By Janelle Stecklein/ CNHI State Reporter
May 14, 2021
5 hrs ago
Fifth-grade students sit in class during the first day of school Aug. 18, 2016, at Jefferson Elementary.
Kyle Phillips / The Transcript
OKLAHOMA CITY â Public school proponents and lawmakers are heralding the stateâs budget agreement that would see a record high $3.2 billion investment in public schools and ensure class size reductions in kindergarten and first grade.
House Speaker Charles McCall, R-Atoka, said his caucus was focused on increasing public school funding by $171.8 million â or 6% â to allow lawmakers to comply with a provision of House Bill 1017, the stateâs landmark Education Reform Act passed in 1990. It mandates the smaller classroom sizes as long as itâs properly funded.