House lawmakers proposed extending Oklahoma’s minimum school year by seven days and pledged $175 million to make it happen. House Bill 3151 passed off the House floor 62-28 Wednesday evening and heads to the Senate, where leadership has endorsed the measure. The bill is the first firm prop osal from the House this session for increasing public school funding, though leaders have discussed adding funds for other education initiatives, as well. Senate leaders unveiled their $254 million education funding plan weeks ago. “We put a flag in the ground yesterday that said we believe that despite this year being the highest funding level in the history of the state of Oklahoma for public education, we want the (next) budget and the year after next to be even higher than it is this year,” House Speaker Kyle Hilbert, R-Bristow, told news reporters Thursday. Oklahoma law requires a minimum of 181 school days or 1,086 instructional hours in public schools. Districts that  build their calendars on the 1,086-hour requirement must stay in session for at least 166 school days.  HB 3151 would increase the 166-day minimum to 173 days starting in the 2027-28 school year.  Parent-teacher conferences and teacher professional development days could still count for up to 42 instructional hours per school year. A former version of the bill sought to strike that from state law. The bill’s author, Rep. Rob Hall, R-Tulsa, said raising the minimum number of school days is a “much-needed step toward improving educational outcomes in our state.” “Spreading instructional time over more days will help keep students engaged throughout the school day and make the time our educators spend with them more effective,” Hall said in a statement. House leadership said multiple education-focused organizations backed the measure, including groups representing teachers, school administrators, rural and urban schools, and school boards. The bill adds school days at a rate of $25 million per day.  For districts already operating longer than 173 days, the funding would be a bonus that they could invest in teachers, students and other school needs, said Shawn Hime, executive director of the Oklahoma State School Boards Association. “I think every district leader I’ve talked to has been excited about the idea of having more time with students, especially with the guarantee that we’ll be funded for that time,” he said. Hime said he’s “very optimistic” the Legislature will add more than $175 million for public education once budget negotiations are finished. Senate President Pro Tem Lonnie Paxton, R-Tuttle, said that amount should be the “absolute bare minimum” for education funding increases. “I hope there’s a lot more money than that,” Paxton said. “Teachers still need to be paid more. We still need to get more money into it.” He said he “absolutely” supports lengthening the school year. He’s listed as the Senate author of HB 3151. Along with the added funding, protecting parent-teacher conference time and professional development days was essential in earning support from Professional Oklahoma Educators, a nonprofit professional organization representing teachers. The state should invest in parent involvement as well as added class time with qualified teachers, the organization wrote in a message to its members. The Oklahoma Education Association, the state’s largest teacher union, also endorsed the bill’s updated language, House leadership said. However, OEA declined to comment Friday about the measure. This article was republished from Oklahoma Voice. The post Oklahoma House proposal would add 7 school days for $175 million appeared first on Oklahoma Gazette. ...read more read less