Articles
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Education
State tests to resume, measure Oklahoma learning loss
When COVID-19 prompted the spring closure of in-person instruction at Oklahoma schools, state officials quickly sought a federal waiver to suspend state testing of students and issuance of school report cards. It appears the testing suspension won’t continue for a second year.Ray Carter | September 30, 2020
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Culture & the Family
County COVID ‘threat’ levels not so threatening
Counties with fewer than 14.5 cases per 100,000 population are placed in the yellow, or “low risk,” category, while those exceeding that rate are in the orange, or “moderate risk,” category.Ray Carter | September 29, 2020
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Criminal Justice
No-knock warrants: a primer
It seems to me that no-knock warrants are a policy directly contradicting the policy behind self-defense laws like the Castle Doctrine and “stand your ground laws.”Ryan Haynie | September 29, 2020
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Education
Parents resort to courts to reopen schools
A group of parents has filed a lawsuit against Stillwater Public Schools, asking the court to declare the district does not have the right to quarantine all students and to require that the district reopen for in-person instruction.Ray Carter | September 29, 2020
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Budget & Tax, Education
How much does the Oklahoma State Department of Education spend?
The Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE) is one of the state’s largest agencies in terms of appropriations and total spending. In 2020 the OSDE received $3.07 billion of the state’s $8.2 billion in state appropriations, a 5.4 percent increase from 2019.Curtis Shelton | September 29, 2020
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Education
Stilwell school experience defies COVID-closure plan
So far this year, there has been no significant outbreak of COVID-19 among Stilwell students and, when children or staff have caught the virus, it typically came from sources outside the school.Ray Carter | September 28, 2020
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Health Care
How many Oklahomans are enrolled in Medicaid?
The number of people enrolled in Oklahoma’s Medicaid program, SoonerCare, has increased substantially over the last two decades.Kaitlyn Finley | September 28, 2020
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Education
Tulsa schools include ‘social justice’ in staff training
A recent training program at Tulsa Public Schools (TPS) advised teachers to incorporate “social justice” into all courses, including subjects such as physical education and math.Ray Carter | September 24, 2020
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Education
State may face lawsuit for anti-Christian discrimination
A member of the Oklahoma State Board of Education suggested Thursday that private schools should not be allowed to participate in a state program for children with special needs unless they substantially abandon their Christian identity.Ray Carter | September 24, 2020
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Culture & the Family
Lawmakers review challenges of open-meeting changes
As the COVID-19 pandemic hit Oklahoma last spring, state lawmakers responded by authorizing temporary changes to state open-meetings laws and allowed government bodies to meet entirely by video or teleconference.Ray Carter | September 24, 2020