Articles
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Education
‘Break glass in case of emergency’: Oklahoma Senate joins reading debate
Oklahoma lawmakers in both chambers have advanced major reading reforms that would end social promotion and force early intervention for struggling students.Ray Carter | February 25, 2026
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Education
Effort to handcuff school-choice program fails in Oklahoma Senate committee
An Oklahoma Senate committee has defeated legislation that would have undermined the state’s Parental Choice Tax Credit program.Ray Carter | February 23, 2026
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Education
As demand rises, Oklahoma Senate panel votes to raise Parental Choice Tax Credit ceiling
Oklahoma lawmakers are moving to expand the state’s Parental Choice Tax Credit program as rising demand pushes the current $250 million cap to the breaking point. SB 1380 passed a Senate committee on a 10-2 vote that broke along party lines, with Republicans in support and Democrats opposed.Ray Carter | February 23, 2026
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Law & Principles
Oklahoma House panel advances measures mandating immigration verification for welfare
Two bills to bar illegal immigrants from receiving taxpayer-funded welfare benefits have cleared committee and are headed to the Oklahoma House floor. One Democrat lawmaker countered that the bills may deter illegal immigrants from seeking welfare benefits for family members.Ray Carter | February 19, 2026
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Education
House panel advances bill requiring school districts to post share of funds going to instruction
Oklahoma schools would have to prominently disclose what share of their budgets goes to classroom instruction under House Bill 3711. The bill’s author says any district confident in its priorities should have no problem showing the public how much is actually spent on instruction.Ray Carter | February 19, 2026
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Education
Oklahoma public school revenue surges to nearly $15,000 per student
New figures from the Oklahoma Cost Accounting System show public schools took in $9.59 billion from local, state, and federal sources in the 2024–2025 school year—nearly $15,000 per student when divided by average daily attendance. That’s a 53% jump in per-student revenue since 2018.Ray Carter | February 18, 2026
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Economy
SQ 832 ties Oklahoma wages to NYC socialist mayor’s agenda
If approved, State Question 832 would peg Oklahoma’s minimum wage to the urban-center cost-of-living index. This would effectively allow leaders in high-cost cities, such as Zohran Mamdani, to indirectly dictate Oklahoma’s wage law.Ray Carter | February 17, 2026
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Budget & Tax, Law & Principles
Oklahoma’s ‘path to zero’ income tax survives first test in legislature
A proposal to repeal Oklahoma’s “path to zero” income-tax law—an automatic trigger that reduces rates whenever state revenues surge—failed in the Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee on a 2–9 party-line vote.Ray Carter | February 16, 2026
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Education
Third-grade reading reform moves ahead
Oklahoma lawmakers have advanced HB 4420, a sweeping literacy bill that revives mandatory retention and early intervention requirements similar to Mississippi’s nationally acclaimed model.Ray Carter | February 16, 2026
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Education
Amid record school revenues, Oklahoma teacher hiring lags administrative growth
A new analysis from Georgetown University’s Edunomics Lab shows that despite more than $3 billion in additional funding since the 2018 teacher walkout, Oklahoma schools have added relatively few teachers while rapidly expanding non-teaching staff.Ray Carter | February 16, 2026