Articles
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Education
Four schools spend six-figure sum on contract lobbyists
Four school districts—Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Bixby, and Jenks—spent nearly $200,000 combined in taxpayer funding on contract lobbyists during the 2018-2019 school year, records show.Ray Carter | August 21, 2019
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Budget & Tax
LOFT Oversight Committee debates how to measure effectiveness
Members of the Oversight Committee for the Legislative Office of Fiscal Transparency (LOFT) voted Tuesday to begin the process of hiring a director for the newly created office, but much of the meeting was spent discussing a more fundamental question: How can officials best measure the effectiveness of LOFT without making it subject to undue political influence?Ray Carter | August 20, 2019
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Health Care
Oklahoma officials prepare for federal Medicaid cuts
In the last few years, the federal match for state dollars spent on Medicaid in Oklahoma has increased by a dramatic rate. But officials don’t expect that to last, and are preparing for future cuts in federal funding.Ray Carter | August 19, 2019
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Health Care
Federal government quashes states’ plans to reform Medicaid
In recent years, both the Trump and Obama administrations have rejected states’ proposals to reform their Medicaid programs and have scaled back federal Medicaid matching dollars.Kaitlyn Finley | August 16, 2019
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Health Care
Health care committee leaders say group’s work is bigger than Medicaid
The leaders of a legislative working group examining Medicaid expansion say the group’s goal is to dramatically change Oklahomans’ health outcomes—and concerns about government expense should be put aside for now.Ray Carter | August 15, 2019
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Education
Approaching her third sobriety birthday, Mission Academy graduate looks to the future
Mission Academy, operated by the nonprofit Teen Recovery Solutions, is one of some 44 similar schools nationwide, bent on reclaiming young people long lost to drug and alcohol addiction.Mike Brake | August 15, 2019
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Health Care
Lawmakers told behaviors to blame for most of Oklahoma’s health problems
Members of the Healthcare Working Group, a bicameral special committee studying potential expansion of Medicaid to able-bodied adults, were told Wednesday that personal behaviors are more to blame for many of Oklahoma’s low health rankings than a lack of insurance coverage.Ray Carter | August 15, 2019
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Criminal Justice
Punishment and crime: How they are (and are not) related
Changes to state penal codes can have a significant impact on reducing state prison populations. Oklahoma policymakers should continue to pursue new criminal justice reform policies to safely lower the state’s high incarceration rate.Kaitlyn Finley | August 13, 2019
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Education
School funding surges, but to what end?
Over the last two legislative sessions, lawmakers have increased K-12 school appropriations by 20 percent, funneling $638 million more into the system, boosting teacher pay by a combined total average of more than $7,000 apiece, and devoting millions more to classroom funding. But so far, lawmakers have little to show for it.Ray Carter | August 12, 2019
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Education
Powerful iron triangle resists parental choice
Oklahomans favor policies which give parents more educational options. However, enacting those policies has proven to be difficult. A simple metaphor can help explain why.Brandon Dutcher | August 11, 2019