Higher Education
Jonathan Small | May 19, 2025
SB 701 is a step in the right direction, expanding options to help students get to work
Jonathan Small
It’s no secret that rising costs have made higher education out of reach for many students.
Many higher ed reforms need to be enacted in the years ahead. One step in the right direction is SB 701 by state Sen. John Haste (R-Broken Arrow) and state Rep. Toni Hasenbeck (R-Elgin). The bill allows the State Regents for Higher Education to approve “functional exceptions.”
“Functional exception” means an expansion or exception to assigned institutional function or mission to permit an institution of higher education within the State System of Higher Education to offer courses or degree programs outside the institution's assigned function or mission to meet unmet workforce needs.
Getting rid of artificial barriers will provide greater access for students, enabling them to join the workforce more quickly. OCPA supports SB 701 and is adding it to our Legislative Scorecard.
Jonathan Small
President
Jonathan Small, C.P.A., serves as President and joined the staff in December of 2010. Previously, Jonathan served as a budget analyst for the Oklahoma Office of State Finance, as a fiscal policy analyst and research analyst for the Oklahoma House of Representatives, and as director of government affairs for the Oklahoma Insurance Department. Small’s work includes co-authoring “Economics 101” with Dr. Arthur Laffer and Dr. Wayne Winegarden, and his policy expertise has been referenced by The Oklahoman, the Tulsa World, National Review, the L.A. Times, The Hill, the Wall Street Journal and the Huffington Post. His weekly column “Free Market Friday” is published by the Journal Record and syndicated in 27 markets. A recipient of the American Legislative Exchange Council’s prestigious Private Sector Member of the Year award, Small is nationally recognized for his work to promote free markets, limited government and innovative public policy reforms. Jonathan holds a B.A. in Accounting from the University of Central Oklahoma and is a Certified Public Accountant.