Lawmakers are working together across the rotunda — and party lines — to create a National Guard to-teacher pipeline in Oklahoma.
House Bill 1243 by Copan Republican Rep. Judd Strom in the House, and Oklahoma City Sen. Carri Hicks in the Senate, creates the Oklahoma National Guard CareerTech Assistance program, which provides academic scholarships for qualified Guard members attending state trade schools.
“Currently, Oklahoma National Guard members in good standing are eligible for tuition assistance or scholarships for 2 or 4 years higher education programs,” Strom said as he introduced the bill Tuesday. “ I believe we're missing the mark on all of these young people, to offer them the opportunity to learn and become certified in a trade.”
The proposal, he said, has no fiscal impact on the state yet.
“We are only asking Oklahoma CareerTech and the Oklahoma National Guard to promulgate rules for the program, establish eligibility for participants, and ultimately open a checking account for future use.”
The measure mimics an existing scholarship program run in partnership between the Oklahoma Military Department and The State Board of Regents of Higher Education. In Strom’s deal, however, the State Board of Career and Technology Education would replace the regents.
To qualify for the trade school subsidies, Guard members must:
- Have at least one year remaining on their service contract.
- Agree in writing to complete the remainder of their service contract.
- Serve at least two more years upon completing the last semester paid for by the National Guard.
To stay eligible, student Guardmembers must maintain good academic standing with at least a 2.0 grade point average and have a Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) or Air Force Specialty Code after their first semester.
The program also requires that any Guard members who are federal educational resources must exhaust all federal resources before being eligible for state assistance.
Also passed yesterday was Bethany Republican Tammy West’s House Bill 1465, which grants reservists of any military branch credits toward the teacher pay scale based on the number of years served. Brenda Stanley is sponsoring the measure in the Senate.
Together, the measures encourage graduating high school students to join the reserves while attaining a college degree. They are now eligible for committee hearings in the Senate, which has a slate of similar bills.
