Articles
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Education
Oklahoma Senate approves longer school year, sends bill to Stitt
The Oklahoma Senate has approved legislation to increase the state’s minimum school year from 166 to 173 days beginning in 2027-2028, sending the measure to Gov. Kevin Stitt.Ray Carter | April 28, 2026
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Education
Demand pushes Legislature to expand Oklahoma school-choice program
With nearly 40,000 students using Oklahoma’s Parental Choice Tax Credit program this year and demand projected to exceed the current $250 million cap, state lawmakers have approved a $25 million increase for the 2026-2027 school year.Ray Carter | April 28, 2026
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Good Government
State treasurer attacked for awarding contract to lowest bidder
Oklahoma State Treasurer Todd Russ faced criticism from an online publication for voting to award an investment-advisory contract to the lowest bidder. Russ says the report “is not journalism—it’s an attempt to create suspicion where none exists.”Ray Carter | April 27, 2026
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Education
School-choice opponents think everyone is ‘rich’
As lawmakers move to raise the cap on Oklahoma’s popular Parental Choice Tax Credit program, opponents have shifted to arguing that most participating families are “rich”—a claim contradicted by state data.Jonathan Small | April 27, 2026
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Budget & Tax
Oklahoma Senate panel advances plan to redirect tobacco-settlement funds
Oklahoma lawmakers are moving to give voters a say in redirecting a portion of the state’s $2.2 billion Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust, citing decades of poor health outcomes despite heavy TSET spending.Ray Carter | April 23, 2026
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Education
Democrat lawmakers express frustration over public school failures for vulnerable students
Democratic lawmakers Aletia Timmons and Ellyn Hefner recently expressed frustration that some Oklahoma public schools fail to follow federal special-education law.Ray Carter | April 23, 2026
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Education
OCPA Praises New Reading Law
Oklahoma’s new reading law puts the state on a path to much-improved literacy rates and therefore greater future prosperity.Staff | April 22, 2026
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Economy
The social and economic downsides of SQ 832
The minimum wage has historically produced unintended economic and social consequences, particularly for low-skilled teenagers.Byron Schlomach, Ph.D. | April 22, 2026
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Economy
California’s wage experiment offers warning as Oklahoma weighs SQ 832
A recent study from the University of California, Santa Cruz, finds that California’s $20 minimum wage for fast-food workers has led to reduced hours, slower hiring, and higher menu prices.Curtis Shelton | April 21, 2026
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Education, Good Government
Bill forcing OSSAA meetings into public view clears Senate panel
A Senate committee advanced House Bill 2153, which would force the Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association to hold open, public meetings whenever it rules on student eligibility, rule violations, or hardship waivers.Ray Carter | April 21, 2026