I. The State Budget: Signed
Last week, Governor Kevin Stitt signed into law SB 1177, the main FY 2027 budget legislation, well ahead of the usual timeline. The FY 2027 budget includes a $2,000 teacher pay raise, nearly $80 million for literacy and math tutoring, and cost-of-living adjustments for retired teachers through a broader pension package.
With the main budget legislation already signed, we can expect the Legislative Session to end early, most likely by Friday, May 1.
Key education-related items in the budget include:
- $85 million for a $2,000 teacher pay raise
- Nearly $80 million for literacy initiatives, reading tutors, and math tutors
- COLAs for retired teachers through the broader pension package, with monthly payments increasing 3% for retirees retired 10 to 19 years and 6% for retirees retired 20 years or more
- $25 million increase to the Parental Choice Tax Credit cap
- $12.5 million for DREAM savings accounts
II. Teacher Pay Raise & COLA
$85,000 million for a $2,000 across-the-board teacher pay raise.
One of the biggest education pieces in the budget is $85 million for a $2,000 teacher pay raise. The pay raise increases each step of the state minimum salary schedule by $2,000. However, those already making more than the state salary schedule can still expect a pay raise. The expectation is that school districts will increase each step of their own pay schedule by $2,000.
For support staff, state leaders stressed that local districts have full control over those salaries. Leaders encouraged local districts to direct additional money to increase support staff salaries, but ultimately conceded that those decisions would be made at the local level.
The teacher’s cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) is included in a broader COLA package for the state’s seven pension systems. Under the COLA, retirees can expect their monthly payments to increase by 3% if they have been retired for 10-19 years and by 6% if they have been retired for 20 or more years.
III. HB 3150 Update
The original language of HB 3151, which proposed extending the school calendar, raised two major concerns for POE members: it would have required additional workdays without additional compensation, and it would have eliminated protected time for staff development and parent-teacher conferences. After POE members and our government affairs team strongly pressed these concerns at the Capitol, the bill was amended. The revised language addressed both issues and also met another key condition: any additional compensation required under the bill cannot be funded at the expense of the Oklahoma Teacher Retirement System (OTRS).
Our priorities were clear: extra workdays must be compensated, staff development time and parent-teacher conferences must be protected, and OTRS must not be harmed.
The amended version of HB 3151 made the bill contingent on $175 million in new funding for the State Department of Education, preserved staff development and parent-teacher conference time, protected OTRS from being used as a funding source, and tied the measure to a $2,000 across-the-board teacher pay raise.
Extra workdays must be compensated, staff development time and parent-teacher conferences must be protected, and OTRS must not be harmed.
The new FY 2027 state budget, which has now been signed by the Governor, provides more than $232.4 million in new funding for the State Department of Education, satisfying HB 3151’s $175 million funding requirement. With that condition now met, the bill is expected to advance to the Governor for final signature. Given this likely trajectory, it is important to understand how HB 3151 could affect districts and how teacher compensation is linked to the bill.
As amended, HB 3151 applies only to districts that use hour-based calendars. It raises the minimum number of instructional days for hour-based districts from 166 to 173, but does not increase the required instructional hours of 1,086. That is an important point: if a district must add days, the length of a school day will shorten since total instructional hours remain the same.
Of course, the bill will not affect every district the same way. If a district is already operating 173 days, it would see no change, while districts below that mark would need to adjust their calendars to varying extents. For example, a district currently operating 166 days would need to add the most days, while a district operating 172 days would need to add only one.
Because HB 3151 affects districts differently, it is difficult for the state to make precise compensation adjustments based on each district’s calendar design. The State sets the minimum salary schedule for certified staff without regard to a district’s calendar—whether it be hours-based, days-based, or a special four-day calendar approved through an SDE waiver.
Since HB 3151 does not change the total hour requirement, any potential salary calculation based on an hour adjustment would not result in a salary increase. Yet, a compensation adjustment based solely on the number of calendar days worked would strongly favor school districts that go the most days, in particular, those already on a day-based calendar that go 181 days or more.
To avoid entangling teacher compensation and a district’s chosen calendar, which is outside the control of any one teacher, HB 3151 was linked with an across-the-board pay raise for all teachers. The raise is intended to ensure that teachers receive additional compensation if their district must require more workdays, without disadvantaging teachers who already work more than 173 days.
The raise sets a new minimum salary requirement, not a ceiling. Districts most affected by HB 3151 may choose to redirect discretionary funding to provide even higher compensation for both certified and non-certified staff. However, such decisions would ultimately depend on the local school board and superintendent.
HB 3151 is not yet law, and must still pass the full Oklahoma Senate before it can be enacted. But with the funding piece already in place, it appears unlikely to fail.