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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
Policy Matters: Report shows work needed to support justice-involved youth: Oklahoma youth, especially those interacting with the state’s justice system, are not well-served by existing public services. This was among the findings in a new report by my Oklahoma Policy Institute colleagues Jill Mencke and Polina Rozhkova. “Reimagining Youth Justice in Oklahoma” provides a data-driven examination of Oklahoma’s youth justice system and suggestions for reforms. [Shiloh Kantz / The Journal Record]
- From OK Policy: Reimagining Youth Justice in Oklahoma: A Landscape Report of the Youth Justice System and Recommendations for Reform
Oklahoma News
After feds raise red flag, officials work to avoid steep decline in graduation rates: Officials from at least three state agencies are working to avoid steep reductions in Oklahoma high school graduation rates next year after federal compliance auditors raised red flags. [Tulsa World]
- Oklahoma graduation rates at risk of dropping under new federal order [Oklahoma Voice]
State Government News
Despite Legal Challenges and Exemptions, GOP Lawmakers Remain Committed to Anti-ESG Law: Oklahoma Republican lawmakers said they will continue offering tweaks to the state’s anti-oil and gas boycott law for financial firms and banks, even though the law itself is on hold pending an appeal at the Oklahoma Supreme Court. [Oklahoma Watch]
Tribal Nations News
Oklahoma voters Theron Wahkinney, Ginny Underwood talk Rock the Native Vote: The pair works with Rock the Native Vote, a statewide group working to boost voter turnout rates among tribal citizens, to encourage civic engagement. [The Oklahoman]
Amazon to fund full scholarships for Cherokee Film Institute’s first class: Inaugural class of students will attend tribe’s film institute tuition-free [The Journal Record]
College of Muscogee Nation receives $278K USDA grant: U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development and Oklahoma State Director Kenneth Corn announced a more than $278,000 grant to the College of the Muscogee Nation to improve the quality of on-campus life for students.
‘It’s a hero’s story’: Chickasaw-language opera to premiere in Oklahoma City: A groundbreaking piece of contemporary classical music is premiering in Oklahoma later this month. Loksi’ Shaali’ means Shell Shaker in the Chickasaw language. It’s also the title of a new opera by Chickasaw classical composer Jerod Tate. [KGOU]
Voting and Election News
Judicial Election Roundup
- Attack ads target 3 Oklahoma Supreme Court justices ahead of November vote [The Oklahoman]
- Multiple campaigns launched seeking retention of Oklahoma Supreme Court justices [Oklahoma Voice]
- From OK Policy: Judges on the 2024 ballot in Oklahoma: What you need to know
- Opinion: Know about judicial retention ballot before voting [Miles Pringle / Tulsa World]
- Opinion: New scandal brewing as dark money groups seek takeover of Oklahoma’s top courts [Bob Burke / Tulsa World]
Election Roundup
- What issues are most important to Oklahoma voters ahead of November? We asked five [The Oklahoman]
- What happens to my mail-in ballot after it’s returned? Oklahoma’s absentee voting process [The Oklahoman]
- Is Hobby Lobby’s David Green helping fund a ‘Stop the Steal’ 2.0?: [The Oklahoman]
- Opinion: Put candidates through a public service lens when making decisions [Ginnie Graham / Tulsa World]
Education News
Oklahoma lawmakers are considering ways to limit cellphone use by students at school: Neither Sen. Adam Pugh nor Sen. Ally Seifried are attorneys, but like a lawyer building a court case, the leaders of the Oklahoma Senate Education Committee have spent two days laying groundwork for what they hope will achieve their goal of removing cellphones from classrooms across the state. [The Oklahoman]
- Oklahoma lawmakers study statewide ban on cell phones in public schools [KOSU]
Norman Public Schools breaks ground on Oklahoma Aviation Academy: Norman Public Schools on Wednesday broke ground on the Oklahoma Aviation Academy campus at Max Westheimer Airport. The $50 million project is funded by a $30 million bond approved by Norman voters last year, with the remainder from the state legislature. [The Journal Record]
Possible suspension of several teaching certificates on Oklahoma Board of Education’s agenda: The Oklahoma State Board of Education is set to meet Thursday morning, with board members set to discuss the possibility of teachers losing their licenses. [KOCO5]
Health News
Experts gather to explore ways to tackle Oklahoma’s mental illness, substance abuse crises: Mental health experts discussed ways to continue solving mental health and substance abuse issues in Oklahoma at a “State of Mental Health” event hosted by the Healthy Minds Policy Initiative on Wednesday. [Oklahoma Voice]
McDonald’s suspending Quarter Pounder sales in some Oklahoma stores amid E. coli outbreak: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration announced Tuesday that multiple public health agencies are investigating an E. coli outbreak linked to Quarter Pounder burgers sold at McDonald’s across 10 states. [The Oklahoman]
- How does Oklahoma test for E. coli? It’s complicated [KFOR]
Economy & Business News
Small non-farm businesses in Comanche, Caddo and Stephens counties among those eligible for disaster loans: Small non-farm businesses in 32 Oklahoma counties, including Comanche, Caddo and Stephens and neighboring counties in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri and Texas are now eligible to apply for low interest federal disaster loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration. [The Lawton Constitution]
Community News
Opinion: Celebrating 10 years of marriage equality, more LGBTQ+ history left to write: It was only 10 years ago this month that marriage equality became the law of the land in Oklahoma when the U.S. Supreme Court let stand a lower federal court’s striking down of the state’s ban on same-sex marriage as unconstitutional in Bishop v. Oklahoma. [Josiah Robinson / Tulsa World]
Local Headlines
- Norman City Council reopens debate over controversial turnpike frontage roads, interchanges [The Oklahoman]
- Tulsa mayor debate sparks policing discussion, spat over political mailer [KOSU]
- Outgoing Councilor Crista Patrick reflects on legacy, struggles repping northeast Tulsa [Public Radio Tulsa]
Quote of the Day
“We are still working with OSDE and the (Oklahoma State) Regents (for Higher Education) to try to fix this for students. If we don’t fix something on how we report something on this to the feds this year, then we have a problem.”
– Brent Haken, State CareerTech Director said when U.S. Department of Education officials expressed concerns about Oklahoma’s Core Curriculum pathway. The alternate pathway allows students to replace a math and science credit with a career and technology course, often taken at a CareerTech center. The U.S. Department of Education ordered the state to no longer count students completing the alternate CORE curriculum among the number who have graduated. [Tulsa World]
Number of the Day
40.6%
Schools and school police are the second highest source for referrals to the Oklahoma Office of Juvenile Affairs, behind county or municipal police. Schools and school police represent 40.6% of referrals from sources other than local police, [OK Policy analysis of OJA data]
Policy Note
School Resource Officers and the School-to-Prison Pipeline: Evaluating
Responses to School Safety Concerns in an Age of School Shootings and
Renewed Calls for Racial Justice: The Justice Policy Institute partnered with the Harvard Kennedy School’s Institute of Politics Policy Program to examine the impact of police officers in school. The report presents a review of the research on police and school safety, interviews with stakeholders, and recommends ways to address the harmful impacts of School Resource Officers (SRO) [Justice Policy Institute]
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