Articles
-
Higher Education
Oklahoma higher ed’s $17.48 ‘return’ claim doesn’t compute
A recent study claimed that every dollar in Oklahoma state appropriations to higher education generates $17.48 in economic output. Not only is that number inflated, but it also ignores the fact that money taken from taxpayers could be spent in other ways that might yield equal or greater economic benefits.Byron Schlomach, Ph.D. | September 5, 2025
-
Law & Principles
Stitt deploys state troopers to tackle Tulsa crime, homeless encampments
Declaring that Tulsa leaders have failed to protect residents, Gov. Kevin Stitt has deployed state troopers to clear homeless encampments and curb rising crime on state-owned property inside the city.Ray Carter | September 4, 2025
-
Culture & the Family
Shawnee pastor’s ‘Children’s White House’ highlights Christianity’s role in U.S. history
Ed Moore, longtime pastor in the Shawnee area, has built a small-scale replica of the White House to serve as a “U.S. Children’s White House,” teaching that America’s founding was deeply rooted in Christian faith.Ray Carter | September 4, 2025
-
Higher Education
Federal judge strikes down Oklahoma's in-state tuition for illegal immigrants
A federal judge has struck down an Oklahoma law that allowed illegal immigrants to pay in-state tuition at state colleges and universities. The decision follows an April executive order from President Trump warning colleges nationwide of federal sanctions if they continued such practices.Ray Carter | September 3, 2025
-
Education
Oklahoma joins multi-state push for parents’ rights, child safety
Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond has joined more than 20 other states in two high-profile U.S. Supreme Court cases involving parents’ rights and student safety in public schools.Ray Carter | September 3, 2025
-
Education, Law & Principles
How OSSAA undermines Oklahoma’s open-transfer law
Instead of letting kids play ball, OSSAA is playing games with families’ futures. Its latest move—banning four Glencoe transfers on shaky grounds—shows how the association often undermines Oklahoma’s open-transfer law.Jonathan Small | September 2, 2025
-
Education
Despite more money, Oklahoma students struggle
Since 2018, Oklahoma’s per-pupil school funding has surged by 51 percent—yet student outcomes have declined. Much of Oklahoma’s education spending goes to bureaucracy rather than classrooms, with less than half of school employees being teachers.Ray Carter | August 26, 2025
-
Education, Law & Principles
OSSAA faces conflict-of-interest questions in Glencoe case
Four Glencoe High School basketball players were ruled ineligible by the Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association (OSSAA). The OSSAA board vote included members from rival Class A schools that could directly benefit from sidelining Glencoe’s athletes.Ray Carter | August 25, 2025
-
Law & Principles
If you hate the poor, raise the minimum wage
In Oklahoma, where market wages already exceed the state’s minimum wage, tying pay to big-city living costs in places like San Francisco would devastate Oklahoma’s rural economies.Jonathan Small | August 25, 2025
-
Law & Principles
The legal and political implications of the latest OSSAA scandal
The Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association (OSSAA) is again facing scrutiny. Now with parents suing, the attorney general warning, and state lawmakers growing restless, OSSAA’s heavy-handed enforcement may be setting the stage for its own undoing.Ryan Haynie | August 22, 2025