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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
Legislature on track to approve mental health consent decree (Capitol Update): It is gratifying to see the Legislature is set to approve the settlement negotiated by Attorney General Gentner Drummond and the plaintiffs in a federal lawsuit that complained of inadequate treatment services by the state to restore defendants to competency in criminal cases. [Steve Lewis / Capitol Update]
Oklahoma News
Hundreds of Oklahomans gather at Capitol to protest Trump administration’s divisive policies: A few hundred people gathered Monday on the south steps of the Capitol to participate in a national day of protest and criticize President Donald Trump’s administration. Carrying signs and flags, they pushed back against Trump’s most divisive policies, including the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and its billionaire leader Elon Musk, and to ensure a division remains between church and state. [Oklahoma Voice]
- Oklahomans rally in fourth major protest in three weeks at Capitol [The Oklahoman]
- Political leaders are trying to be kings, protesters at third Capitol rally say [Tulsa World]
- Protesters take on President Trump’s policies [KFOR]
- ‘No Kings on Presidents Day’ protest draws anti-Musk, Trump crowd to Tulsa city hall [Public Radio Tulsa]
State Government News
Bill to enshrine $35,000 teacher signing bonuses into Oklahoma law advances: House lawmakers on Monday advanced a bill that would encode $35,000 teacher signing bonuses into state law, taking inspiration from a similar program state Superintendent Ryan Walters implemented. [Oklahoma Voice]
- Changes to Oklahoma teacher bonus legislation moves forward [KFOR]
Lawmakers advance bill to increase payments to Oklahoma foster families: House lawmakers pushed forward Monday an effort to increase reimbursement payments to foster families by at least $140 a month. [Oklahoma Voice]
Wed at age 15, she wants Oklahoma to ban child marriage: In Oklahoma, it’s legal to marry at age 16 with permission from a parent, but minors who are even younger can wed with a court order from a judge in cases of pregnancy or to settle a paternity lawsuit. There are no age restrictions for marriage in Oklahoma under these circumstances. [The Frontier]
Stitt says Oklahoma to partner with feds to ‘arrest and remove criminal illegal aliens’: Oklahoma Highway Patrol troopers, agents with the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation and agents from the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Control soon will be working with federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials to “arrest and remove criminal illegal aliens from the state.” [The Oklahoman]
- 3 Takeaways: Agreement to be finalized for ‘Operation Guardian’ expansion [News 9]
A 2024 legal recap: Updates on notable court cases: With 2024 wrapped up and 2025 barreling down the boulevard of bureaucracy — seriously, it’s mid-February? — the following lists offer updates from cases NonDoc covered last year. [NonDoc]
Fact check: Is Oklahoma considering a bill that would make it possible to prosecute abortion patients as murderers?: Yes. Three Oklahoma lawmakers have sponsored a bill that would allow abortion recipients in the state to be charged with murder. [Oklahoma Watch]
Attorneys who earned KFOR successful settlement vs. Walters asking for more than $376K: Attorneys who successfully represented Oklahoma City television station KFOR in a recent First Amendment lawsuit against state schools Superintendent Ryan Walters and his former spokesman Dan Isett are asking for more than $376,000 in fees and costs, according to federal court documents. [The Oklahoman]
Federal Government News
‘I loved my job’: FAA employees in Oklahoma fired in purge of federal workers: About midnight on Friday, an unknown number of employees at the Federal Aviation Administration facility in Oklahoma City got an email telling them they’d lost their jobs. [The Oklahoman]
- ‘We’re your neighbors, friends and family’: Oklahoma City FAA workers axed in federal layoffs feel betrayed, concerned by rhetoric [KFOR]
Elon Musk’s DOGE seeks access to taxpayer data at IRS: Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency is seeking access to troves of sensitive taxpayer data at the IRS, two people familiar with the inner workings of the plan who were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly told The Associated Press on Monday. [Associated Press]
- Elon Musk’s DOGE group seeks access to sensitive IRS taxpayer data [NPR]
‘Waste, fraud and abuse’ is a political fight older than the nation. Here’s what to know: Pinpointing the genesis of “waste, fraud and abuse” as political rhetoric is difficult. But the concept and resulting battles are older than the nation: Think “taxation without representation” and the break from Great Britain. After winning independence, the early American republic reprised the arguments. [Associated Press]
Opinion: OKC family calls on Lankford, Mullin to stop misguided USAID cuts: I urge Sens. James Lankford and Markwayne Mullin to reject these misguided cuts. USAID is an investment in America’s leadership, ensuring Oklahoma’s economy remains strong and our nation stays secure. [The Dalton Family of Oklahoma City / The Oklahoman]
Opinion: Many American farmers agree with Trump’s cuts. But those policies hurt farms most: Farm programs are broken and fragmented, leaving countless gaps where American farmers can slip between the cracks. Fixing this requires much deeper change. [Brian Reisinger / The Oklahoman]
Tribal Nations News
Tribal funding caught in crossfire from Trump administration: Just two weeks after the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act, President Donald Trump launched a series of executive orders and federal layoffs that have put billions of dollars in tribal funding back into the spotlight. Nearly every tribe in Indian Country relies at least in part on the transformational self-determination act, known as Public Law 638. It helps fund essential services such as hospitals, health clinics, education, climate projects, agriculture, law enforcement, firefighting and other programs under the United States’ trust and treaty obligations. [ICT News]
- ‘Life or Death Consequences’: Layoffs throw Indian Country into turmoil [ICT News]
- ‘It’s demoralizing’: Trump’s climate funding freeze has left tribes in limbo [ICT News]
‘All we wanted to do was our jobs’: Federal layoffs felt across Indigenous communities in Oklahoma: Federal offices crucial to Indigenous success — Bureau of Indian Affairs, Bureau of Indian Education, Department of the Interior and other federal agencies— are undergoing layoffs. The Trump administration’s decision to empty those seats will trickle down into Indigenous communities in Oklahoma. [KOSU]
Voting and Election News
Lawmakers wants Oklahoma absentee voters to explain their absence: The House Elections and Ethics Committee heard a bill from freshman Representative Molly Jenkins on Monday that would require Oklahomans to give a reason for requesting an absentee ballot. [KFOR]
Oklahoma Governor race: Charles McCall files for candidacy: Former Oklahoma House Speaker Charles McCall announced on Tuesday that he has entered the 2026 race for Oklahoma Governor. [News 9]
Education News
U.S. Education Department threatens yanking funds for schools that use race in decisions: The U.S. Department of Education is threatening to rescind federal funds for schools that use race-conscious practices in admissions, programming, training, hiring, scholarships and other aspects of student life, according to a Dear Colleague letter sent to schools. [Oklahoma Voice]
An Oklahoma special ed teacher promised an ‘EPIC’ year. Prosecutors say she was abusive: For months, a special education teacher abused two of her students at Hugo Middle School while three other employees in the classroom did nothing, investigators say. [The Oklahoman]
OSU’s new president defends $300 million ask for veterinary hospital: For OSU, replacing the 44-year-old Boren Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital is likely to cost around $300 million. Not replacing it, though, could mean the end of one of the programs fundamental to OSU’s land grant mission. [Tulsa World]
Freedom Caucus supports identifying immigration status of students: Oklahomans want and deserve to have an accounting of undocumented immigrants in the state, including of their children who are attending schools, members of the Freedom Caucus in the state Legislature said Monday. [Tulsa World]
Shrum to return to OSU Center for Health Sciences after sabbatical: Former Oklahoma State University President Dr. Kayse Shrum will return to work at the OSU Center for Health Sciences in July. [KOSU]
- Dr. Kayse Shrum resignation leaves open possibility of return to OSU faculty in Tulsa [Tulsa World]
Opinion, Bixby Superintendent Rob Miller: The promise of public education in a palindrome: This palindrome captures the conflict shaping the current discourse on immigration and the status of students in our schools. It reflects the tension between division and unity, fear and hope, exclusion and inclusion. At its core, it presents a choice: to perpetuate division or to embrace collective progress. [Rob Miller / Tulsa World]
Health News
Opinion: Trump’s cuts will end lifesaving medical research – and people will die: If this change remains in place, clinical trials will shut down. Thousands of people will lose their jobs. Advances will cease. And people will die. [Dr. Jonathan B. Jaffery / The Oklahoman]
Criminal Justice News
Court Fines and Fees Reform Has Broad Support, But Fiscal Questions Persist: Gov. Kevin Stitt called on the Legislature to overhaul Oklahoma’s court fines and fees system this month, prompting praise from justice reform advocates and questions about how the change would be paid for and implemented. [Oklahoma Watch]
Death-row inmate deemed incompetent to be executed is to be reevaluated: A judge has approved a competency reevaluation for a man on death row who fatally shot an Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper during a 2003 traffic stop. [Tulsa World]
- Judge asks mental health professionals to reevaluate inmate’s eligibility for death penalty [KOSU]
Oklahoma is still trying to use a recanted confession to retry ‘Innocent Man’ case: Federal courts have found a man’s videotaped confession in the 1984 death of an Ada convenience store clerk to be almost entirely false but the state of Oklahoma is still fighting in court over whether it can be used against him in a new trial. [The Frontier]
- Listen Frontier: An update on the ‘Innocent Man’ case (audio) [The Frontier]
Housing & Economic Opportunity News
Opinion: Empowering through generational wealth: Too often, systemic barriers make it harder for Black families and businesses to build lasting financial stability. My vision is to change that — by ensuring that access to financial education and resources is not just available but actively placed in the hands of those who need it most. [Ashley Townsend / Tulsa World]
Community News
Bartlesville City Council voted not to fund citizenship classes at the library. Residents pushed back: For the past 11 years, Bartlesville has funded citizenship classes with a $14,000 grant from the Oklahoma Department of Libraries. According to stats from the library, the program has helped 52 immigrants pass their citizenship test and supported hundreds in learning English. In January, the program’s future came into question as the city council weighed whether to renew the grant. [KOSU]
Quote of the Day
“Sadly, political narratives have blurred the moral clarity of an essential truth: Every child deserves the opportunity to learn regardless of their background.”
-Bixby Superintendent Rob Miller, writing in an op-ed about the need for schools to remain safe harbors where children can learn, grow, and dream without being burdened by the political battles swirling around them. [Tulsa World]
Number of the Day
33.1%
Only about 1 in 3 Oklahomans have a valid passport, which is one of the few documents that would provide proof of citizenship for voting rights under the proposed SAVE Act being considered in Congress. In seven states, less than one-third of citizens have a valid passport: West Virginia, Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, and Oklahoma. [Center for American Progress]
Policy Note
The SAVE Act Would Disenfranchise Millions of Citizens: Last month, congressional Republicans pledged to fast-track the SAVE Act, a bill that would require all Americans to provide a birth certificate, passport, or one of a few other citizenship documents every time they register or re-register to vote. More than 21 million American citizens don’t have these documents readily available. The bill also would obliterate or upend longstanding and popular methods of voter registration for all voters, including registration by mail, voter registration drives, online voter registration, and automatic voter registration. [Brennan Center for Justice]
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