• Increase teacher pay to competitive levels that enable us to attract and retain quality educators who can move the needle on NAEP scores. A key finding from our annual survey is the significant increase in emergency and option certified teachers to man our classrooms makes achieving academic excellence more difficult.
•  Establish a unified program to train and mentor all school principals. OEA research has identified a clear link between strong principals and high performing schools because strong school leaders attract and retain quality teachers.
• Support districts by funding interventions and alternative programs necessary to deal effectively with disruptive students.
• Give school districts the ability to fund incentive pay for high needs positions and for teachers who tackle the challenges of working in low performing schools.
   

Address the requirements of the School Safety and Resiliency Act

• Expand mental health support to provide wraparound services to hire additional counselors,
  mental health professionals, and school resource officers (SROs).

   

• Address the increasing number of students being withdrawn to homeschooling to evade truancy and other discipline problems. 
• Ensure academic rigor and increased accountability for homeschool students and parents.

Support and Prepare for Implementation of Local Accountability Systems

• Encourage the development of locally tailored accountability measures that better reflect the needs of local and regional employers, better reflect student learning, and provide real-time assessment that can be used to inform instruction.