Articles
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Education, Law & Principles
Fact checking the attacks on HB 1775
Oklahoma teachers are prohibited from teaching that any race is inherently better or worse, or deserves to be discriminated against. They’re welcome to teach about bigotry, but not to try to convince students to be bigots. The fact that a few teachers and politicians find this troubling is itself troubling, and revealing.Trent England | October 10, 2022
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Law & Principles
As radical teachers complain, HB 1775 author says it is ‘doing what it is supposed to do’
By declaring House Bill 1775 is now impeding their work, some teachers—including one self-described radical—are indirectly indicating some concepts broadly associated with Critical Race Theory have been infused into classroom instruction.Ray Carter | October 5, 2022
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Law & Principles
Stitt signs law preventing youth transgender surgeries
Gov. Kevin Stitt has signed legislation that blocks certain funding to Oklahoma Children’s Hospital at OU Health if the facility provides puberty blockers or performs transgender surgeries on youth.Ray Carter | October 4, 2022
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Law & Principles
Blind trust in prosecutors unwise
Oklahomans should be somewhat skeptical of prosecutions and investigations—because politicians often have a hand in them.Jonathan Small | October 4, 2022
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Health Care, Law & Principles
Child-transgender limits headed to governor
Legislation that supporters said would force the closure of a clinic that provides puberty blockers and transgender-surgery services to Oklahoma children won easy approval in the Oklahoma House of Representatives.Ray Carter | September 29, 2022
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Health Care, Law & Principles
OSMA brief: ‘pregnant people’ deserve ‘abortion care’
The Oklahoma State Medical Association (OSMA) has joined an amici curiae brief calling for Oklahoma’s abortion laws to be struck down, declaring those restrictions violate the Oklahoma Constitution’s guarantee of the “right to life.”Ray Carter | September 28, 2022
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Education, Law & Principles
Lankford targets teacher union’s charter
U.S. Sen. James Lankford has filed legislation to strip the National Education Association of its federal charter.Ray Carter | September 20, 2022
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Law & Principles
Tired old pay-to-play criticism falls flat
The politically paranoid always find conspiracies among those on the other side of the political divide, and that tired old pay-to-play criticism falls flat.Jonathan Small & Ryan Haynie | September 15, 2022
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Education, Law & Principles
Transgender bathroom issue extends beyond urban core
Recent controversies regarding the transgender bathroom policies in public schools are not isolated to urban districts or schools in university towns but are cropping up far from Oklahoma’s urban core.Ray Carter | September 8, 2022
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Education, Law & Principles
School bathroom regs adopted; Hofmeister voices concern
Members of the State Board of Education voted to approve emergency regulations that restrict school bathrooms to members of one sex, although State Superintendent of Public Instruction Joy Hofmeister addressed transgender concerns even as she voted in favor of the new regulations.Ray Carter | August 25, 2022