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 20, 2013 // Updated: May 2, 2019
A major change in Oklahoma’s education system is about to kick in. Under new provisions of the Reading Sufficiency Act (RSA), third-grade students who do not attain a satisfactory score on a state standardized reading test will be retained in… Read more [More...]
By: David Blatt
November 6, 2013 // Updated: May 2, 2019
In October, findings were submitted by the outside experts monitoring the Pinnacle Plan, Oklahoma’s court-mandated effort to fix its child welfare system. Their report raises serious concerns about the plan’s implementation in its first year. In particular, the report makes… Read more [More...]
By: David Blatt
October 31, 2013 // Updated: May 2, 2019
On Friday, November 1st, Tulsa’s 108 Contemporary, located at 108 East Brady Street, will premiere an exhibition of portraits by Yousef Khanfar from his book “Invisible Eve: Incarcerated Women of Oklahoma”. An opening reception for the event will take place… Read more [More...]
By: David Blatt
October 24, 2013 // Updated: May 2, 2019
There was very little good news in last week’s state revenue announcement as collections fell below both the prior year and this year’s estimates for both the month and the completed first quarter of FY 2014. This sluggish performance could… Read more [More...]
By: David Blatt
October 23, 2013 // Updated: May 2, 2019
The Oklahoma Senate will hold an interim study meeting this afternoon to consider possible changes to the Medicaid program. In March, OK Policy released an issue brief titled “Medicaid Proves Its Worth in Oklahoma” that made the case for how… Read more [More...]
By: David Blatt
October 17, 2013 // Updated: October 17, 2013
Oklahoma Policy Institute is very pleased to announce the selection of five Oklahoma graduate students as the first class of OK Policy Research Fellows.
The 2013-14 Research Fellows are:… Read more [More...]
By: David Blatt
October 14, 2013 // Updated: May 2, 2019
The Oklahoma chapter of the Scholars Strategy Network is excited to be co-sponsoring two upcoming events.
On Wednesday, November 13th, Oklahoma SSN and the OU Economics Club will host a public forum, “Nurturing Local Economic Growth: What can we learn… Read more [More...]
By: David Blatt
October 10, 2013 // Updated: May 1, 2019
Oklahoma’s seven public pension systems have a combined unfunded liability of $11.6 billion as of June 30, 2012. This large number alone is often put forward to make the case for doing away with traditional defined benefit pensions for state… Read more [More...]
By: David Blatt
September 23, 2013 // Updated: September 23, 2013
Oklahoma Policy Institute is seeking to hire two highly-qualified individuals to fill positions for a policy analyst and an outreach coordinator.
The policy analyst will conduct research and analysis on a range of policy issues, which may include health care,… Read more [More...]
By: David Blatt
September 17, 2013 // Updated: May 2, 2019
Fifteen years after Oklahoma expanded Medicaid eligibility for children, the number of uninsured children in the state continues to fall. The child uninsured rate in Oklahoma reached an historic low of 8 percent in 2011-2012, which is half the rate… Read more [More...]