The Oklahoma House and Senate presses further into committee work this week. The Senate Education Committee recently approved a bill to restore five-day school weeks in Oklahoma schools. Bartlesville's Senator Julie Daniels explains that this education piece advances one of the four agenda items of Senate Republicans.

The 5-day school week, Daniels says, would mean putting more money into the funding formula. She says she spoke to Bartlesville teachers about this last week and told them that that money could be a way to give additional money to the district. The district then could use that money to give teachers in their district a pay raise. Daniels says that will avoid the amendment of the minimum salary schedule again.

Senate Bill 441 by Senator Mary Quinn says all public schools shall be in session for no less than 180 days. Currently, schools are to be in session for 1,080 hours. The bill provides exemptions to the five-day school week if local schools can demonstrate four-day weeks aren’t adversely impacting student achievement and four-day weeks actually save the local district money.