Articles
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Culture & the Family, Good Government
There’s a new sheriff in town
Meet Tommie Johnson III—Oklahoma County’s new sheriff and a former OCPA Fears Fellow.Mike Brake | December 9, 2020
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Economy, Energy
State treasurer restates warning about oilfield woes
Oil field struggles continue to negatively impact Oklahoma government revenue, leading State Treasurer Randy McDaniel to again warn lawmakers that tough financial times lie ahead.Ray Carter | December 8, 2020
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Education, Culture & the Family
Amid education debate, no COVID impact from mask mandates
The state’s most recent Weekly Epidemiology and Surveillance Report shows that COVID-19 spread is now greater in areas with mask mandates than in parts of Oklahoma without mask mandates.Ray Carter | December 7, 2020
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Education, Good Government
Stitt replaces member of state board of education
Gov. Kevin Stitt has replaced a member of the State Board of Education who was active in efforts to keep private Christian schools from participating in a state program for children with special needs.Ray Carter | December 4, 2020
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Education, Law & Principles
Attorney General: Oklahoma Department of Education acted illegally
An official opinion issued by the office of Attorney General Mike Hunter concludes the Oklahoma State Department of Education acted illegally when it imposed new regulations on a state scholarship program for children with special needs.Ray Carter | December 3, 2020
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Education, Good Government
Parents push back against OEA
The Oklahoma Education Association continues to criticize school-choice policies and efforts to preserve in-person instruction at public schools. But the teachers' union is drawing strong online pushback from parents—even on the OEA’s own Facebook page.Ray Carter | December 3, 2020
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Education, Culture & the Family
Teachers union to lawmakers: Ignore voters on school choice
A recent poll showed Oklahoma voters support school-choice policies that allow parents to use tax funding to place their children in private schools. In response, the head of the state’s largest teacher union is urging Oklahoma’s Republican lawmakers to look the other way.Ray Carter | December 2, 2020
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Education
Poll shows strong support for school choice in Oklahoma
A new poll shows strong support for school choice policies in Oklahoma, including those that allow parents to use taxpayer dollars for private-school tuition. Those poll results continue a pattern that has been consistent in Oklahoma for the better part of a decade now.Ray Carter | December 1, 2020
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Budget & Tax
Court case may highlight McGirt challenges for retailers
Business owners wondering how a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling could upend sales-tax issues in eastern Oklahoma may get a hint from a grocery store’s legal challenges now under way in state and federal courts.Ray Carter | December 1, 2020
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Education, Good Government
Parent warns against ending state tests in schools
Some officials have called for elimination of state testing in Oklahoma schools for the second year in a row. But one mother of three children is among those opposed. “I don’t understand how we can afford to lose another year of data."Ray Carter | November 24, 2020