A personal archive of the published articles sent from Oklahoma's Premier Conservative Think Tank.
A review of Oklahoma news databases in the last century helps put all the recent “teacher shortage” headlines in perspective. Decade after decade, the great teacher shortage that will destroy our schools is always predicted, threatening, looming, descending, about to strike.
The State Board of Education has approved a budget for K-12 public schools that requests an additional $219 million, but board members expressed concern the proposal misleads by omission and fails to provide a carefully considered long-range plan for Oklahoma schools.
State government’s reputation for oversight of finances took a hit at a recent Senate study when officials discussed longstanding confusion over how much money has been placed in a fund in existence for more than six decades, and conceded they are not certain how that money has been spent.
Under existing Oklahoma law, people arrested for crimes can post bail and be released even if they pose a threat to others, while other individuals posing no threat remain behind bars awaiting a hearing because of poverty, officials told lawmakers at a legislative study.
Tennessee announced it is seeking to cap total Medicaid spending by utilizing block grants. If the state’s proposal is approved by the Trump administration, other states would likely follow suit.
One of the top-performing schools in Tulsa is also among the Oklahoma schools facing the greatest challenge when it comes to facilities—because it is a charter school.
In 1999, the legislation allowing charter schools to open in Oklahoma was signed into law. The repercussions are still being felt today and were hailed by hundreds of parents and children at an anniversary celebration in Oklahoma City.
To improve Oklahoma's K-12 school system, lawmakers were encouraged to adopt the ideas in a 1990s education law that combined increase in education funding, while simultaneously implementing large reforms.
In Oklahoma, the state government efforts to connect employers and workers is fragmented and disjointed. Employers and workers alike struggle to navigate the maze of Oklahoma government workforce entities--it's time to streamline the process.
While many criminal justice reforms have been sold as a way to lower crime rates and taxpayer costs, lawmakers were told the reform process currently requires additional spending on treatment programs even as its unintended consequences are reducing the incentive for offenders to seek drug treatment and fueling a rise in homelessness.
The recent attack on Saudi Arabia’s oil industry puts into light Oklahoma’s precarious economic position.
If Oklahoma expands its Medicaid program to cover able-bodied adults, as allowed by the federal Affordable Care Act, Oklahoma government will have to either raise taxes or divert money from other programs, U.S. Sen. James Lankford warns.
When the Lindsey Nicole Henry Scholarship program was opened to foster and adopted children in 2017, no one knew how popular it would be. While participation in the program has grown steadily in three years, for at least one family with five foster and adopted children, the program extension has been literally life-changing.
U.S. Sen. James Lankford says he believes the Democratic-controlled U.S. House of Representatives will impeach President Donald Trump before the end of the year, but suggested the Senate is unlikely to convict Trump and remove him from office because it appears Trump is being impeached simply over policy differences.
The National Education Association is urging its members, which include a sizable share of Oklahoma teachers, to lobby Congress to pass new gun-control laws.