Relevant Legislation

House Bill 2246 -- passed in 1992 establishing the original 28 member Oklahoma Commission for Teacher Preparation and instructing them to develop a competency and performance based system of teacher preparation and candidate assessment. This legislation led to the 1994 report on teacher preparation in Oklahoma.

House Bill 1549 -- passed in 1995 was the enabling legislation following the 1994 report on teacher preparation in Oklahoma that set specific guidelines for the OCTP to develop and implement a competency and performance based system of teacher preparation, candidate assessment, and professional development. The number of voting commissioners was amended to16.

House Bill 2017 -- passed in 1997 was the "Reading Sufficiency Act" that gave OCTP the statutory authority to establish Professional Development Institutes (PDI's) in Reading, Mentoring, and Inquiry Based Science/Math. The legislation was prescriptive in that the PDI's had to meet stringent guidelines and be evaluated externally.

Senate Bill 202 -- passed in 1997 was the enabling legislation for "Education Leadership Oklahoma" which provided scholarships and training to 200 candidates to apply for National Board for Professional Teaching Standards certification. Legislation later modified the number to 230 candidates.

Senate Bill 388 -- passed in 2001 modified the number of Commissioners making up the Oklahoma Commission for Teacher Preparation from 16 to 20 voting members.

House Bill 2728 -- passed in 2000 requires 7th and 8th grade math teachers who were certified prior to September 1, 1999 to do the following by September 1, 2003 in order to maintain their math certification: pass the middle level/secondary math test administered by OCTP or complete a Math Professional Development Institute developed by the Oklahoma Commission for Teacher Preparation.

House Bill 2625 -- passed in 2002 was a trailer bill to HB2728 that allowed 6th grade math teachers to also participate in the Middle Level Math Professional Development Institute.

Senate Bill 1595 -- passed in 2002 requires that as of July 1, 2002 all prospective teachers going through a traditional teacher education program pass all three parts of the Certification Examination for Oklahoma Educators prior to being licensed by te State Department of Education.