslexia awareness program beginning in the 2023-2024 school year, including training on dyslexia characteristics, effective instruction, and available resources.

Changed the composition requirement for professional development committees to ensure a majority of members are classroom teachers, selected by administrators from a teacher-submitted list.

TECHNICAL

Updated the header and metadata to reflect the Senate Floor Version, February 17, 2026, and amended the bill citation to reflect changes made in the 2025 legislative session.

House Committee Substitute for Senate Bill → Floor (House) · 1 edit

MINOR

The bill was converted from a House Committee Substitute draft to the official Floor version, resulting in significant formatting and line number reorganization. The substantive policy content regarding teacher professional development requirements, such as the 150 to 200-hour limit and specific training mandates, remains unchanged.

Scope change

The bill's scope and applicability remain unchanged; it still applies to certified teachers and administrators in Oklahoma school districts.

TECHNICAL

The document header was updated to reflect the 'House of Representatives - Floor Version' instead of the committee draft status, and page numbers were renumbered to align with the floor version format.

Proposed Policy Committee Substitute 1 → House Committee Substitute for Senate Bill · 3 edits

MINOR

The bill was completely rewritten by the House Committee to change the professional development requirements for Oklahoma teachers. The new version increases the maximum allowable training hours for new teachers from 150 to 200 over a five-year period and clarifies that these limits apply to a ten-year experience window. It also updates the legal citation to reflect the current session of the legislature.

Scope change

The bill's scope remains focused on professional development for classroom teachers, but the specific eligibility criteria for the increased hour limit have been modified to apply to teachers with less than five years of experience within a ten-year lookback period.

REQUIREMENT

Increased the maximum professional development hours for teachers with less than five years of experience from 150 to 200 hours per five-year period.

Clarified that the hour limits apply to teachers based on their experience within the preceding ten years rather than a different timeframe.

TECHNICAL

Updated the legislative session reference from the Proposed Policy Committee Substitute to the House Committee Substitute and corrected the amendment citation.

Enrolled (final version) → Proposed Policy Committee Substitute 1 · 3 edits

MINOR

The bill was amended to replace the original text with a new version that updates the legal citation for the relevant statute and modifies the professional development hour limits. Specifically, the maximum required training hours for new teachers were changed from 150 to 200 hours over a five-year period, and the list of student achievement goals was updated to include the ACT exam.

Scope change

The scope of the bill remains focused on teacher professional development requirements, but the specific metrics for compliance and the legal reference have been altered.

REQUIREMENT

The maximum number of professional development hours required for classroom teachers with less than five years of experience was increased from 150 to 200 hours during any five-year period.

The list of goals for professional development programs was updated to replace 'nationally norm-referenced college entrance exams' with the specific 'ACT' exam.

TECHNICAL

The legal citation for the amended statute was updated to reflect the latest session laws (O.S.L. 2025) instead of the previous Enrolled Senate Bill reference.

Engrossed → Enrolled (final version) · 4 edits · May 14, 2026

MODERATE

The bill was finalized and renamed from 'Engrossed' to 'Enrolled', adding a formal title and subject line. The core policy content remains largely consistent, though the final version includes a specific amendment reference to a prior bill (SB 2184) and clarifies the reporting requirements for districts that do not adopt professional development programs.

Scope change

The bill's scope is now explicitly defined by referencing a previous amendment (SB 2184), clarifying its legislative context.

TECHNICAL

Added a formal title and subject line ('An Act relating to teachers...') to the enrolled version, which was absent in the engrossed draft.

Updated the legislative history reference in Section 1 to cite 'Section 134 of Enrolled Senate Bill No. 2184' instead of the generic chapter reference found in the engrossed version.

Removed the bracketed summary text at the beginning of the engrossed version, which is standard practice when a bill is finalized.

REQUIREMENT

Clarified the annual reporting requirement by specifying that districts electing not to adopt a program must report their election to the State Department of Education rather than submitting a standard needs report.

Amended And Engrossed → Engrossed · 7 edits · May 14, 2026

MODERATE

The bill was re-engrossed by the Senate after the House amended it, resulting in a significant expansion of professional development requirements. The most critical change is the increase in mandatory training hours for new teachers from 150 to 200 over a five-year period. Additionally, the bill updated the composition of professional development committees to ensure a majority of members are classroom teachers and added specific training mandates for autism, dyslexia, and racial/ethnic education.

Scope change

The scope of applicability was expanded to require specific training for all resident teachers in early childhood programs regarding autism and to include dysgraphia training in the dyslexia program. The committee composition requirements were also modified to prioritize classroom teacher representation.

REQUIREMENT

Increased the mandatory professional development hours for classroom teachers with less than five years of experience from 150 to 200 hours over a five-year period.

Changed the professional development committee composition requirement so that a majority of members must be classroom teachers, rather than just having them included.

Added a mandate for all resident teachers in early childhood programs through grade three to complete autism training every three years.

Updated the dyslexia awareness program to include mandatory training on dysgraphia starting in the 2023-2024 school year.

Added a specific requirement for professional development programs to include racial and ethnic education components.

ELIGIBILITY

Modified the selection process for professional development committee members to require selection by a designated administrator from a list submitted by teachers, subject to a majority vote of teachers.

TECHNICAL

Reformatted the bill text to reflect the Senate's final version after the House amendment, including changes to the title and bill number designation.

Introduced → Amended And Engrossed · 3 edits · May 14, 2026

MINOR

The bill was amended to clarify the maximum number of professional development hours required for new teachers, changing the limit from 150 hours to 200 hours for those with less than five years of experience. The amendment also updated the reference to the amending chapter and corrected a typo in the autism training description.

REQUIREMENT

Increased the maximum required professional development hours for classroom teachers with less than five years of experience from 150 to 200 hours per five-year period.

TECHNICAL

Updated the citation for the previous amending legislation from Section 5, Chapter 101 to Section 1, Chapter 277.

Corrected the description of autism training requirements to remove the phrase 'children with autism' and replace it with just 'children'.

Teachers; professional development programs; changing maximum number of professional development hours. Effective date. Emergency.

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