Articles
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Education
Walters defends teacher incentive-pay plan
During a legislative budget hearing, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters told lawmakers his proposed incentive-pay plan, which would provide up to $10,000 in increased pay to the best teachers, will be particularly beneficial in retaining promising young teachers who would enjoy a much more rapid path to higher pay than under the current system.Ray Carter | February 1, 2023
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Education
Rural Oklahomans not alone in supporting school choice
Polling and election results have shown Oklahomans support school choice, including strong support among those living in rural areas, despite critics’ claims that school choice won’t work in rural communities.Ray Carter | January 31, 2023
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Law & Principles, Culture & the Family
Oklahoma leaders working to help families prosper
One of the few upsides to the federal fiscal crisis is that it has prompted good policy responses at the state level.Jonathan Small | January 31, 2023
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Budget & Tax
Report: Oklahoma personal income tax bigger issue than business taxes
Oklahoma’s business taxes are not a major factor in business expansion or relocation decisions, but the state’s personal income tax remains a challenge cited by many business officials, according to a review conducted by the Oklahoma Legislative Office of Fiscal Transparency (LOFT).Ray Carter | January 30, 2023
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Budget & Tax, Education
Critics claim $330 million increase ‘cuts’ school spending
Legislators say these attacks, untethered from reality, do nothing to foster serious debate on Oklahoma’s education challenges.Ray Carter | January 27, 2023
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Education
Walters’ plan: $10,000 teacher performance-pay increase
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters’ newly unveiled budget plan would provide performance-pay increases of up to $10,000 for teachers along with $100 million in new funding to make certain that Oklahoma students learn to read by the end of the third grade.Ray Carter | January 26, 2023
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Education
Stitt touts $5,000 per student for school choice program
In an interview on Fox News, Gov. Kevin Stitt said he wants Oklahoma parents to have at least $5,000 per child in state funding to use for private-school tuition as part of a proposed statewide school-choice program.Ray Carter | January 26, 2023
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Education
Study: School choice doesn’t harm rural schools
A new study shows that as school-choice programs increase education options in rural areas, they are not associated with the closure of existing public schools in rural counties.Ray Carter | January 25, 2023
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Education
Statewide, parents are sending message on school choice
I’ve recently noted that voters have sent a message on school choice by overwhelmingly electing its supporters to statewide and legislative offices. But Oklahoma parents have separately sent an equally loud message by voting with their feet and pocketbooks.Jonathan Small | January 25, 2023
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Education
Walters promises nation’s ‘most comprehensive’ reading plan
Newly elected State Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters promised lawmakers his administration will soon unveil “the most comprehensive reading plan in the country” to reverse the significant decline in student literacy that occurred under his Democratic predecessor, Joy Hofmeister.Ray Carter | January 24, 2023