Teach For America Bill Passes House

Legislation allowing participants in the prestigious Teach For America program to be granted a temporary teaching license in Oklahoma is headed for the governor’s desk after passing the House today.

House Bill 3124, authored by House Education Committee Chairman Rep. Tad Jones, will allow the Teach for America Program to come to Oklahoma.

The bill will get talented teachers into our most needy classrooms, said Jones, R-Claremore.

“This program brings together a bright pool of young teachers who go into the most challenged classrooms with proven results,” said Jones. “The national program is vigorous to ensure quality remains high.”

Teach For America is a national corps of outstanding recent college graduates and professionals of all academic majors and career interests who commit two years to teach in urban and rural public schools and become leaders in the effort to expand educational opportunity.

Teach for America was founded with a goal to reduce the education inequity that exists among socioeconomic and racial lines. The organization targets the 13 million children growing up in poverty nationwide and focuses on the notion that when students in low-income communities are given the educational opportunities they deserve, they excel.
Since the organization was founded in 1990, 17,000 people have participated in the program, impacting the lives of more than 2.5 million students. This fall, more than 5,000 corps members will be teaching in over 1,000 schools in 26 regions across the country.

The bill passed the House with a vote of 78-17 and will now go to the governor for final approval.

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