Former Executive Director David Blatt joined OK Policy in 2008 and served as its Executive Director from 2010 to 2019. He previously served as Director of Public Policy for Community Action Project of Tulsa County and as a budget analyst for the Oklahoma State Senate. He has a Ph.D. in political science from Cornell University and a B.A. from the University of Alberta. David has been selected as Political Scientist of the Year by the Oklahoma Political Science Association, Local Social Justice Champion by the Dan Allen Center for Social Justice, and Public Citizen of the Year by the National Association of Social Workers.
By: David Blatt
November 24, 2025 // Updated: November 24, 2025
The Statewide Official Compensation Commission (SOCC) is an entity that was created in 2025 to set the salaries of Oklahoma’s statewide elected officials. Previously, these salaries were decided statutorily by the Legislature. The SOCC is composed of the same nine… Read more [More...]
By: David Blatt
November 19, 2025 // Updated: November 19, 2025
SoonerSelect is the Medicaid managed care program operated by the Oklahoma Health Care Authority beginning in April 2024. For more details, see Managed Care.… Read more [More...]
By: David Blatt
September 5, 2025 // Updated: October 21, 2025
CHIP – the Children’s Health Insurance Program, formerly known as SCHIP (State Children’s Health Insurance Program) – was a program enacted by Congress in 1997 as a way to expand health coverage to children in families with income above the… Read more [More...]
By: David Blatt
August 29, 2025 // Updated: November 10, 2025
The Free and Reduced School Meal Program, also known as the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), provides nutritionally balanced, low-cost or free lunches to children in public and nonprofit private schools. Eligibility for free or reduced-price meals is based on… Read more [More...]
By: David Blatt
August 1, 2025 // Updated: August 1, 2025
In 2024, an initiative petition campaign for State Question 832 gathered more than enough signatures for a ballot measure to raise Oklahoma’s minimum wage.
The ballot measure was designed to increase the state minimum wage to $9 per hour in… Read more [More...]
By: David Blatt
June 26, 2025 // Updated: June 26, 2025
The Legislature created the Rate Preservation Fund in 2019. Money in the fund is directed for use by the Oklahoma Health Care Authority to maintain reimbursement rates to Medicaid providers when the state’s FMAP — Federal Medical Assistance Percentage —… Read more [More...]
Executive Orders are official directives adopted by the U.S. President or a state governor that manages operations of the government. An Executive Order allows the chief executive to act without express legislative action, but may be easily reversed by a… Read more [More...]
Open primaries is a term that encompasses a number of systems that states use for conducting political primaries, none of which limit individuals to voting only in the primary of the party they are registered for (‘closed primary’). The main… Read more [More...]
Plyler v. Doe is a landmark 1982 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that established that all children in the United States have an equal right to enroll and participate in public elementary and secondary schools without regard to their or their… Read more [More...]
By: David Blatt
June 20, 2025 // Updated: November 25, 2025
Work requirements are policies that oblige recipients of certain public programs to be employed or engage in work-related activities for a certain number of hours each month in order to remain eligible for benefits.
As of May 2025, work requirements… Read more [More...]
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