Hundreds of Oklahoma teaching positions are empty, and a 2017 statute allowing retired teachers to return to the classroom with no limitations on earnings expired June 30, 2020.

The Senate Retirement and Insurance Committee unanimously approved Senate Bill 267 to extend the earnings exemption through 2024.  Senate Education Committee Vice Chairman, Sen. Dewayne Pemberton, R-Muskogee, authored the bill to ensure those retired educators in public school districts and career techs can continue working and get paid fairly.

SB 267 provides for members of the Teacher Retirement System (TRS) who retired as of July 1, 2020, and received retirement benefits for at least one year to be re-employed by a school district with no limitations on earnings, provided the teacher was not employed in a school district during the one-year period. The three-year exemption begins July 1, 2021 and applies to retired educators in common and career tech school districts.

The measure was requested by the State Department of Education and other education organizations around the state.