{"data":{"id":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-70-70-6-204.2","jurisdiction":"us-ok","citation":"Okla. Stat. tit. 70, § 70-6-204.2","heading":"Education Leadership Oklahoma program","body":"A. The Commission for Educational Quality and Accountability\n\nand the State Board of Education are authorized to establish the\n\nEducation Leadership Oklahoma program.\n\nB. The purposes of the Education Leadership Oklahoma program\n\nare to:\n\n1. Provide teachers throughout the state information about\n\nNational Board certification and the Education Leadership Oklahoma\n\nprogram services;\n\n2. Provide technical assistance and National-Board-certified\n\nmentors to all teachers seeking National Board certification upon\n\nrequest;\n\n3. Reward teachers who are seeking National Board certification\n\nby awarding them a portion of the National Board certification cost\n\nas provided in subsection D of this section; and\n\n4. Provide recognition to National-Board-certified teachers.\n\nC. To fulfill the objectives of the Education Leadership\n\nOklahoma Act, the Oklahoma Commission for Teacher Preparation shall:\n\n1. Inform teachers of the Education Leadership Oklahoma program\n\nand services it provides to teachers seeking National Board\n\ncertification, emphasizing recruiting efforts toward teachers at\n\nhigh-poverty schools, schools identified as in need of improvement\n\nand in districts with the lowest percentage of teachers who have\n\nachieved National Board certification; and\n\n2. Ensure that all teachers seeking National Board\n\ncertification receive adequate information regarding the level of\n\ncommitment required to acquire National Board certification.\n\nD. The Commission shall select not more than one hundred\n\napplicants to participate in the program each fiscal year for whom\n\nthe Commission shall pay up to One Thousand Eight Hundred Dollars\n\n($1,800.00) of the National Board certification cost.\n\nE. The Commission shall promulgate rules establishing a process\n\nfor accepting applications for the Education Leadership Oklahoma\n\nprogram and for providing to applicants selected for the program up-\n\nfront payment of the National Board certification cost. If a\n\nselected applicant who receives the up-front payment does not\n\nfulfill all submission requirements for National Board certification\n\nas established by the certification vendor within the maximum\n\nallowable time frame, the applicant will be required to repay the\n\nfull amount of the component fees paid on his or her behalf, the\n\napplicant shall repay the Commission the full amount paid by the\n\nCommission pursuant to subsection D of this section. Subject to the\n\navailability of funding, all selected applicants who do not receive\n\nan up-front payment and successfully complete National Board\n\ncertification shall be reimbursed by the Commission for the National\n\nBoard certification cost. The total amount of reimbursement paid by\n\nthe Commission shall not exceed One Thousand Eight Hundred Dollars\n\n($1,800.00).\n\nF. Subject to the availability of funding, all teachers seeking\n\ninitial National Board certification either through the Education\n\nLeadership Oklahoma Scholarship program or paying their own way\n\nshall be eligible to participate in Education Leadership Oklahoma\n\nmentoring for up to three (3) years to assist them in meeting the\n\nrequirements of the National Board certification process, free of\n\ncharge.\n\nG. Subject to district board of education policy or collective\n\nbargaining agreement, additional professional leave days may be\n\ngranted to teachers seeking National Board certification for\n\nNational Board certification portfolio development. During the two\nmentoring for up to three (3) years to assist them in meeting the\n\nrequirements of the National Board certification process, free of\n\ncharge.\n\nG. Subject to district board of education policy or collective\n\nbargaining agreement, additional professional leave days may be\n\ngranted to teachers seeking National Board certification for\n\nNational Board certification portfolio development. During the two\n\n(2) days of the additional professional days granted to teachers for\n\nNational Board certification portfolio development, a substitute\n\nteacher shall be provided by the school district at no cost to the\n\nteacher.\n\nH. 1. The State Board of Education shall provide to teachers\n\nwho attained National Board certification prior to June 30, 2013, a\n\nbonus in the amount of Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00) annually\n\nover a ten-year period, to be paid no later than January 31 each\n\nyear. The Board shall provide a bonus to any teacher who attains\n\nNational Board certification after June 30, 2013, if the teacher was\n\nselected for the Education Leadership Oklahoma program before June\n\n30, 2013, or the teacher has submitted an application for National\n\nBoard certification to the National Board for Professional Teaching\n\nStandards before June 30, 2013.\n\n2. The teachers eligible to receive the annual bonus as\n\nprovided for in paragraph 1 of this subsection shall receive the\n\nannual bonus for the ten-year duration of their National Board\n\ncertification and so long as they are teaching in the classroom\n\nfull-time in an Oklahoma public school. No school or school\n\ndistrict shall be liable for payment of bonuses pursuant to this\n\nsection.\n\n3. The bonus shall not be included in the calculation of the\n\nteacher's salary for purposes of meeting the district or statutory\n\nminimum salary schedule or for purposes of compensating Oklahoma\n\nTeachers' Retirement System contributions or benefits.\n\n4. Teachers eligible to receive the annual bonus as provided\n\nfor in paragraph 1 of this subsection shall not be eligible to\n\nreceive the additional salary increment for National Board\n\ncertification as set forth in the minimum salary schedule in Section\n\n18-114.15 of this title.\n\n5. Teachers who attain National Board certification after June\n\n30, 2013, shall be eligible to receive the additional salary\n\nincrements for National Board certification as set forth in the\n\nminimum salary schedule in Section 18-114.15 of this title.\n\n6. The State Board of Education shall promulgate rules for a\n\nprocess by which a National-Board-certified teacher will verify\n\nthat:\n\na. the National Board certification has not lapsed,\n\nb. the teacher is still a full-time teacher, and\n\nc. for teachers eligible for the bonus, the teacher has\n\nnot exceeded the limit of annual bonus payments as\n\nprovided for in paragraph 1 of this subsection.\n\nI. It is the intent of the Legislature that the Oklahoma State\n\nRegents for Higher Education incorporate the National Board\n\ncertification portfolio development into all programs in education\n\nleading to a master's level degree.","path":["OK Code","Title 70"],"source_url":"https://www.oklegislature.gov/OK_Statutes/CompleteTitles/os70.pdf","current_through":"2026-08-14","vintage":"open-us-law v2026.08, retrieved 2026-09-14","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T18:32:36Z","sha256":"dadb8305912b485e8d27fba42268557c733c628e7a89c9437ec4d375fa47e9e8","source_id":"us-ok","stale":false,"prev":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-70-70-6-204.1","next":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-70-70-6-204.3"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}