Governor’s Office
Governor Fallin has signed into law Senate Bill 1797, a measure that consolidates existing teacher accountability and preparation entities into a single Office of Educational Quality and Accountability (EQA) in order to save taxpayer money while streamlining existing education accountability initiatives. The initiative was among Governor Fallin’s 2012 legislative agenda items.
Under SB 1797, the existing Office of Accountability, now under the direction of the Oklahoma State Regents of Higher Education, will be combined with the Teacher Preparation Commission to form the EQA office. Functions of the Teacher Preparation Commission will be managed by the EQA office. The measure also restructures the Education Oversight Board and renames it the Commission for Education, Instruction Quality and Accountability. The secretary of education will serve as chair of the commission and oversee the EQA office.
After consolidating the Office of Accountability and the Teacher Preparation Commission into the EQA, SB 1797 instructs the new agency to achieve a savings rate of 15 percent.
