Articles
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Education
Lawmakers approve student rescue from ‘F’ schools
A Senate committee has voted to provide an escape hatch for students currently trapped in public schools that receive F grades on state report cards.Ray Carter | February 15, 2022
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Education
Lawmakers vote to protect teachers from lawsuits
Oklahoma government would pay for insurance policies that protect teachers from frivolous lawsuits under legislation that advanced from committee on a party-line vote.Ray Carter | February 15, 2022
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Education
Parent empowerment bill wins committee approval
Legislation that would empower parents to choose from a greater range of education options for their children has advanced from a state Senate committee.Ray Carter | February 15, 2022
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Education
Driving students away reaps benefit for public schools
Data released by the Oklahoma State School Boards Association indicates that Oklahoma public schools directly or indirectly reap as much as $534 million annually for students they don’t serve.Ray Carter | February 14, 2022
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Law & Principles
Hughes County sheriff says tribe ignoring McGirt duties, crime victims
Since the U.S. Supreme Court upended law-enforcement jurisdiction throughout most of eastern Oklahoma with its McGirt v. Oklahoma ruling, tribal government officials have claimed they will fill much of the resulting law-enforcement gap.Ray Carter | February 11, 2022
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Law & Principles
Defending McGirt, tribal leaders ignore, dismiss Indian victims
In their efforts to defend the McGirt v. Oklahoma ruling that Gov. Kevin Stitt wants curtailed or overturned, Oklahoma tribal leaders have increasingly taken an unexpected tack. They often ignore—and in one high-profile case appeared to dismiss as “made up”—the plight of tribal citizens who are victims of crimes that may now go unpunished because of McGirt.Ray Carter | February 10, 2022
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Culture & the Family
Hofmeister backed by tribes, casinos
Individuals and entities associated with two groups substantially intertwined in Oklahoma—tribal governments and casinos—represented a significant share of donations to the Democratic gubernatorial campaign of Joy Hofmeister in the fourth quarter of 2021, according to a report filed with the Oklahoma Ethics Commission.Ray Carter | February 9, 2022
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Education, Law & Principles
Lawmakers seek answers for teacher exits
Reports of a teacher shortage in Oklahoma have long been blamed on pay levels, yet the shortage has persisted even after massive salary increases in recent years.Ray Carter | February 8, 2022
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Law & Principles
Stitt: McGirt decision ‘jeopardizes justice’ in Oklahoma
Gov. Kevin Stitt, a Cherokee, is one of the most prominent elected Indian officeholders in the nation. But he remains steadfast in his opposition to a U.S. Supreme Court decision that declared a reservation was never formally disestablished in Oklahoma, saying that decision has effectively impeded justice for many Oklahomans of all backgrounds.Ray Carter | February 7, 2022
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Education
Stitt endorses educational-choice expansion
In his State of the State address, Gov. Kevin Stitt urged legislators to be bold and provide Oklahoma families with a significant expansion of school-choice opportunity, saying families should have the greatest voice in how their children are educated.Ray Carter | February 7, 2022