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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
Conflict over executive power halts Stitt’s executive order (Capitol Update): The Oklahoma Health Care Authority board’s action could be a signal that at least they, and perhaps others, have grown weary of the advancement of executive authority over the constitutional powers dedicated to the legislative branch. [Steve Lewis / Capitol Update]
Oklahoma News
‘Business-friendly’ Oklahoma still lags economically, data expert says: While Oklahoma has been ranked as the best in the nation in terms of overall costs of doing business, the state has not fared well against other states when it comes to job growth, and has lost considerable ground when it comes to the most desirable manufacturing jobs and jobs in high-tech industries. [Tulsa World]
- From OK Policy: Oklahomans get what we pay for (Policy Matters)
State Chamber holds State of Business Forum, sets goals to strengthen workforce: The Oklahoma State Chamber announced a new initiative on Monday to move the education and workforce needle and make the state more competitive across the board. [The Journal Record]
- Oklahoma State Chamber backs Mississippi-style reading reforms [Oklahoma Voice]
- Business leaders want to turn around Oklahoma’s academic rankings. Here’s the plan [The Oklahoman]
- State Chamber unveils major education reform plan aimed at lifting Oklahoma out of 50th place [Fox 23]
- Here’s why Oklahoma continues to fall short in education, health and job growth [KFOR]
- From OK Policy: Oklahoma ranks 46th in 2025 KIDS COUNT Data Book, highlighting lawmakers’ misplaced priorities
Watonga confronts economic need and ethical unease over housing ICE detainees: The reopening of a private prison in a small Oklahoma town will bring hundreds of jobs, even as CoreCivic faces national scrutiny for alleged mistreatment and isolation of immigration detainees. [The Frontier]
- Oklahoma correctional facility to house federal immigration detainees [Oklahoma Voice]
- From OK Policy: CoreCivic profits from incarcerating our loved ones and exploiting rural towns. Oklahomans have the opportunity to push back.
State Government News
Oklahoma mental health agency fined nearly $1 million for noncompliance with consent decree: Oklahoma is being fined nearly $1 million for failing to implement mandatory fixes to the state’s mental health system. The fines total $928,400 for the past month, the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health confirmed on Monday. [KOSU]
States are quietly cutting child care funding — and families are out of options: Child care systems across the country are unraveling as pandemic relief dollars expire, triggering ballooning voucher waitlists, steep reimbursement cuts to providers, and widespread classroom and center closures. With budgets tightening nationwide, many states have frozen access to child care assistance, forcing low-income families — largely Black and Latinx and led by working single parents — to shoulder higher co-pays or lose access altogether. [The Black Wall Street Times]
Are Oklahoma lawmakers pursuing the criminalization of parents who travel out of state seeking gender-affirming care for their children?: No. While the 2023 signing of SB 613, recently upheld by a federal court, prohibits most forms of gender-affirming care for minors in Oklahoma, the law does not ban traveling out of state for gender-affirming care. [Oklahoma Watch]
Federal Government News
Oklahoma lawmakers respond to end of federal shutdown, plan for next steps: With the federal government reopened, Oklahomans who missed out on vital food assistance are still reeling, while state lawmakers say they’re looking ahead at how to protect Oklahomans from the fallout of another gridlock in Congress. [KOSU]
USDA announces more funding to help farmers: Less than a week after the government reopened, the first order of business for the U.S. Department of Agriculture was welcoming news for farmers. On Monday, the department announced that it will release billions of dollars in disaster assistance for farmers and ranchers recovering from natural disasters. [KFOR]
Trump administration’s FAA chief clears normal operations in the skies post-shutdown: The Federal Aviation Administration early Monday lifted an order that airlines cut domestic flights to 40 major U.S. airports, as air traffic control staffing levels improve following the six-week government shutdown. [Oklahoma Voice]
Housing for homeless endangered under new HUD guidelines, Tulsa officials say: major shift in how the federal government funds housing programs for the homeless could significantly limit Tulsa service organizations’ ability to provide permanent and rapid rehousing for the homeless, local officials said Monday. [Tulsa World]
Americans report reduced holiday spending, need for extra income: More than 6 in 10 full-time workers are struggling to afford holiday expenses this year and two-thirds are counting on extra work to make ends meet, according to a new survey of 1,000 full-time U.S. workers. [The Journal Record]
Tribal Nations News
Trump administration removes report on missing and murdered Native Americans: The Trump administration took down a congressionally mandated report on missing and murdered Native Americans from the Department of Justice’s website nearly 300 days ago to comply with an executive order against diversity, equity and inclusion. It’s still not back online, and the senators who worked to pass the law are furious. [NOTUS via The Journal Record]
Voting and Election News
What’s on the November 2025 ballot, where to vote in Oklahoma elections today: A big part of the country headed to the polls a couple of weeks ago, but Oklahomans will cast their ballots today. In Oklahoma, a few dozen counties will hold special elections to decide mayoral elections, school proposals and sales tax questions. [The Oklahoman]
Tulsa Public Schools considering April election for $600m bond: Tulsa Public Schools’ board of education got its first look Monday night at a draft version of the district’s upcoming bond proposal. [Tulsa World]
Education News
Fields floats extending Oklahoma’s school year by 15 days: Oklahoma’s new State Superintendent is considering whether extending the school year could help boost student performance, saying students in other states are already spending more time in the classroom. [KFOR]
OSU-Tulsa to welcome first-, second-year students for first time starting in January: tarting with the spring semester, OSU-Tulsa will open its doors to freshman and sophomore students, making it possible for the first time to earn a full Oklahoma State University bachelor’s degree without leaving Tulsa. [Tulsa World]
Criminal Justice News
Case of Mistaken Identity or Panhandle ‘Family Justice’? Woman’s Arrest Highlights Systemic Concerns: When Brittany Sanchez was 18, she cashed a $76 check on behalf of her friend Katie in Elkhart. Katie claimed her aunt was paying her to do chores, Sanchez said. In reality, Katie stole the check without her aunt’s knowledge and set Sanchez up for the fall. [Oklahoma Watch]
Oklahoma Highway Patrol conducts immigration sting near Texas border: Oklahoma Highway Patrol officers on Monday conducted a third operation focused on drivers without legal citizenship status using the state’s highways and interstates. [Oklahoma Voice]
Edmond PD officer’s ‘stand your ground’ claim in brother’s killing sent back district court: The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals has ordered a new review of Edmond Police Department Lt. Jennifer Haddock’s motion for “stand your ground” immunity in the fatal 2023 shooting of her brother at their mother’s apartment. [NonDoc]
DA dismisses charges against Edmond mother while broken leg lawsuit lingers: About 16 months after they were filed, criminal charges were dismissed Monday against an Edmond mother who is also suing officials after her leg was broken inside the Oklahoma County Jail in June 2024. [NonDoc]
Former Oklahoma Pardon and Parole chairman named to Tulsa nonprofit criminal justice board: Criminal justice executive Adam Luck, a former chairman of the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board, has been appointed to Tulsa-based nonprofit Oklahomans for Criminal Justice Reform’s board of directors. [The Oklahoman]
Housing & Economic Opportunity News
Lincoln Avenue breaks ground on 267-unit OKC affordable housing project: Lincoln Avenue Communities broke ground last week on The Reserve at Chisholm Creek, a 267-unit affordable housing community for individuals and families, marking LAC’s first ground-up construction project in Oklahoma. [The Journal Record]
Oklahoma City apartments for rent saw price increases since last October: Renters in Oklahoma City saw apartment listing prices increase 6% from last year’s median of $1,199, an analysis of new data from rental marketplace Zumper shows. [USA Today via The Oklahoman]
Economy & Business News
Data center growth drives locals to fight for more say: Data centers require a great deal of electricity to run, which some state officials worry will drive up electricity demand — and utility bills. Many data centers also require significant amounts of water to cool their servers. [Oklahoma Voice]
- As data centers eye Oklahoma communities, residents and officials weigh in on water concerns [KOSU]
Activist investor Kimmeridge takes stake in OKC-based energy producer Devon: Kimmeridge owned 5.66 million shares in Devon as of the end of September, the filing said. That would equate to an approximately 0.9% stake in Devon, according to Reuters calculations, and make it Devon‘s 14th-largest shareholder, according to data provider LSEG. [Reuters via The Journal Record]
Community News
Vandals hit new Clara Luper National Sit-In Plaza in downtown OKC: What we know: Vandals have struck the new Clara Luper National Sit-In Plaza less than a month after it was dedicated in downtown Oklahoma City. Someone used what appeared to be a key or a small pocket knife to scratch nearly every bronze sculpture depicting an individual, including the image of civil rights icon Clara Luper. [The Oklahoman]
- Multiple statues vandalized at the Clara Luper National Sit-in Plaza (photos) [The Oklahoman]
- Alleged vandalism strikes downtown Oklahoma City civil rights monument [KFOR]
He inspired ‘The Lowdown,’ but his family says the show is muddying fact and fiction: Sterlin Harjo’s latest FX series “The Lowdown” is a smash hit taking place in Tulsa. The show follows protagonist Lee Raybon, who is loosely based on late journalist Lee Roy Chapman. KWGS’ Ben Abrams sat down with Whitney Chapman, Lee Roy’s sister, to discuss the accuracy of the show and how it has affected her family. [Public Radio Tulsa]
Local Headlines
- Chunks of Interstate 44 are falling onto Peoria. ODOT plans to fix it in 2028. [Tulsa Flyer]
- ‘The house that Bike Club built’: New $8M cycling hub coming to west Tulsa [Tulsa Flyer]
- This is how your City of Tulsa utility bill is calculated and what each charge means [Tulsa Flyer]
- New Stroud travel plaza opens as Turner Turnpike widening, reconstruction continues [The Oklahoman]
- Edmond sales tax election to renew established revenue streams sees no apparent opposition [The Oklahoman]
- Weatherford officials confirm city is recovering well after ammonia leak [The Oklahoman]
Quote of the Day
“This is not just about building the workforce that we need in the future. If we choose to ignore this data, we will be failing our children. This has far-reaching implications on the state of Oklahoma, far beyond just the business climate. It’s really impacting our quality of life for generations to come.”
— State Chamber Research Foundation Board Chair Kristin Peck said during the State Chamber’s “Oklahoma Competes” forum, while citing data showing how years of tax cuts and low-revenue policymaking have dragged down the state’s education and economic outcomes. [Tulsa World]
Number of the Day
$11,349
The amount Oklahoma K-12 public schools spend per student each year, ranking 48th in the nation. This is $9,038 less than the national average of $20,387, leaving the state far behind most others in public education funding. [Education Data Initiative]
Policy Note
The Fiscal Impacts of Expanded Voucher Programs and Charter-School Growth on Public Schools: Recommendations for Sustaining Adequate and Equitable School Finance Systems: The expansion of voucher programs and charter schools — despite limited enrollment growth — is redirecting taxpayer dollars away from traditional public districts and creating parallel systems that strain state and local school finance. This shift undermines fiscal stability and equity, especially where enrollment declines make budget cuts difficult to offset. Strengthening public school finance requires policies including enrollment stabilization funding, transparency and accountability for taxpayer-supported choice programs, and oversight to ensure equitable treatment of students across all sectors. [National Education Policy Center]
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