Authors
Ray Carter
Director, Center for Independent Journalism
Ray Carter is the director of OCPA’s Center for Independent Journalism. He has two decades of experience in journalism and communications. He previously served as senior Capitol reporter for The Journal Record, media director for the Oklahoma House of Representatives, and chief editorial writer at The Oklahoman. As a reporter for The Journal Record, Carter received 12 Carl Rogan Awards in four years—including awards for investigative reporting, general news reporting, feature writing, spot news reporting, business reporting, and sports reporting. While at The Oklahoman, he was the recipient of several awards, including first place in the editorial writing category of the Associated Press/Oklahoma News Executives Carl Rogan Memorial News Excellence Competition for an editorial on the history of racism in the Oklahoma legislature.
Recent Articles
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Higher Education
OU student: No intent to cause controversy with essay
University of Oklahoma junior Samantha Fulnecky says she was blindsided when her reaction essay—arguing that gender is binary and grounding her view in Christian convictions—earned a zero. She says she didn’t know her online instructor identified as transgender and wasn’t trying to provoke anyone.Ray Carter | December 3, 2025
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Law & Principles
Eric Swalwell touted as open-primary success
Activists pushing State Question 836 claim a California-style “top two” primary will give Oklahoma more moderate candidates, yet their own flagship report praising that system held up one of Congress’s most aggressively partisan Democrats—Eric Swalwell—as a model success.Ray Carter | December 2, 2025
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Higher Education
OU probes claim of religious discrimination after student given zero
A University of Oklahoma instructor has been placed on administrative leave while officials investigate a junior student’s allegation that she was discriminated against for expressing Christian beliefs in an assigned “reaction paper” on gender.Ray Carter | December 1, 2025
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Higher Education
Pattern of anti-Christian bias? OU hit with new complaint
A new discrimination complaint at the University of Oklahoma is reigniting long-running concerns about hostility toward Christian or conservative viewpoints on campus.Ray Carter | November 25, 2025
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Education
Experts: Oklahoma can restore reading gains without massive new spending
Without massive spending increases, Mississippi soared into the nation’s top 10 in reading. Oklahoma, meanwhile, watched its reading scores collapse even as school revenue climbed to record highs.Ray Carter | November 24, 2025
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Education
Charter schools outperform OKCPS despite similar poverty levels
Newly released state test results show that Oklahoma City–area charter schools are outperforming the traditional Oklahoma City Public Schools district by a wide margin, with charter students testing proficient at more than twice the rate of their district peers.Ray Carter | November 20, 2025
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Law & Principles
Top-two primary proposal draws criticism—from California’s own elections chief
State Question 836 would replace Oklahoma’s party primaries with a California-style “top two” system. But even California’s own secretary of state says this flawed system disenfranchises smaller parties and limits voter choice.Ray Carter | November 19, 2025
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Education
GOP voters back expanding Oklahoma’s school-choice tax credit, poll shows
A new poll shows Oklahoma Republican voters overwhelmingly support the Parental Choice Tax Credit program—and want lawmakers to eliminate the current $250 million cap that risks shutting out families as demand spikes.Ray Carter | November 18, 2025
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Education
A $250,000 state superintendent? Oklahoma’s pay-raise panel triggers scrutiny
Oklahoma’s Statewide Official Compensation Commission has drawn criticism after voting to double the state superintendent’s salary to $250,000—making the position the highest-paid statewide elected office in Oklahoma and among the highest-paid education chiefs in the country.Ray Carter | November 17, 2025
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Higher Education
Is the OSU staffer who intimidated a conservative student still employed?
Weeks after berating a conservative student, an OSU staff member remains employed, according to multiple sources. The confrontation, first reported (with audio) by OCPA, drew national and international attention and prompted some lawmakers to demand her dismissal.Ray Carter | November 17, 2025
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