Articles
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Education
Thousands shift to private school thanks to Oklahoma program
A new report from the Oklahoma Tax Commission shows the Oklahoma Parental Choice Tax Credit program is allowing thousands of students to shift from public school to private schools with the majority of beneficiaries coming from low-income and middle-class families, including children on state welfare programs.Ray Carter | May 8, 2025
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Education
Oklahoma schools embrace new law allowing religious instruction during class time
A new Oklahoma law has opened the door for public school students to receive off-campus religious and moral instruction. Tahlequah and South Coffeyville have already launched a program, and several other communities are “well on their way.”Ray Carter | May 5, 2025
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Education
Texas joins school choice surge, raising the bar for Oklahoma
With Texas joining the universal-school-choice family, the race is on to see which states will provide the most robust opportunities to families.Ray Carter | May 5, 2025
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Education
Oklahoma schools defraud taxpayers with bogus ‘virtual’ days?
Some state lawmakers indicate that many Oklahoma public schools are effectively defrauding taxpayers by accepting payment for instructional days that never occur.Ray Carter | April 30, 2025
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Education
‘Lindsey Nicole Henry saved my daughter’s life’: Lawmakers vote to ease access to scholarships
By an overwhelming margin, members of the Oklahoma House of Representatives have voted to remove a barrier that impedes access to a state scholarship program for children with special needs.Ray Carter | April 29, 2025
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Education
Urban Institute study shows school choice benefits low-income children
A new study from a center-left think tank finds that Ohio’s school voucher program had large and lasting positive effects on the primarily low-income students who used scholarships to attend private school.Ray Carter | April 23, 2025
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Education
Oklahoma lawmakers vote to end discrimination against special-needs children
Members of an Oklahoma House committee have voted to end a two-tiered system that forces the families of children with special needs to jump through hoops that other families are not subjected to when accessing a school-choice program.Ray Carter | April 16, 2025
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Education
Many high-funded Oklahoma schools have low instructional spending, poor performance
State data show that even in many of Oklahoma’s highest-funded ($20,000 per student or more) school districts, less than half of the funding goes to instruction—and academic outcomes remain poor.Ray Carter | April 14, 2025
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Education
Oklahoma superintendents’ wages surge as less money reaches classroom
Revenue in Oklahoma’s public school system has surged to $13,736 per student. And 17 school districts pay their superintendents a quarter-million dollars or more.Ray Carter | April 8, 2025
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Education
Millions diverted from Oklahoma classrooms
Since 2018, per-student revenue in Oklahoma public schools has surged by 51 percent—yet academic outcomes have gone in the opposite direction. One possible explanation for that disturbing trend: Much of the money provided to schools is not reaching the classroom.Ray Carter | April 8, 2025