OKPOLICY.ORG
In The Know is your daily briefing on Oklahoma policy-related news. OK Policy encourages the support of Oklahoma’s state and local media, which are vital to an informed citizenry. Inclusion of a story does not necessarily mean endorsement by the Oklahoma Policy Institute. Some stories included here are behind paywall or require subscription. Subscribe to In The Know and see past editions.
New from OK Policy
Oklahoma should adopt IRS Direct File: Filing taxes can be expensive, difficult, and time-consuming. Some people file their taxes themselves, while others pay a tax preparer. However, most people use paid tax preparation software like TurboTax. The IRS Direct File program aims to change that by providing a free, accessible, and quick option to file federal taxes. It could even make filing state taxes easier. The state of Oklahoma can easily opt in to Direct File for the 2025 tax season. Oklahoma should offer taxpayers free and easy filing by integrating our state online tax filing tool, OkTAP, with IRS Direct File. [Aanahita Ervin / OK Policy]
Join Our Team as Regional Organizer for the Central Region: OK Policy is currently hiring for Regional Organizer for the Central Region. The position supports OK Policy in the development and implementation of virtual and community-based advocacy actions that further policy goals. Regional organizers work as part of OK Policy’s grassroots advocacy arm Together Oklahoma (TOK) to engage communities and affinity groups. Application deadline: 11:59 p.m., Sept. 29, 2024. [Full Job Description] | [Apply]
Oklahoma News
State grand jury investigating Ryan Walters, misspent pandemic relief funds, sources say: The state’s multicounty grand jury is looking into the misspending of pandemic relief funds and state schools Superintendent Ryan Walters, according to multiple sources. Grand jurors heard testimony last week about Walters and issues with GEER Fund programs in Oklahoma, sources said. They issued no indictments. Their next session is Oct. 8-10. [The Oklahoman]
Vote on Oklahoma minimum wage hike delayed nearly two years, longest wait in decade: Oklahomans will vote on whether to raise the minimum wage in almost two years. Gov. Kevin Stitt could have made it happen much sooner. Instead, he set the longest period in the last decade between an initiative petition’s signatures being turned in and its actual election. [KOSU]
- Stitt Sets June 2026 Election Date for Minimum Wage Question: [Oklahoma Watch]
- From OK Policy: SQ 832 election date is longest delay for a state question in past 10 years and SQ 832: Minimum Wage Increase | Information and Resources
Barriers to divorce in Oklahoma may endanger lives: A recent report from Oklahoma Access to Justice Foundation found that a combination of high costs and lack of standardized forms could deter those seeking a divorce. Advocates say that’s especially concerning for those at risk of violence from their partner. [Public Radio Tulsa]
- Report: Breaking Up Is Hard to Do: A Study of Oklahoma’s Divorce Process [Oklahoma Access to Justice Foundation]
State Government News
Program offering free naloxone from Oklahoma vending machines comes to abrupt end: State mental health officials are abruptly pulling the plug on a vending machine initiative designed to provide Oklahomans access to overdose-prevention medications and testing strips. [Oklahoma Voice]
- Oklahoma Department of Mental Health will remove Narcan vending machines by end of September [KGOU]
Oklahoma Corporation Commission feud continues in Supreme Court: Corporation Commissioner Bob Anthony responded last week to a request for the Oklahoma Supreme Court to weigh in on an investigation of alleged misconduct by fellow Commissioner Todd Hiett. [Tulsa World]
Bringing back Oklahoma’s prison rodeo: Pros, cons aired at Capitol: A proposal to resurrect a rodeo at the state prison in McAlester, which stalled during the last session of the Legislature, may be back in the saddle again after an interim study was held on the topic Tuesday. [Tulsa World]
Capitol Insider: LOFT to investigate State Department of Education funding: House Appropriations and Budget Chair, State Representative Kevin Wallace, has requested the Legislative Office of Fiscal Transparency to investigate the State Department of Education, and he is pushing for an October 29th meeting date. [KGOU]
Federal Government News
‘Gross negligence’: Shortages in USDA food aid for Native Americans blasted in Congress: U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack apologized to tribal communities this week for delays in shipments and delivery of expired food during a tense congressional hearing that highlighted widespread failures within the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations. [Oklahoma Voice]
Tribal Nations News
Dozens rally outside Noble County school following Ponca student leaving class with hair cut: A 7-year-old autistic boy named Asiah returned home from school with his bangs cut. Although a school investigation concluded he cut his hair in the classroom, his mother disagrees. [KOSU]
- Red Rock community rallies after Native American boy’s hair cut at school [Fox 25]
Delaware Nation partners with OU Libraries to digitize tribal artifacts: The Delaware Nation, a federally recognized tribe based in Anadarko, Oklahoma, has received a $75,000 grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services through its Native American/Native Hawaiian Museum and Library Services program. [Journal Record]
Voting and Election News
Democracy Day Guide: How to Track Spending in Oklahoma Elections: Money is flowing freely into Oklahoma political races. More than $11 million, including $4.3 million in independent expenditures, was spent to influence voters leading up to the June primary and August runoff elections. That’s nearly double the $6.2 million spent over a similar period in 2020. [Oklahoma Watch]
Campaign funds can be used for child care, Oklahoma Ethics Commission rules: Oklahoma candidates and politicians will now be allowed to use campaign funds to pay for child care while they campaign or perform other official duties. [Tulsa World]
Taxpayers owe about $40,000 for ballot recount, Tulsa County Election Board says: The manual recounts of the Aug. 27 elections for mayor and District 3 City Council cost $52,523, according to figures provided by the Tulsa County Election Board on Friday. [Tulsa World]
Data indicates voting by noncitizens is rare. Republicans are pressing measures to make sure of it: Only U.S. citizens are eligible to vote in this fall’s election for president and other top offices. While that’s nothing new, the potential for noncitizens to register or vote has been receiving a lot of attention lately. [Associated Press]
Opinion: Oklahoma’s election system frustrates this politics editor. No wonder other voters don’t show up: For the first time in many years, I didn’t vote in an Oklahoma primary election. It might sound odd coming from the editor of a political nonprofit publication and from someone who typically shows up at even the lowest turnout elections, including one where a single school board race was on the ballot. But when Election Day arrived in June, I felt an unusual surge of apathy and decided not to drive to my polling location. [Janelle Stecklein / Oklahoma Voice]
Education News
Emerging pandemic effects on elementary students spark calls for support: Although educators and parents have been working for years to help students recover from drops in test scores as a result of COVID-19 lockdowns — commonly known as pandemic “learning loss” — another emerging effect is straining an already beleaguered educational system as students begin the new school year. [NonDoc]
- Know and Grow Oklahoma: Community Discovery Report [Potts Family Foundation & OSU Center for Family Resilience]
New documentary on public education in Oklahoma is a ‘love letter’ to teachers: OSU’s College of Education and Human Sciences has released “Educating Oklahoma,” a full-length documentary exploring public education in Oklahoma while highlighting the value of teachers and the work they do. [The Oklahoman]
- Watch: Educating Oklahoma (video)
Future teachers who face challenges look to leave Oklahoma: There’s a multitude of problems facing Oklahoma teachers. Staff shortages, low pay and state mandates on what can and can’t be taught in the classroom. Some people still want to be teachers, just not in the Sooner State. [Public Radio Tulsa]
Teachers who received bonus in error now trying to compel information from Ryan Walters: Settlement talks in a defamation lawsuit filed by two teachers against state schools Superintendent Ryan Walters and the Oklahoma State Department of Education have broken down, court documents show. [The Oklahoman]
East Central University to debut rural education doctoral program: East Central University announced, pending accreditation approval expected next month, it would offer its first-ever doctoral program: a Doctor of Education in Rural Education. [KGOU]
What are school lockdown drills like for the littlest students?: State statute specifically requires all students to participate in lockdown drills, which means early childhood educators have had to learn how to adapt those drills and ensuing conversations into something understandable and not overly distressing for a 4- or 5-year-old. [Tulsa World]
Why Some Christians Don’t Want to Bring the Bible Into Public Schools: As the idea of incorporating the Bible into classrooms gains traction, concerns about the mission of public schools — and differences across the faith — have led even some conservative Christians to push back. [New York Times]
Health News
How Oklahoma therapists use Dungeons & Dragons to improve mental health: For many people, starting therapy can be intimidating. In Oklahoma City, therapists are trying to fix that using a new approach — Dungeons & Dragons. [KOSU]
Report points out accessibility issues in Tulsa: A new study by Forbes Health ranks 93 U.S. cities from best to worst for people with accessibility needs and declares Tulsa to be among the least accessible. [Journal Record]
Opinion: Grateful for 35 years of education and comfort from NAMI Tulsa: This year marks the 35th anniversary of NAMI Tulsa. It was originally the Tulsa Alliance on Mental Illness but later affiliated with the national National Alliance on Mental Illness nonprofit. It is a volunteer-based, grassroots organization serving the needs in the mental health community of Tulsa and eastern Oklahoma. [Lesa Clark / Tulsa World]
Criminal Justice News
All 77 sheriff’s offices in Oklahoma to get new grant payouts: Sheriff’s offices in all 77 counties are getting a cash influx in the coming weeks. A new grant program funded by the legislature and set into action by the Attorney General’s office is meant to bridge budget gaps and help free up cash for salary bumps. [KOSU]
Cleveland County commissioners blame ‘mismanagement’ for sheriff’s office layoffs: Layoffs at the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office are the result of mismanagement and overspending by Sheriff Chris Amason, the county’s board of commissioners said Friday. [The Oklahoman]
Logan County grandmother beaten during traffic stop pleads no contest to end 27-month court battle: More than two years after she sustained a broken nose, seven broken ribs and a broken foot in an altercation with a state trooper during a traffic stop, Nancy Kemp pleaded no contest to a pair of charges this week in exchange for two other counts being dropped. [NonDoc]
Housing & Economic Opportunity News
OKC’s Wheeler District population set to double with addition of apartments, more housing: Wheeler, the new urbanist community being built along the Oklahoma River, is set to see its population double with the upcoming construction of the neighborhood’s first apartments. [The Oklahoman]
Economy & Business News
Judge requests reports on Illinois River watershed in case against poultry industry: The poultry industry’s claims that conditions in the Illinois River watershed have improved, negating the need for any cleanup, have gotten the attention of a federal judge. [Tulsa World]
Is it a medical marijuana dispensary or a grower? Shawnee says it’s both — and makes owners pay for both: The city of Shawnee is forcing some dispensary owners to pay for a separate grower license even if they don’t cultivate medical marijuana. [The Oklahoman]
Prairie Surf Studios founder says at least 6 more film productions eyeing Oklahoma: A Tulsan who helped launch Prairie Surf Studios in Oklahoma City says more films are hoping to come to Oklahoma in the wake of Twisters that was produced by Universal Pictures, Warner Brothers, and Amblin Entertainment. [Public Radio Tulsa]
Community News
Teacher arrested while praying during 2020 Trump rally in Tulsa tells her story: More than four years after she was arrested while praying in the middle of a Tulsa street prior to one of then-President Donald Trump’s campaign rallies, Sheila Buck still gets upset when she thinks about the incident. [Tulsa World]
Opinion: The importance of justice, mercy and humility: Micah 6:8 is a popular verse, even for those who don’t know it by chapter and verse. It’s usually quoted by shorthand: What does the Lord require of you? To do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly. It’s a verse that gives most Christians a warm-and-fuzzy feeling. [Rev. Lori Walke / The Oklahoman]
Opinion: The principle of reciprocity, or the Golden Rule, needed as election day approaches: The importance of preserving our democracy, and the concern that it’s at risk of being lost, seem to be the overriding themes of this year’s presidential election. But thoughtful people from both sides of the political divide are exploring ways to not only mitigate this threat, but also to ensure that our democracy thrives. [Leroy Gatlin / The Oklahoman]
Local Headlines
- Prague family granted $11.6 million judgement in wrongful death lawsuit [KFOR]
- Edmond voters face a big (quality of) life decision with November city bond election [The Oklahoman]
Quote of the Day
“Parents/caregivers and providers indicated the vast majority of families are unable to meet basic needs all of the time. This is especially true for families who benefited from additional family supports (e.g., rent assistance, unemployment support, etc.) that were offered during COVID. Discontinuation of these supports and the financial ‘social benefits gap’ leave some families under resourced and unable to meet basic needs.”
-The Potts Family Foundation, along with the OSU Center for Family Resilience, reported that many families are struggling as pandemic-era programs end at a time when inflation has raised the basic costs of living. [Know and Grow Oklahoma: Community Discovery Report] | [NonDoc]
Number of the Day
20,000+
Number of Hispanic businesses in Oklahoma. [Greater Oklahoma City Hispanic Chamber of Commerce]
- Note: Hispanic Heritage Month is Sept. 15 through Oct. 15
Policy Note
Resources for Hispanic Heritage Month: Hispanic Heritage Month provides an additional opportunity to explore the incredible impact Latinas and Latinos have had on the United States for generations. The Latino presence in America spans centuries, predating Spain’s colonization of what is now part of the United States, and they have been an integral part of shaping our nation since the Revolutionary War. Through the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo and the Treaty of Paris that followed the Mexican-American and Spanish-American wars, the United States gained territories in the Southwest and Puerto Rico. This incorporated the people of this area into the United States and further expanded the presence of Hispanic Americans. [National Museum of the American Latino]
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