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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
2024 Census data: Oklahoma ranks as 8th poorest state: Data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2024 American Community Survey, released Sept. 11, show that Oklahoma’s poverty rate was 14.9 percent, which means that more than 1 in 7 state residents live in poverty. While the state’s overall poverty rate improved by a percentage point from last year, Oklahoma ranked as having the nation’s eighth highest poverty rate. While Oklahoma and other states saw small decreases in its poverty rate during 2024, persistent poverty and growing income inequality remain significant factors for many Oklahomans and their families. Looking forward, it’s also important to consider how the “One Big Beautiful Bill” is projected to make lives worse by drastically cutting the programs and services that help many Oklahomans, families, and children. [Dave Hamby / OK Policy]
Opinion: Leaders’ decision to target immigrants won’t improve Oklahoma education outcomes: Oklahoma leaders have long undermined students’ education through a variety of policies, such as promoting election lies, marginalizing trans youth, and disinvesting from public schools that serve 90% of Oklahoma students. While these sorts of attacks are not new, this year leaders seem particularly eager to target Oklahoma students with an immigrant background by passing or attempting to pass policies that directly harm these students. [Gabriela Ramirez-Perez / Oklahoma Voice]
Oklahoma News
Oklahoma troopers clear 64 homeless encampments; aim to finish by Tuesday: Amid controversy over Gov. Kevin Stitt’s Operation SAFE, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol said its ongoing encampment sweeps on state property in Tulsa were never meant to solve the homeless problem. [The Oklahoma Eagle]
- OHP says it’s clearing homeless encampments for pedestrian safety [Public Radio Tulsa]
- OHP says operation to remove encampments is primarily about homeless people’s safety [Tulsa World]
- From OK Policy: “If the governor wants a real victory, he must partner with lawmakers on a long-term plan — one that invests in safe, affordable housing, restores mental health funding, lifts Oklahomans out of poverty, and rebuilds genuine collaboration between government bodies and community members ready to do the work.“
State Government News
Stitt appoints three new officials to fill roles in his administration: Gov. Kevin Stitt on Thursday appointed three officials to his administration, all of whom he has previously named to other positions in Oklahoma state government. Stitt appointed Donelle Harder as Oklahoma Secretary of State, David Ostrowe as chief operating officer and Dustin Hilliary as his senior advisor. [Oklahoma Voice]
- Stitt appoints familiar faces to new roles for homestretch of administration [NonDoc]
- Governor names Donelle Harder, David Ostrowe and Dustin Hilliary to fill key state positions [Tulsa World]
Oklahoma August revenues dip, but long term trends hold steady: State Treasurer Todd Russ on Wednesday released the August 2025 State Tax Revenue Report, showing a seasonal slowdown in monthly revenue but continued long-term stability. [The Journal Record]
- August 2025 State Tax Revenue Report [Oklahoma State Treasurer’s Office]
Oklahoma AG says he won’t ‘interfere’ with hiring of new state education board attorney: Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond says he will allow the state Board of Education to hire a private attorney it selected to serve as its legal counsel, but with reservations. [The Oklahoman]
Opinion, This Week in Oklahoma Politics: Stitt’s Operation SAFE, Walters’ “woke” tests, a new governor’s mansion and more (podcast): The panel talks about the governor’s crackdown on homeless encampments in Tulsa, Attorney General Gentner Drummond taking issue with the resignation of the head of the Office of Management and Enterprise Services, and Stitt-appointed members of the State Board of Education calling a special meeting in defiance of Superintendent Ryan Walters. [KOSU]
Editorial: Oklahoma can’t wait for kids to be killed. We need school bus seat belts now: Creative ways can be found to cover the cost of bus seat belts — perhaps with the support of outside funding by community organizations — perhaps through a staged implementation schedule. [The Oklahoman Editorial Board]
- Oklahoma considers seat belt mandate for school buses after Minco crash [KOCO]
Federal Government News
Trump Education Department to divert grants from colleges serving students of color: The U.S. Department of Education announced it will withhold $350 million of congressionally approved funds to minority-serving colleges and universities and divert the funds elsewhere, saying that the institutions’ admissions quotas are discriminatory. [Oklahoma Voice]
Opinion: Rep. Josh Brecheen’s ‘town hall’ approach: ‘I talk, you listen’: I’ll give Rep. Brecheen credit that his advance town hall publicity was accurate on two counts. It was held in a town — Bartlesville. And it was in a hall — the event center at the local vo-tech campus. But that’s pretty much where any semblance of representative democracy ended. [Dan Droege / The Oklahoman]
Voting and Election News
Ethics Commission to weigh in on requiring candidates to change bank accounts every election: The Oklahoma Ethics Commission on Thursday unanimously voted to consider an Advisory Opinion Request from a state lawmaker concerning candidate bank accounts. [Oklahoma Voice]
Opinion: Candidates court hard right voters in Oklahoma governor race: Ready or not, only 418 candidate shopping days – including today – until Oklahoma chooses its next governor. You may not have given it a thought, much less started your list. But the wannabe occupants of the state Capitol’s second-floor, corner office already are working to win your consideration. [Arnold Hamilton / The Journal Record]
Education News
‘No known threats’ targeting Langston University in Oklahoma amid wave of HBCU lockdowns: After several historically Black colleges and universities went into lockdown after “terroristic threats” were directed at the campuses, Oklahoma’s lone HBCU says its campus remains open. [The Oklahoman]
Ryan Walters says Oklahoma teachers could lose licenses over Charlie Kirk posts: Oklahoma’s top education official is promising swift action after reports of teachers posting political comments online about the murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. He said educators who glorify or politicize Kirk’s death could face investigations—and possibly lose their teaching licenses. [News 9]
- Oklahoma teacher under investigation for Charlie Kirk post [KOCO]
- OSDE will investigate Sand Springs teacher who posted about Charlie Kirk’s death, Walters says [Tulsa World]
‘People are scared’: Several Oklahoma college students decry shooting of Charlie Kirk: The death of right-wing influencer Charlie Kirk stunned many students at Oklahoma’s largest universities, where he had once brought his contentious commentary and debate. Through his influence, Kirk was known for injecting his hyper-conservative values into young Americans across the country. [The Oklahoman]
OSU sees significant wins, lingering questions from Innovation Foundation fallout: As Oklahoma State University leaders celebrate a $250 million appropriation to overhaul the College of Veterinary Medicine and tout their decision to hold tuition flat for the sixth time in seven years, stakeholders are still watching a slow trickle of answers about the accounting scandal that spurred February’s presidential transition and shuttered operations of the nebulous Innovation Foundation. [NonDoc]
Superintendent: School mascot images may change, not names: The Tulsa Public Schools Board of Education voted 6-1 Monday night to adopt a new policy prohibiting the district from approving mascots and school imagery “that may reasonably be perceived as offensive, culturally insensitive, or perpetuating stereotypes.” The policy disallows any use of human mascots. [Public Radio Tulsa]
Health News
‘I’m scared’: Oklahoma woman denied COVID-19 vaccine coverage by insurance: There’s uncertainty when it comes to the availability of the COVID-19 vaccine. An area women says she went to her pharmacy to get the vaccine and was told SoonerCare, the state’s Medicaid, wouldn’t pay for it. As someone who is considered a high-risk for illness, she’s afraid to wait and even go out in public without the vaccine. [KFOR]
OU Health hosts sixth cohort of Ukrainian surgeons through Operation Ukraine: The University of Oklahoma (OU) Health welcomed its sixth group of Ukrainian surgeons as part of Operation Ukraine, a humanitarian initiative aimed at strengthening surgical care in the war-torn country. The program, the only one in the U.S. granting international surgeons hands-on surgical privileges, now includes trauma surgery alongside head and neck surgery, orthopedics and neurosurgery. [The Journal Record]
Criminal Justice News
With Little Notice, Oklahoma Prison Phone Call Rates More Than Double: With minimal public notice, the Oklahoma Department of Corrections and Securus Technologies agreed to an amended contract on Aug. 29 that raised the cost of phone calls from state prisons from 6 to 14 cents per minute. The rate hike was allowed thanks to a June 30 order from the FCC delaying new rules intended to make phone and video calls from correctional facilities more affordable. [Oklahoma Watch]
Oklahoma considers a pitch from a private company to monitor parolees with artificial intelligence: A pilot program would track people on parole and probation using AI to find patterns in where they go and how often they charge their devices. [The Frontier]
Housing & Economic Opportunity News
City Lights housing project for homeless seeks $7 million to complete campaign: With construction underway, a project to build housing for the homeless is making a final push toward the fundraising goal that will help with its completion and sustainability. [Tulsa World]
Opinion: What homefulness really means in Tulsa: Lately, many of our local headlines have focused on homelessness. But I’d like to introduce Tulsa to a new term — one that has guided our team throughout the launch of the City Lights Village project: homefulness. Homefulness is the state of being when lost dignity and hope are restored, with a safe home in which to live and community to share life with. [Sarah Grounds / Tulsa World]
Opinion: Diaper insecurity is high in Oklahoma. It’s a public health issue: Diaper need (or diaper insecurity) is the condition of not being able to afford a sufficient supply of clean diapers to keep your baby or toddler clean, dry and healthy. Pediatricians note that diaper need can adversely affect the health and well-being of children and their families. [Miki Farris / The Oklahoman]
Community News
Their Play Was Cancelled By the University—These College Students Are Putting It On Anyway: A news Oklahoma state law (SB 796) that prohibits equity, diversity, and inclusion has forced the University of Central Oklahoma to start cancelling its productions. Because the bill is so broadly worded, it opens up any public university in the state to litigation if their programming is seen as promoting DEI. [Playbill]
Local Headlines
- Myles Davidson loses Oklahoma County leadership roles after woman’s complaint read aloud in meeting [The Oklahoman]
- With OKCPD investigating, Oklahoma County Commissioner Myles Davidson relinquishes chairmanship, rebuffs calls to resign [NonDoc]
- Downtown Tulsa Partnership launches coalition to improve community safety [The Oklahoma Eagle]
- As new downtown safety coalition launches, 42% of Tulsans say it’s less safe than a year ago [Tulsa World]
- Tulsa officials to host town hall on transparency issues with Greenwood Legacy Corp. [The Oklahoma Eagle]
- Edmond sued again over Coltrane, Covell Walmart plan [The Journal Record]
- $1M project to transform Norman’s Lake Thunderbird mountain bike trails [The Journal Record]
- State lawmakers announce safety plan following fatal accident in Glenpool [Fox 23]
- Muskogee issues precautionary boil order; VA hospital on divert amid water outage [Tulsa World]
Quote of the Day
“Again, that’s a bigger issue that has to be solved by the entire community. It needs to be solved by the city, the county, and if we can be of any assistance in that mission, we will. All we’re doing here is enforcing the law of camping on state property.”
– Oklahoma Highway Patrol Lt. Mark Southall, speaking about its work to remove homeless encampments along state rights of way in Tulsa, as ordered by Gov. Kevin Stitt. Local organizations that work with the unhoused have criticized the work as being ineffective to addressing the problem of homelessness in the community. [Tulsa World]
- From OK Policy: Bulldozers won’t solve homelessness
Number of the Day
1 in 7
The ratio of Oklahomans who live at or below the federal poverty level, which for an individual was $16,320 or less for a family of three was $25,249 or less. Oklahoma had the nation’s 8th highest poverty rate. [U.S. Census via OK Policy]
Policy Note
To Understand 2024 Census Data, Keep the Bigger Story About Government’s Impact on Poverty, Health Coverage in Mind: The long-term story on poverty is also one of real, but insufficient, progress — with much of the progress coming from improvements in tax-based and non-cash supports, like refundable tax credits and food assistance. Here, too, the federal megabill moves us in the wrong direction, with deep cuts that will take food assistance away from people with low incomes. [Center on Budget and Policy Priorities]
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