[{"_1":2,"_88":-5,"_89":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6297987,"mediaKeyId","2505757-35c43cd3f7291ef480057fe2b4735a19","parentId",2505757,"title","Appropriations subcommittee advances FY26 budget recommendations for higher education, CareerTech, OCAST and other education agencies","audioSeconds",2458,"startMs",934000,"endMs",3392000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2505757-35c43cd3f7291ef480057fe2b4735a19&start=934&end=3392","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2505757-35c43cd3f7291ef480057fe2b4735a19/thumbnail_934000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6297987/Oklahoma/Appropriations-subcommittee-advances-FY26-budget-recommendations-for-higher-education-CareerTech-OCAST-and-other-education-agencies","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6297987-25ff715db648ceb96a34d79cdc224584/orig.mp4?Expires=1770896860&Signature=WqrO0DnWNCSZlZ3~6qFAj2Tdz0bfkVrvsry1hgSQFBRvuwe4Iq4w7XwR3xY~DbQPwkmpCZtcWuRdmFbJpWU94GpnmrQy9bEEitN4YMZdTtGzxpcu2~U7jYbWlm2cft9QRJYhLTL30RdHHIYzdfomyo9NuHZTwLRqiKCzeUOg3Dj1EHPXBGYu0Euqe0MyR09GStJExVEzALUlhbbkI405dCbBGda0a5mzfXPRQk72bBOrcQmhGYR2wyB-o-v29e3TXG9mYqxXlpbunh8DPyeizg43kqrqFch25hr6Gztnd6nNMSWUh-tfmpK28JJJBynhsejooFiGftdeQp3y10iq3g__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","OK State Legislature","date","2025-03-05T00:00:00Z","article","The Appropriations Subcommittee approved FY26 budget recommendations for multiple education-related agencies and forwarded each to the full Appropriations Committee by voice vote.

Approved recommendations included a $1,034,246,221 FY26 appropriation recommendation for the Oklahoma State Regents/regions for higher education; a $169,487,874 recommendation for the Department of Career and Technology Education (CareerTech); a $20,110,919 recommendation for the Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology (OCAST); and increases or full recommendations for the Commissioners of the Land Office, the Oklahoma School of Science and Mathematics, the Department of Libraries, the Health Care Workforce Training Commission, the Oklahoma Arts Council, OETA (Oklahoma Educational Television Authority), the Office of Educational Quality and Accountability (OEQA), the Board of Private Vocational Schools, and the Statewide Charter School Board.

Committee presenters provided brief descriptions of each agency's request and the chair read the subcommittee's recommended funding packages. Many items were approved with little or no discussion. The chair and presenters repeatedly noted that several agency requests included a mix of recurring and one-time funds and that previously appropriated one-time funding was being removed from baseline figures, which can make year-to-year comparisons look like decreases even when recurring lines increase.

Several specifics recorded in the transcript included:
- Regents/regions for higher education: recommendation of $1,034,246,221; discussion of concurrent enrollment expansion, cybersecurity and campus safety initiatives, micro-credentialing related to the science-of-reading work, and a deferred-maintenance request that the chair tabled pending a more detailed list from the regents. The chair said he would coordinate with the Appropriations chairman on legislation related to deferred maintenance before adding new dollars.
- CareerTech: recommendation to fully fund statutory FBA at $1,300,000 recurring and $450,000 for incarcerated-individual career training transition services, for a total recommendation of $169,487,874. Presenters said CareerTech has a roughly 6,000-student wait list and prior one-time funding was front-loaded and then spread over a four-year period.
- OCAST: the committee recommended $20,110,919 total, including a recurring STEM intern program increase of $1,000,000 and one-time funds to address capital access gaps.
- Commissioners of the Land Office: recommendation to increase expenditure authority by $1,675,855 to a total appropriation of $8,379,276; presenters emphasized this is authorization to expend non-general-revenue trust/corpus funds within a statutory percentage rather than a general-revenue transfer.
- Health Care Workforce Training Commission: recommendation to add $86,225 for rent/build-out and residency-assistance salary increases for resident physicians/students, totaling $10,497,939.
- Oklahoma Arts Council: recommendation included recurring costs tied to moving back into the Jim Thorpe Building (rent charged by OMES) and a $405,000 one-time collections-equipment package, for a total recommendation of $4,412,346.
- OETA: a staff payment adjustment recommendation of $434,000 (not fully funded to the full requested amount) for a total FY26 appropriation of $3,388,004.
- OEQA: recommended a new data scientist position and increased attorney fees, for a total appropriation of $2,163,209.
- Board of Private Vocational Schools: recommended reduction back to its 2023 funding level, $250,000.
- Statewide Charter School Board: requested a flat budget; the subcommittee adopted the request as presented.

Each agency recommendation was forwarded to the full Appropriations Committee by voice vote; presenters and the chair recorded \"aye\" and the chair declared the recommendations passed. Two supplemental requests were also forwarded: a roughly $22 million supplemental to reconcile prior-year flex benefits for the State Department of Education, and a $40,000 supplemental to the Health Care Workforce Training Commission to cover moving and configuration costs charged by OMES.

The chair told members the subcommittee will reconvene with the full Appropriations Committee at 1:30 p.m. to present these recommendations to the larger body.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Appr/Sub-Education Mar 5, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","The subcommittee approved a series of FY26 appropriation recommendations and short supplemental requests for multiple education-related agencies, forwarding each recommendation to the full Appropriations Committee by voice vote.","taxTitle","2025 Legislature OK, Oklahoma","taxId",78380,"location","Oklahoma","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6297989,"Subcommittee recommends full funding for teacher benefits, $3.99 billion FY26 education request",495,625000,1120000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2505757-35c43cd3f7291ef480057fe2b4735a19&start=625&end=1120","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2505757-35c43cd3f7291ef480057fe2b4735a19/thumbnail_625000.jpg","/articles/6297989/Oklahoma/Subcommittee-recommends-full-funding-for-teacher-benefits-399-billion-FY26-education-request","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6297989-d5b63885c96a37566da360b3854eb2c4/orig.mp4?Expires=1770896860&Signature=YCpGRJ1zh-z~H0HqomEOPgwCB3vCvhO2FFZ6QFGNXukHso-e3aJEXhejsWxseHDsppinGLxAFXCEi~KipQeqpsNewTiDRMK14jOk1pneQAfLknTm~opFtNYc5sUXhZrj3CNyiVfdH4Vd9hMEDXwFjCSAUX6VIrl33DDjF6xvyyzS~4Lkwg2aygjjIL16dF4TlxOr0JQqCVS7aG~GOCHztb2SN04rMr24PoWNV2t~o94QYdr37IREZ~sFz6j74pkXSRIa~P1zpuMDgA0zWx~Po3JjaiZebagX4fAEnN89RqwSvM~nKqTR01ldbwnHNzPfOyAsoRY9xoFdDGjuWrcrBA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Appropriations Subcommittee recommended fully funding the state's Flex Benefits Allowance (FBA) and advanced a total FY26 appropriations request of $3,994,479,266 for the State Department of Education to the full Appropriations Committee.

The recommendation, made by the committee chair and seconded by Senator Seifert, includes $88,569,748 to fully fund the FBA; a recurring $4,000,000 increase for a maternity leave program; one-time matching funds for local \"grow your own\" teacher pipeline programs; and one-time allocations for high-dosage tutoring and instructional support programs. The chair also proposed a $25,000,000 recurring start to cover funding that would trigger an additional day of required instruction under pending legislation.

The recommendation matters because state law requires the FBA to be funded, and the committee positioned the appropriation as a near-term, recurring commitment to employee benefits for teachers and support staff. \"We are required by law to fully fund that, FBA,\" the chair said, adding that the figure is built into the education budget. The chair cautioned the subcommittee that the exact FBA total could change slightly as staff refine percentage increases and the count of employees added in the past year.

Committee members also discussed several one-time investments the chair recommended: a matching allocation to local \"grow your own\" teacher development programs, and two separate $5 million one-time awards to support (1) a tutoring program tied to legislation mentioned by Senator Deaver and (2) instructional intervention specialists and micro-credentialing tied to science-of-reading training. The chair described the grow-your-own program as a way to move long-serving paraprofessionals and aides into teacher certification pathways and back into their local districts.

Separately, the subcommittee considered a supplemental request to reconcile prior-year FBA estimates with actual insurance and participation data. The chair recommended approving a supplemental request stated in the transcript as $22,012,000.554 to cover flex benefits costs from the previous year, and the committee approved that supplemental by voice vote. During discussion, the chair acknowledged that agencies estimate insurance premiums and employee participation when they submit budgets and that final data often arrives after initial requests, producing supplemental requests. \"By law, we have to pass this,\" the chair said, urging approval while noting the process can feel opaque because OMES provides the premium estimates and agencies pass those costs through.

The subcommittee approved the education recommendation by voice vote; the chair declared the recommendation passed after members answered \"aye.\" The recommendation will be presented to the full Appropriations Committee in the afternoon session.","The Appropriations Subcommittee recommended fully funding the state's Flex Benefits Allowance (FBA) and advanced a roughly $3.99 billion FY26 education budget to the full committee, including recurring and one-time investments in maternity leave, teacher pipeline programs and targeted tutoring.","actionData","errors"]

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Appropriations subcommittee advances FY26 budget recommendations for higher education, CareerTech, OCAST and other education agencies

Subcommittee recommends full funding for teacher benefits, $3.99 billion FY26 education request