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Finding the courage to say “no more prisons” (Capitol Update)

Steve Lewis served as Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives from 1989-1991. He currently practices law in Tulsa and represents clients at the Capitol. “We’re not going to build any more prisons.” I remember House Speaker Dan Draper making that declarative… Read more [More...]

The Weekly Wonk: Lessons of our history; deadline for budget summit scholarships; new comment period for SoonerCare restrictions; & more…

What’s up this week at Oklahoma Policy Institute? The Weekly Wonk shares our most recent publications and other resources to help you stay informed about Oklahoma. Numbers of the Day and Policy Notes are from our daily news briefing, In… Read more [More...]

Five reasons NOT to donate to OK Policy

Typically, when we reach out to ask you to contribute to Oklahoma Policy Institute, we list all the good reasons we believe you should support our work with a tax-deductible donation. But it’s become an end-of-year tradition for us to… Read more [More...]

The Weekly Wonk: Inequalities in arts education; promising local justice reform; OK’s broken parole system; & more…

What’s up this week at Oklahoma Policy Institute? The Weekly Wonk shares our most recent publications and other resources to help you stay informed about Oklahoma. Numbers of the Day and Policy Notes are from our daily news briefing, In… Read more [More...]

Parole is broken in Oklahoma. Here’s how we fix it.

Incarceration is expensive in Oklahoma. The cost of our overcrowded prisons is projected to skyrocket in the next decade. The Department of Corrections requested $1.5 billion next year to address long-neglected repairs and to build a new prison to keep up with the… Read more [More...]

The Oklahoma City Police Department shows the promise of local justice reform

Most discussions about criminal justice in Oklahoma center on our prison system, which is responsible for maintaining our highest-in-the-world incarceration rate but is dangerously underfunded. While our high incarceration rate may be the most pressing issue, law enforcement agencies are the… Read more [More...]

Fine arts education matters: how shrinking budgets deepen inequalities

Oklahomans know every student needs access to quality public education.  Unfortunately, our state has struggled to uphold this commitment.  While all areas of public education have suffered from slashed education funding over the past decade, budget cuts have hit fine… Read more [More...]

Legislative leadership for next session is coming into focus (Capitol Update)

Steve Lewis served as Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives from 1989-1991. He currently practices law in Tulsa and represents clients at the Capitol. With the appointment of House leadership by Speaker Charles McCall last week, the picture of legislative leadership… Read more [More...]

The Weekly Wonk: Our 2018 book recommendations; college for incarcerated Oklahomans; budget summit tickets on sale; and more…

What’s up this week at Oklahoma Policy Institute? The Weekly Wonk shares our most recent publications and other resources to help you stay informed about Oklahoma. Numbers of the Day and Policy Notes are from our daily news briefing, In… Read more [More...]

Registration Now Open for OK Policy’s State Budget Summit Featuring William Julius Wilson

Last year Oklahoma made major progress in putting its financial affairs on the right track, but we still have a long road to travel to reverse years of cuts to public services. As Oklahoma’s 2019 legislative session approaches, now is… Read more [More...]

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