Articles
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Culture & the Family
COVID numbers plunge as Oklahoma economy remains strong
When Gov. Kevin Stitt gave his State of the State address to lawmakers on Feb. 7, he highlighted the fact that Oklahoma was not among the states that significantly shut down their economies in response to COVID-19.Ray Carter | February 24, 2022
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Education
More whistleblowers emerge from Bowring school district
Two employees of the Bowring school district previously reported that students in the district have been emotionally abused so severely that multiple children have become suicidal, and that school administration has done nothing to address the problem.Ray Carter | February 24, 2022
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Education
School library concerns growing in Oklahoma
Growing awareness of school-library content—including graphic depictions of rape and incest, along with behavior that would get students expelled in most districts—has prompted parental concern and associated legislative responses this year.Ray Carter | February 23, 2022
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Education
Stitt stands with parents
In his State of the State address, Gov. Kevin Stitt made clear he stands with parents before bureaucrats. That was a shock for status-quo defenders but welcome news to families.Jonathan Small | February 23, 2022
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Education
School transparency measure clears Oklahoma Senate
Legislation that would require public reporting on administrative spending in public schools, including a comparison of academic outcomes and spending in comparable districts, has won easy passage out of the Oklahoma Senate.Ray Carter | February 21, 2022
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Budget & Tax, Education, Law & Principles
Bold reforms for a post-pandemic Oklahoma
In the aftermath of the pandemic, Oklahoma’s policymakers should put parents in charge of education with a universal Education Savings Account, eliminate the personal income tax, and reform our state’s dysfunctional regulatory system.Curtis Shelton, Greg Forster, Ph.D., Byron Schlomach, Ph.D. & Andrew C. Spiropoulos | February 21, 2022
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Education
Student career-preparedness measure gets narrow approval
Legislation that would require public schools to provide remediation to students who do not meet college-readiness benchmarks has cleared a state House subcommittee by a relatively narrow margin.Ray Carter | February 21, 2022
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Education
Why weren’t schools prepared for COVID?
Gov. Kevin Stitt’s critics, who include some officials working in public schools, have suggested he can somehow stop the spread of an airborne virus with the wave of a government wand. If that’s true, then why haven’t those critics done so in public schools?Jonathan Small | February 21, 2022
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Education
Oklahoma open-transfer law benefiting few students
An analysis of Oklahoma’s open-transfer law finds that school districts’ vacancy rate is small, especially in coveted suburban areas. Moreover, many districts are flouting the law’s transparency requirement.Ray Carter | February 18, 2022
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Criminal Justice
Oklahoma expungement measure advances
Legislation that would automatically expunge the criminal record of low-level offenders who have served their time, increasing the likelihood they are able to obtain future employment, has passed unanimously out of a state House committee.Ray Carter | February 18, 2022