OKLAHOMA CITY – House Speaker Pro Tempore Anthony Moore, R-Clinton, on Tuesday secured unanimous committee passage of a bill that would waive financial eligibility requirements for children of longtime public school teachers applying for the Oklahoma Promise Scholarship. 

House Bill 1727 passed the House Appropriations & Budget Committee. The bill specifies the student's parent must be a full-time certified teacher who has taught for at least 10 years in Oklahoma public schools. The years do not have to be consecutive or in the same school.

"This bill has so many positives," Moore told his fellow committee members. "It would incentivize those teachers who are not yet fully certified to get certified. It would increase retention of longtime certified teachers in our public school classrooms where their dedication and expertise is so desperately needed.

"We also know that students of educators teach at a higher rate than other students. This would keep them in Oklahoma for college, making it more likely they will stay here to live, work and raise a family."

The Oklahoma Higher Learning Access Program (OHLAP), better known as Oklahoma's Promise, allows students who meet certain income, academic and conduct requirements to earn a college or technology tuition scholarship. It was created in 1992 by the Legislature to help more Oklahoma families send their children to college. The program is administered by the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education.

Moore said he hopes this measure would help address a teacher shortage, which is not just in Oklahoma but nationwide. And it's hoped it would cut down on the need for the record high number of alternative emergency certified teachers who now fill Oklahoma classrooms.

"I'm grateful to all who are willing to step in to teach in our schools, particularly in rural areas where its often hard to find enough traditionally certified teachers," Moore said. "But study after study shows us that the No. 1 factor to a student's success in the classroom is a qualified teacher – one who has been trained in classroom management and has specific subject-matter expertise."

House Bill 1727 passed 31-0 in the House Appropriations & Budget Committee and now is eligible for consideration on the House floor.