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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
Oklahoma Supreme Court stays HB 2783 over Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust Board terms (Capitol Update): There was an interesting ruling by the Oklahoma Supreme Court recently staying implementation of House Bill 2783, authored by the respective chairmen and vice chairmen of the House and Senate appropriations committees. The bill sought to strike statutory language providing for staggered terms for the Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust (TSET) Fund. The TSET board authorizes expenditure each year from the earnings of the trust fund. [Steve Lewis / Capitol Update]
Oklahoma News
Oklahoma’s Small-Town Police Take Federal Immigration Role: Statewide, 16 municipal, county, and state law enforcement agencies have entered into agreements with Immigration and Customs Enforcement since President Donald Trump took office in January. As local police gain powers to make federal arrests and ICE gains more boots — and eyes — on the ground, local detentions continue to spike. And the agreements continue to gain popularity among law enforcement at every level for their mutually perceived benefits. [Oklahoma Watch]
State Government News
State Question 781 Participation Grows: Statewide participation in a county-level mental health and substance abuse program is growing, but more than 40% of counties still haven’t applied for a share of the money. The Oklahoma Policy Institute, Healthy Minds Policy Initiative and Oklahomans for Criminal Justice Reform issued a joint report on the status of the County Community Safety Investment Fund on Aug. 8. The fund, aimed at allocating savings from reduced incarceration rates to support local diversion programs, was created via State Question 781 in 2016. [Oklahoma Watch]
- From OK Policy: Groundbreaking report reveals more than $200 million in savings from Oklahoma justice reform
Oklahoma AG signs letter questioning legality of net-zero carbon emissions standard: Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond was also among the 23 attorneys general who co-signed a letter sent to David Kennedy, CEO of the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), a group that recently released its Financial Institutions Net-Zero standard. This standard is meant to aid financial institutions “in addressing their most significant climate impact through alignment and sector-specific targets,” according to the document. [Oklahoma Voice]
Federal Government News
Trump vows to try banning mail-in voting before 2026 midterm elections — can he do that?: President Trump promised Monday to work to end mail-in voting and said work is already underway on an executive order to ban it before the 2026 midterm elections, although the Constitution does not give him this power. [CBS News]
AmeriCorps is under siege. What happens in the communities it serves?: AmeriCorps, a federal agency signed into law in 1993 by former President Bill Clinton, places roughly 200,000 members across the United States at 35,000 service locations, according to current agency data. Members serve in schools, local governments and with a wide range of nonprofits that focus on health, disaster relief, environmental stewardship, workforce development and veterans. [Oklahoma Voice]
Oklahoma could get millions in federal orphaned well plugging funds following months of withholding: Oklahoma may receive up to $102 million in federal funding to address abandoned oil and gas wells, according to the Oklahoma Corporation Commission (OCC). The agency was previously uncertain whether it would receive more dollars from the IIJA to clean up its more than 20,000 abandoned wells. [StateImpact Oklahoma via KGOU]
Is Oklahoma Gov. Stitt sending National Guard troops to Washington, DC?: A spokesperson for Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt’s told The Oklahoman that Stitt has no current plans to join at least three of his fellow Republican governors in sending National Guard troops to the nation’s capital. Their orders come after President Donald Trump began deploying hundreds of National Guard troops to crack down on what he describes as emergency levels of crime in DC. [The Oklahoman]
Tribal Nations News
Speakers Bureau serves as Cherokee language bridge: On June 14 at the Durbin Feeling Language Center in Tahlequah, Cherokee language speakers gathered to tell stories – and share jokes – in the words of their ancestors. For 18 years, the Cherokee Nation Speakers Bureau has brought together first-language speakers in an effort that goes far beyond preserving words on paper. [Cherokee Phoenix]
Opinion: Sanitizing American Indian History Doesn’t Change the Truth: The Smithsonian Institution, established over 175 years ago, has long been a bastion of knowledge and cultural preservation. Its mission to increase and diffuse knowledge has fostered a deeper understanding of America’s complex history. The Trump White House threatens to undermine that mission by imposing a singular narrative that may exclude the diverse experiences and contributions that have shaped the nation. [Levi Rickert / Native News Online]
Voting and Election News
First Democrat enters race to become Oklahoma’s next state superintendent: The race to become Oklahoma’s next state schools superintendent now includes two former Tulsa Public Schools board members. Jennettie Marshall is the first Democrat to enter the race. Another former Tulsa board member, Jerry Griffin, now is running as an independent candidate for the office, meaning he’ll automatically be on the general election ballot in November 2026. [The Oklahoman]
Education News
American Virtual Academy says it won’t be eligible for tax credit program in 2025-26: An Arizona online private school backed by state schools Superintendent Ryan Walters has told parents of prospective students it does not expect to meet the necessary qualifications to be eligible for Oklahoma’s Parental Choice Tax Credit program for the 2025-26 school year. [The Oklahoman]
- From OK Policy: Oklahoma Parental Choice Tax Credits
Teaching to Teach program trains future Oklahoma educators: The Teaching to Teach Apprenticeship Program is a partnership between Oklahoma CareerTech, the Regional University System of Oklahoma and the Oklahoma Workforce Commission. The program is designed to increase the number of certified teachers by providing scholarships to education students already employed in a school district, technology center or early learning center. [The Journal Record]
Oklahoma scholarship program for single parents awards most recipients to date: The Oklahoma Single Parent Scholarship Program held an award ceremony this weekend to help single parents stay in college. Forty-eight single parents received $1,200 in flexible funds to be used for school expenses or life necessities. [KGOU]
As Oklahoma schools face scrutiny, state’s education secretary champions teacher achievements: Nellie Tayloe Sanders likes to operate in the background, and that’s mostly what she’s done during her time as Oklahoma’s secretary of education. But she’s always had a plan — a passion, really — to make sure students who learn differently from others aren’t left behind. [The Oklahoman]
District, families sue Oklahoma activities association over student athlete transfer decisions: Glencoe Public Schools filed a suit in Payne County District Court Thursday against the Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association over its decision to disallow some students from playing basketball due to an alleged rule violation. [StateImpact Oklahoma via Oklahoma Voice]
Questions raised after new Shawnee schools admin accepts $229K buyout in Missouri without working a day: A new assistant superintendent for Shawnee Public Schools is set to receive a payout of about $229,000 after resigning as superintendent of a Missouri public school district — which had hired him for the 2025-26 school year — without effectively working a single day for that district. [The Oklahoman]
Opinion: Walters’ plan to overhaul Oklahoma’s assessment system will just lead to more ‘misguided testing’: You can’t know what you don’t measure, and you can’t accurately track progress if the tool keeps changing. Yet, Oklahoma leaders at the Education Department want to change testing requirements again and are proposing using tools that are not designed to measure whether students have mastered the state content standards. [Christy Hovanetz / Oklahoma Voice]
Health News
OU study examines cannabis impact on cancer surgery recovery: University of Oklahoma researchers are conducting a first-of-its-kind study to determine whether cannabis use affects recovery from the wounds associated with head and neck cancer surgery. The outcomes may have implications for other types of surgery and conditions. [The Journal Record]
Criminal Justice News
Oklahoma program helps teenagers with first-time offenses avoid justice system: Oklahoma is taking steps to keep young people out of the justice system by investing federal funds into a program designed to help first-time offenders. The Oklahoma Department of Human Services and the Office of Juvenile Affairs are redirecting $500,000 in federal funds to support programs aimed at course correction for kids and teens involved in status offenses, such as underage drinking or truancy. [KOCO]
- From OK Policy: Reimagining Youth Justice in Oklahoma: A Landscape Report of the Youth Justice System and Recommendations for Reform
Some Police Units Are Now Using AI to Write Reports: Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly becoming a tool for law enforcement, with a growing number of police units adopting AI-powered software to help with one of their most time-consuming tasks: report writing. [The Black Wall Street Times]
Oklahoma AG’s office steps in after 4 officers, chief leave Okemah police department: Agents from the Oklahoma attorney general’s office are now “standing in” for Okemah’s police department after the police chief and four officers were either terminated or resigned from the department. [The Oklahoman]
Opinion: Each execution is a roll of the dice potentially embarrassing the state: No matter how ethical the government or how meticulous, professional and proficient the Department of Corrections, each execution is a roll of the dice and holds the potential to embarrass the state. In Oklahoma, many already have. [Elizabeth Overman / The Journal Record]
- From OK Policy: Oklahoma Death Penalty Tracker
Economy & Business News
Why the push to get rid of property taxes has Oklahoma County officials on edge: What if property taxes just went away in Oklahoma? About $6 billion in tax revenues, gone. Sounds good, property owners might say. Sound an alarm, local government leaders would say, if some other form of funding were not provided. [The Oklahoman]
Women in Oklahoma reshape business with new ventures and tech: Women launched 49% of all new businesses in 2024, marking a 69% increase from 2019 and the highest rate recorded in the Gusto 2025 New Business Formation Report. Oklahoma mirrors this national trend, according to local business leaders who said they have witnessed a surge in female entrepreneurship across diverse industries, from traditional service sectors to cutting-edge technology and biotech ventures. [The Journal Record]
Greater OKC Asian Chamber launches Young Professional Leaders workshops: Young Professional Leaders, beginning this September, brings together ambitious young professionals, driven students, and visionary community members to learn from top leaders and connect with like-minded peers. Each session blends practical career tools with the power of cultural identity. [The Journal Record]
Local Headlines
- Once blighted Oklahoma City neighborhood sees renaissance through public-private partnerships [Oklahoma Voice]
- Proposal could potentially eliminate panhandling from many Tulsa medians [Tulsa World]
- Tulsa school board approves new student electronics policy [Tulsa World]
- Central, Webster alumni speak against proposed mascot branding policy at TPS board meeting [Tulsa World]
Quote of the Day
“Eliminating [property taxes] would mean compromising the local services that Oklahomans rely on each day, or shifting to far more economically harmful forms of taxation.”
– Tax Foundation Policy Analyst Manish Bhatt, addressing the potential consequences of eliminating property taxes in Oklahoma. [The Oklahoman]
Number of the Day
0.77%
Oklahoma’s effective property tax rate on owner-occupied housing, which ranked the state 25th nationally. In Oklahoma, only local governments (counties and cities) use property taxes. Property taxes fund local shared services such as schools, public safety, infrastructure, and more. [Tax Foundation]
Policy Note
The Most-Hated Tax—and What States Are Doing About It: Property taxes remain the most disliked form of taxation in the U.S., largely because they arrive in large lump sums, are tied to uncontrollable market-driven property values, and disproportionately burden homeowners as prices climb. To relieve this strain, states are implementing relief mechanisms such as homestead exemptions — which can reduce taxable values for individuals like seniors, veterans, or low-income residents — and circuit breaker programs that cap taxes when they become too high relative to income. [National Conference of State Legislatures]
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