Articles
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Budget & Tax
A look at Oklahoma mental-health spending
In his continuing blog series on spending trends at Oklahoma's largest state agencies, OCPA's Curtis Shelton looks at the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (ODMHSAS).Curtis Shelton | August 7, 2024
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Education
Number of Oklahoma schools serving special-needs students continues to grow
An Oklahoma scholarship program serving children with special needs, adoptive children, and foster children allows students to use tax dollars to pay for private-school tuition. The average scholarship is $7,968 and the number of participating schools continues to grow.Ray Carter | August 6, 2024
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Economy
No-income-tax states outpacing Oklahoma
IRS interstate migration data show that states with no personal income tax are outpacing Oklahoma, particularly when it comes to attracting higher-income individuals.Ray Carter | August 5, 2024
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Judicial Reform
Oklahoma Supreme Court justices are legislating from the bench
The Oklahoma Supreme Court controls dictionary definitions with the untethered freedom of a fiction writer—and does so after a law has been passed. That effectively makes the Court both the legislative and judicial branch in one entity.Jonathan Small | August 5, 2024
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Energy
ESG study criticized for ‘significant flaws’; UCO prof defends work
According to the American Accountability Foundation, ESG interests paid a UCO professor about $6,800 “to manufacture a ‘study’ showing that anti-ESG laws are bad.”Ray Carter | August 2, 2024
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Law & Principles, Culture & the Family
As ‘gender identity’ controversy escalates, Oklahoma pushes back against Biden regulation
Even as controversy intensifies regarding “glorified male violence against women,” a federal judge has issued a preliminary injunction that prevents the Biden administration from forcing Oklahoma schools to allow men to use women’s bathrooms and locker rooms.Ray Carter | August 1, 2024
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Higher Education
OU hire tied to student civil-rights violations
OU’s new hire as institutional equity officer, Honey Ussery, was accused of violating a student’s civil rights when she held a similar position at the University of Mississippi—and the student at the center of that lawsuit prevailed in court.Ray Carter | August 1, 2024
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Judicial Reform
Another example of the Oklahoma Supreme Court’s problematic use of the ‘special law’ provision
We’re starting to see a pattern here: The prohibition on special laws is frequently used by the Oklahoma Supreme Court to strike down laws it deems politically unpalatable.Ryan Haynie | August 1, 2024
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Education
Despite massive spending, study finds COVID learning loss persists
Despite the massive government spending meant to address COVID learning loss, a new report finds that students across the country continue to perform worse academically than their prepandemic counterparts.Ray Carter | July 30, 2024
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Energy
Bolstering Oklahoma law, pensioner sues over ESG investing
A class-action lawsuit targeting American Airlines’ reliance on ESG firms in the management of its employees’ pensions shows that some retired workers agree with Oklahoma’s anti-ESG stance.Ray Carter | July 29, 2024