Articles
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Education, Culture & the Family
How many Oklahoma students are continuing to learn?
With schools across the nation closed because of the coronavirus pandemic, a key question is: How many students are continuing to learn?Mike Brake | April 21, 2020
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Budget & Tax
Amid state budget crunch, shift to virtual learning should save millions
On March 25 the Oklahoma State Board of Education voted to close all public schools, and students and teachers began preparing for online learning. These closures provide an opportunity for cost savings while the lights are off.Curtis Shelton | April 21, 2020
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Education
Amid millions for K-12 schools, lobbyist group opposes aid for private sector
The Oklahoma State School Board Association (OSSBA) has declared its opposition to the provision of some federal aid to families with children in private schools, declaring education providers in the private sector are not facing “a pandemic-related emergency.”Ray Carter | April 21, 2020
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Culture & the Family
The many shades of social distancing
“Shelter-in-place” decrees go beyond social distancing—beyond the first six feet, or a mask, or other basic (but very efficient) protections—to impose much more extreme barriers. They assume some benefit and ignore costs.Trent England | April 21, 2020
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Budget & Tax
No rapid recovery expected for Oklahoma’s economy
Employment in Oklahoma is not expected to rebound to pre-coronavirus levels for two years, and state tax collections are falling to 2016 levels. In response, Gov. Kevin Stitt called on lawmakers to tap state savings and to reduce spending to “smooth out” financial challenges over the next few years.Ray Carter | April 21, 2020
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Judicial Reform, Law & Principles
Put tort reform in the Oklahoma Constitution
The Oklahoma Supreme Court conducts itself more as a rolling constitutional convention than an appellate court. The Legislature, and the people, should not tolerate the Court’s overreach.Benjamin Lepak | April 20, 2020
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Budget & Tax
Democrats oppose any reduction in state spending
The shutdowns caused by the government’s COVID-19 response have devastated business and family budgets across Oklahoma, forcing many working families to make hard financial choices.Ray Carter | April 20, 2020
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Health Care, Culture & the Family
Stitt: Testing key to state’s reopening
Gov. Kevin Stitt and other officials say improved tracking of the COVID-19 virus will be crucial in reopening Oklahoma’s economy in the coming weeks.Ray Carter | April 17, 2020
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Budget & Tax, Education
Online shift may save school funds, but numbers remain elusive
Now that all Oklahoma public schools have shifted to distance learning, potentially significant savings could be achieved for many previously routine expenses. But state officials do not have that data and existing law may indirectly encourage school officials to spend those savings before July.Ray Carter | April 17, 2020
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Education
Digital learning and homeschooling during—and after—the crisis
Digital learning and homeschooling have hit K-12 education like—well, like a pandemic. As in so many other sectors, from politics to business to the movies, people are asking to what extent things can ever return to normal from the drastic changes imposed by our public health emergency.Greg Forster, Ph.D. | April 17, 2020