Articles
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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
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Education, Culture & the Family
To oppose school choice, Democrats attack religious freedom
To combat the growing public demand for robust school choice in Oklahoma, Democratic lawmakers have filed bills that would infringe on Oklahomans’ First Amendment rights and impose regulations to make private schools less effective.Ray Carter | January 24, 2023
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Education
The sky won’t fall when Oklahoma empowers parents
The special interests who run Oklahoma’s public school monopoly need to show a little more confidence in their own schools. If parents are satisfied, they won’t leave.Brandon Dutcher | January 23, 2023
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Education, Culture & the Family
Piedmont father says son expelled for opposing transgender bathrooms
A father of six said Piedmont school officials expelled his son from school, and imposed other punishments, because the youth expressed opposition to a proposed federal law that would require schools to grant bathroom access based on individuals’ self-proclaimed gender identity rather than sex.Ray Carter | January 20, 2023
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Budget & Tax
It’s (still) time for tax reform
Oklahoma has a chance to stay ahead of the curve this legislative session with an increase in revenue creating an environment where significant tax reform is being seriously discussed at the state Capitol.Curtis Shelton | January 20, 2023