Articles
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Education, Law & Principles
Oklahoma education group: Parents not ‘tuned in’ to school needs
An activist group has urged lawmakers to kill a bill that would move school-board elections to the November general-election ballot, claiming increased voter turnout would be bad because those additional voters are not “tuned in” to school needs.Ray Carter | February 16, 2024
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Budget & Tax
Calls for tax cuts increase after revenue growth
After the State Board of Equalization approved the final revenue certification that determines how much money is available to lawmakers during the 2024 legislative session, Governor Stitt noted that tax cuts can be easily passed under these financial conditions.Ray Carter | February 15, 2024
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Law & Principles
Online child-protections advance
Two measures intended to reduce online child exploitation and harm won easy approval in Oklahoma House committees this week.Ray Carter | February 14, 2024
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Education
Some Oklahoma schools have more than a month of ‘virtual days’
Roughly one in five Oklahoma school districts shifted students to “virtual learning” for at least three work weeks of the school year. Two lawmakers say the overuse of “virtual days” is unfair to parents, students, and taxpayers.Ray Carter | February 13, 2024
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Law & Principles
Ban on ranked-choice voting advances
Under a bill advanced by the House Elections and Ethics Committee, the practice of ranked-choice voting would not be allowed in Oklahoma elections.Ray Carter | February 12, 2024
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Education
School-board election change gets strong support
The bill’s author says moving local school board elections to November will increase voter turnout and save taxpayer dollars.Ray Carter | February 12, 2024
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Higher Education, Law & Principles
Court order protects students from OSU retaliation
OSU argued that students should be forced to reveal their identities if they challenge the university’s policies on free speech. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit disagreed, siding with the students.Ray Carter | February 9, 2024
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Education
Oklahoma schools using virtual days to poach teachers, cook records
At some Oklahoma public schools, more than one in four school days are occurring online rather than in person, effectively generating bogus attendance records for schools, helping districts poach teachers from schools that do provide in-person instruction, and producing as little as 30 minutes of teaching per day even as taxpayers are funding full school days, according to state lawmakers.Ray Carter | February 6, 2024
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Law & Principles
Governor notes Oklahoma ‘reservations’ not normal
In this year’s “State of the State” address, Gov. Kevin Stitt bluntly noted that those supposed reservations in Oklahoma have no relationship to Native American reservations in other states.Ray Carter | February 6, 2024
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Budget & Tax
Stitt: Time to put income tax on path to zero
In his sixth “State of the State” address, Gov. Kevin Stitt urged lawmakers not only to cut taxes but also to put the personal income tax on the path to full elimination over time.Ray Carter | February 5, 2024