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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
New report from OK Policy suggests reforms to improve outcomes for justice-involved youth: A new report — “Reimagining Youth Justice in Oklahoma” — provides an overview of Oklahoma’s youth justice system, detailing the environment that youth in Oklahoma face, synthesizing data and reporting findings on the state of the youth justice system today, and offering recommendations for reform to create impactful and transformative change for youth. Oklahoma also needs to create investment opportunities to embrace new strategies and practices, like restorative justice and community violence intervention, to truly transform the legal system for youth who experience harm from it. [Jill Mencke and Polina Rozhkova / OK Policy]
State Government News
Oklahoma lawmakers study ‘properly administered’ school corporal punishment: Oklahoma lawmakers discussed on Monday whether corporal punishment is an asset to school discipline, but a coalition of child advocates called for the state to ban public schools from inflicting physical pain on students. [Oklahoma Voice]
- Corporal punishment in schools debated at Oklahoma Capitol [Tulsa World]
- Oklahoma lawmaker holds corporal punishment interim study, opponents frustrated [KFOR]
- Oklahoma lawmaker wants to ensure corporal punishment for special needs students remains an option [KOCO]
- Effectiveness of corporal punishment in schools the focus of Oklahoma interim study [Fox 25]
Oklahoma lawmakers discuss reforms to criminal justice system: The Oklahoma House Criminal Justice and Corrections committee hosted an interim study on county jail services and diversion programs. Spokespeople from various criminal justice and diversion programs told lawmakers that diversion programs are a cheaper alternative to incarceration, reduce the number of people in jails and lower recidivism rates. Diversion programs aim to redirect defendants from being incarcerated and from moving through the formal justice system by completing a program or paying fees to avoid conviction or a criminal record. [Oklahoma Voice]
Opinion, Sens. Adam Pugh and Ally Seifried: Senators’ study is focusing on distraction-free learning environments in Oklahoma: As Oklahoma state senators dedicated to improving educational outcomes for all children, we believe in the power of innovative solutions to enhance learning environments. That’s why we’ve called for an interim study to examine the impact of cellphones in schools and assess how they influence students’ focus, learning capabilities and overall classroom experience. [Sens. Adam Pugh and Ally Seifried / The Oklahoman]
Federal Government News
US Supreme Court to weigh which courts can hear EPA clean air policy challenges: The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday agreed to consider whether the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency could steer certain lawsuits challenging agency actions designed to reduce air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions away from regional appeals courts favored by opponents of its actions and to a court in Washington that regularly hears regulatory disputes. Oklahoma is among the states challenging the EPA’s “Good Neighbor” smog control plan. [Reuters]
- US Supreme Court to hear Oklahoma case tied to EPA rule dispute [The Oklahoman]
Tribal Nations News
Chickasaw Nation re-ups collaboration with EPA to study groundwater resources: The Chickasaw Nation has entered into a new memorandum of understanding with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Research and Development. This kind of agreement serves as an outline of intentions and responsibilities for collaborative work. [KOSU]
Oklahoma, Native American poet Joy Harjo receives National Humanities Medal at White House: President Joe Biden presented trailblazing Tulsan and Native American poet, performer and writer Joy Harjo with the National Humanities Medal at a ceremony Monday. [The Oklahoman]
Annual Choctaw PowWow returns to Durant: The 19th Annual Choctaw PowWow, one of the nation’s largest, is set for November 1-3 at the Choctaw Event Center in Durant. More than 13,000 people attended last year. [Journal Record]
Opinion, Cherokee Nation Principal Chief: A Dismissed DUI Case: How the UKB is an Active Threat to Cherokee Nation Sovereignty and Public Safety: Sometimes the truth is hard. For me, as Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation, this truth is not even a speed bump: The United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma is an active threat to the sovereignty of the Cherokee Nation. That threat and the UKB are putting public safety at risk. Maintaining law and order and our legal rights are worth protecting. I will do so as long as I hold this office. [Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. / Native News Online]
Voting and Election News
Former Oklahoma AG says politics should stay out of judiciary, urging voters to retain judges: Advertisements have urged Oklahomans to vote against keeping the justices. Negative advertisements called the three justices on the bench “liberals,” but a former Republican attorney general said the ads are not good for the judicial system. [KOCO]
- From OK Policy: Judges on the 2024 ballot in Oklahoma: What you need to know
Election roundup
- Three Candidates Vie For Open Corporation Commission Seat [Oklahoma Watch]
- House District 90: Emily Gise, Nana Dankwa see education as a top concern [NonDoc]
Opinion: Straight-party voting is convenient, but an informed choice is a better option: As the Nov. 5 general elections approach, it’s critical to reassess the practice of straight-party voting. Straight-party voting allows voters to select all candidates from one party with a single mark. While this may seem convenient, it disengages voters from thoroughly evaluating each candidate and contributes to the election of officials based solely on party loyalty rather than merit. [Fahad Kahn / The Oklahoman]
Education News
Northeast OKC project hits snag as Millwood Public Schools worried by proposed TIF: Supporters of Millwood Public Schools in northeast Oklahoma City are worried about how the proposed expansion of a Tax Increment Finance district would divert future revenue away from the school system for a development project that includes retail space, a hotel and the new national headquarters of USA Volleyball. [NonDoc]
Tulsa Public School board pores over test scores: As part of its five-year strategic plan, Tulsa Public Schools’ board of education spent more than an hour Monday night going through test score data from the English language arts portion of the spring 2024 Oklahoma State Testing Program. [Tulsa World]
Walters’ attorneys in teachers’ bonus lawsuit ask judge if they can withdraw from case: Three private attorneys representing state schools Superintendent Ryan Walters in a lawsuit filed by two teachers over a disputed bonus payment have asked a judge to withdraw from the case and be replaced by three attorneys employed by the Oklahoma State Department of Education. [The Oklahoman]
Health News
High-ranking Veterans Administration official checks out Tulsa project: Tulsa’s new Veterans Administration hospital is on track and Muskogee’s existing hospital will remain one, the VA’s second-ranking official said during a visit on Monday. [Tulsa World]
Criminal Justice News
‘My boss shot me’: A Chinese immigrant took a job on an Oklahoma pot farm. He barely escaped with his life. As The Frontier and ProPublica found in a joint investigation, Chinese criminal groups — some with alleged ties to the Chinese government — have exploited the state’s lax medical marijuana laws to dominate the national black market.[The Frontier]
Local Headlines
- Resident urges AG Drummond to investigate Edmond’s bond campaign practices [Fox 25]
- How OKC’s finances line up with other cities [Journal Record]
- Man dumped from wheelchair while experiencing paralysis settles with Hillcrest [Tulsa World]
- 5 new books by Oklahoma authors to check out this October [KOSU]
Quote of the Day
“The success of Oklahoma youth depends on robust investments in core public services, such as public schools, transportation, health care, and mental health systems. When you look at Oklahoma’s worsening rankings for child well-being, it demonstrates Oklahoma lawmakers have not funded investment into our youth as a state priority. When this lack of resources is combined with the state’s tendency toward punishment and over-incarceration in the criminal legal system, Oklahoma children and their families have fewer resources to manage the growing challenges they face as a result.”
-OK Policy’s Youth Justice Policy Analyst Jill Mencke, talking about findings from a new OK Policy report about the state’s youth justice system. Mencke co-authored the report with OK Policy Data Analyst Polina Rozhkova [OK Policy]
Number of the Day
7x
Black youth in Oklahoma were nearly three times as likely to be referred to youth justice system involvement as white youth and almost seven times as likely to be placed under Oklahoma Office of Juvenile Affairs custody in 2023. These disparities underscore the need to formalize rules around when pre-arrest and court diversion is utilized for youth, and to create more opportunities and options in services that meet young people’s needs. [OK Policy analysis]
Policy Note
Protect and Redirect: America’s Growing Movement to Divert Youth Out of the Justice System: After decades of neglect, the youth justice field is awakening to the importance of diversion in lieu of arrest and formal court processing for many or most youth accused of delinquent behavior. Even amid rising concerns over youth crime nationwide, jurisdictions across the country are heeding the evidence by taking concerted action to address more cases of alleged lawbreaking behavior outside the formal justice system. This momentum to make diversion a centerpiece of juvenile justice reform is encouraging given powerful research showing that youth who are diverted from the justice system are far less likely to be arrested for subsequent offenses and far more likely to succeed in education and employment than comparable youth who are arrested and prosecuted in juvenile court. Greater use of diversion is also essential to reduce the persistent racial and ethnic disparities that pervade youth justice systems. [The Sentencing Project]
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