Articles
-
Economy
SQ 832 risks killing the very jobs that keep people out of poverty
Most minimum-wage workers are young and quickly move into higher-paying jobs, and that early work experience is often the first step toward long-term economic stabilCurtis Shelton | April 29, 2026
-
Education
Oklahoma Senate votes to open OSSAA hearings, scrap transfer-year penalty
The Oklahoma Senate has approved legislation requiring most Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association eligibility and rules-violation hearings to be conducted under the state’s open-meeting laws.Ray Carter | April 29, 2026
-
Economy
Report finds Oklahoma poverty fell far more without wage hike
A report released by supporters of State Question 832 estimates only a one-point reduction in poverty under a $15 wage, far below the decline Oklahoma achieved from 2010 to 2019.Ray Carter | April 29, 2026
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
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