1. (a) Selection of scholarship recipients.

   1. (1) Applicant can be funded for one Education Leadership Oklahoma (ELO) scholarship to attain National Board Certification.
   2. (2) Applicant must currently be afull-time, Oklahoma public school classroom teacher with special consideration given to teachers who work in designated Title 1 schools as defined by law, work in school districts with a low percentage of National Board-Certified Teachers, and who have completed all the certification requirements set by the Oklahoma State Department of Education and hold a standard certification.
   3. (3) OEQA shall develop the ELO application and any associated deadlines. The application may seek information in the form of multiple choice, short answer questions and/or essays.
   4. (4) If there are 100 applicants or fewer than 100 applicants, all eligible applicants will be accepted into the program..

   5. (5) If there are more than 100 applicants, OEQA shall assemble an Application Review Committee that shall review and score applications to award scholarships

      1. (A) The Application Review Committee will consist of OEQA employees and need not but may also include other persons as may be determined by OEQA such as current or former National Board-Certified Teachers.
      2. (B) OEQA will provide a scoring rubric outlining guidelines for application scoring and provide training for each Application Review Committee member prior to the applications being read and scored.

      3. (C) The Application Review Committee may consider one or more of the following:

         1. (i) Knowledge of NBPTS process
         2. (ii) Inclusion of the five core propositions within the essay question
         3. (iii) Degree to which the applicant's essay conveys his/her application of the five core propositions
         4. (iv) Conveyance of commitment to rigorous process
         5. (v) Provision of quality writing which is clear and sufficiently elaborated
         6. (vi) Demonstration of knowledge, ability, and leadership
         7. (vii) Verification of percentage of free/reduced lunch
      4. (D) ELO candidates shall be selected based on scores determined within the application process. Applicants will be ranked from highest to lowest based on the application scores.

2. (b) Payment and reimbursement of assessment fees.

   1. (1) OEQA shall make assessment fee payments to NBPTS for each scholarship candidate, upon signing a Letter of Intent.
   2. (2) Alternatively, scholarship candidates may choose to pay their own National Board assessment fees to be reimbursed by OEQA, up to $1,300.00, upon achieving National Board certification. In that case, OEQA shall reimburse candidates for any National Board assessment fees paid by candidate, up to $1,300.00, if they are a Teacher, as defined in ELO Act, Title 70 Section 6-204.1(7), in the year they certify.
   3. (3) OEQA shall make payment to candidates for the $500 scholarship as outlined in the Letter of Intent.

Added at 32 Ok Reg 1709, eff 9-11-15

Amended at 38 Ok Reg 1757, eff 9-11-21

Amended at 42 Ok Reg, Number 20, effective 7-11-25