TULSA, Okla. — State Superintendent Ryan Walters announced an expansion of the teacher signing bonus program to include special education instructors. It's an expansion from a previous announcement in April.
An extra $20,000 offered to out-of-state special ed teachers, plus a $5,000 retention bonus for staying through the 2026-27 school year. For first-year teachers, a $10,000 bonus, and $2,500 for retention.
WATCH: 'Very hard to find': State, Walters announce bonuses for new Special Ed hires
"If you look every summer when districts post their position openings, almost every district needs more special ed teachers," Walters told 2 News. "They're very hard to find, especially with these certifications."
Districts around Green Country continue looking to fill those open positions. Bixby Superintendent Lydia Wilson told us before the school year they still had open positions. Owasso says they're fully staffed, but that means just under 60 instructors for nearly 1,300 kids district-wide.
"This might get the attention of some of these special ed teachers that are doing a great job, and say in Oklahoma, we're going to take care of you," Walters said. "We want you here. Our parents are going to support you in what you're doing for their kids. So that was the reason why we picked this out specifically."
Broken Arrow says they still have openings. Daylene Thornton, the Executive Director for Secondary Special Education at BA, says money can't be the main motivation.
"No teacher goes into education for the money. But in special education, I really feel like it's a calling," Thornton said. "Money is always nice. A bonus? Everyone of us could be happy about that. But the true work that teachers do every day, that's the real draw to special education."
Superintendent Walters says he hopes the bonus program leads to quantity, in an effort to boost quality.
"You've just got really unique needs in these classrooms," Walters said. "So what we wanted to do is provide the opportunity for the state to have a record number of folks come in and say, ok, we want these positions. And let the districts go in and evaluate them one by one."
Thornton added that BA already has special incentives in place for their special education instructors, including a salary 8% above their typical base.
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