Oklahoma gets federal permission to pool $3.5 million from four school programs

OKLAHOMA CITY (Nov. 12) — The U.S. Department of Education has given Oklahoma permission to merge about $3.5 million from four federal school programs into a single pot it can spend through 2029.

The waiver covers the share of each program that the Oklahoma State Department of Education keeps for state-level work and administration, not the bulk of the money that passes through to schools, Oklahoma Voice reported. It's a small slice of the roughly $1 billion a year Oklahoma gets from Washington for K-12 and career programs.

The four programs pay for teacher professional development, instruction for students learning English, student support and academic enrichment, and the 21st Century Community Learning Centers that run before- and after-school programs. The state can now spend the combined money on anything allowed under any of the four, but it still has to meet each program's requirements, according to the federal approval letter.

The state agency said the goal is not to cut services but to "reduce duplication and maximize the impact of every available dollar." It hasn't released a detailed plan for how it will use the money.

State Superintendent Lindel Fields called it "an important opportunity for Oklahoma to take greater ownership of our educational future," Tulsa World reported.

Oklahoma and Nebraska, approved this week, are the ninth and 10th states to get the waivers under the Trump administration's push to return education control to the states. Waivers granted so far affect a total of $164 million, Oklahoma Voice reported. Education Secretary Linda McMahon said the two states "now have the freedom to break down federal funding silos."