Oklahoma’s Promise scholarship now available to more families

Legislation to change base income requirements for the Oklahoma’s Promise scholarship program was signed into law by Gov. Kevin Stitt before the 2022 session adjourned on Wednesday, June 1, 2022. Not only will this benefit families across the state, but it has largely increased the income cap for the scholarship program for families with more children. Sen. Adam Pugh, chair of the Senate Education Committee and the principal author of the measure, previously stated that since the program was created in 1992 by the Legislature, the income cap has remained the same, regardless of how many children were in a family. Senate Bill 1673, signed into law by Gov. Stitt, will diminish the previous income cap of being the same for every family, to $60,000 for families with one or two dependent children, $70,000 for those with three to four dependent children and $80,000 for those families with five or more children.

Sen. Pugh stated, “Obviously, the more children you have, the more expensive it is to raise them, but until now, that’s never been a factor in determining income qualifications for Oklahoma’s Promise. This is a common sense change that will increase access to the program and help even more Oklahoma students achieve their goal of obtaining a college education. Having a well-educated workforce is key to our efforts to diversify our economy and boost per-capita income in our state. This will ultimately benefit all of Oklahoma.”

This new law has already taken place for the 2022-2023 school year and will work towards helping students throughout Oklahoma in obtaining high-paying jobs. Oklahoma’s Promise allows students who meet certain income, academic and conduct requirements an opportunity to earn a college or technology center tuition scholarship. Students applying for the 2022-2023 academic year must submit their application by June 30, 2023. Students who will be in the eighth-, ninth-, 10th- or 11th grade in 2023-2024 will have to start a new application once it is available.

Rep. Jadine Nollan, chair of the House Committee on Higher Education and Career Tech and was House Principal author of Senate Bill 1673, said, “This change will be really helpful for parents who have multiple children going to college. This will help more students attend Oklahoma colleges and universities, which in turn translates into more skilled and trained workers who can attain high-paying jobs, resulting in a better economy and overall improvement for our state. I’m grateful to the Senate author of this bill, Senator Pugh, for seeing the necessity of this change and for the governor for signing it into law.”

This scholarship program helps to give students hope of going to college or a technology center, that they otherwise would not have given the thought to consider. The Oklahoma’s Promise new income limits can provide the financial opportunity to impel parents to encourage their children to pursue higher learning. For questions or more information, contact Cordell High School Counselor Holly Campbell at hcampbell@ cordell.k12.ok.us or call (580) 832-3420.