Oklahoma Teachers Ordered to Repay Thousands in Mistaken Bonuses

Oklahoma special education teachers are being asked to return bonuses of up to $50,000 that were mistakenly paid out by the state education department. The department is facing criticism from lawmakers for demanding repayment from teachers, some of whom used the money for essential expenses. The bonuses were part of a program to recruit teachers for hard-to-fill positions, and legislators are now looking to revamp the program to prevent similar errors in the future. The state superintendent of public instruction has suggested that some of the erroneous payments were due to teachers misrepresenting their qualifications, but lawmakers from both parties have criticized the department's oversight.