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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
Is ‘stable revenue’ enough for Oklahoma’s future growth? (Capitol Update): On December 19, the Oklahoma State Board of Equalization certified an estimated $8.35 billion available from the general fund for the next legislative session, marking a $271 million increase from the previous year. Overall spending authority is $10.9 billion, an increase of $338.1 million from Fiscal Year 2026. The December board certification will be the basis for the governor’s budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2027, which starts on July 1, 2026, and the board will meet again in February for the final certification of funding available for appropriation. [Steve Lewis / Capitol Update]
Oklahoma News
‘Everyone’s scared.’ How Trump’s focus on immigration affects Oklahoma: Hundreds of families across Oklahoma have been impacted as ICE detains and deports more people as part of the Trump administration’s goal to deport 1 million immigrants a year. By July 2025, ICE had apprehended 2,038 people in Oklahoma, compared to 1,560 the full year prior. During the first half of the year, nearly 400 people who had been detained by ICE in Oklahoma left the country either voluntarily or because they were forced by immigration officials. [The Oklahoman]
State Government News
Officials decry judge’s ruling against poultry companies in Oklahoma and Arkansas: Oklahoma and Arkansas officials are denouncing a federal judge’s decision that found poultry companies responsible for polluting a key watershed in both states and also ordered them to pay millions to remediate it. [Oklahoma Voice]
- Stitt criticizes ruling holding poultry companies responsible for watershed pollution [The Oklahoman]
- Stitt criticizes judgment in poultry pollution lawsuit, seeks stay [Tulsa World]
Arkansas regulator asks Tulsa wastewater permit challenge be thrown out: Arkansas regulators have asked that an Oklahoma city’s appeal of a wastewater permit get tossed, saying lawyers who filed the appeal are ineligible because they are not licensed in the state. [Oklahoma Voice]
Federal Government News
Respect states’ rights, new bipartisan group of legislative leaders tells feds: A new group of bipartisan state legislative leaders issued a declaration at their first meeting calling for a renewed focus on states’ rights and an end to federal intrusion into state laws. The Assembly of State Legislative Leaders, which includes more than 40 lawmakers from 30 states, unanimously approved a 449-word declaration on the importance of states’ ability to legislate independently. [Oklahoma Voice]
Voting and Election News
Governor pushed for Oklahoma ethics board to act on issues with election reporting system: In an unusual move, Gov. Kevin Stitt wrote a letter leaning on a state ethics board ahead of a key vote to take action on the future of Oklahoma’s campaign finance system after it had been offline for months. [Oklahoma Voice]
Education News
OU removes instructor from teaching after Bible-based essay controversy: A graduate assistant at the University of Oklahoma who gave a student a failing grade on a controversial essay will no longer be teaching at the university, school officials have announced. [The Oklahoman]
- Graduate instructor who gave failing grade to Samantha Fulnecky no longer teaching at OU [KOCO]
- OU dismisses grad assistant amid students controversial essay grading [KFOR]
- OU graduate teaching assistant put on leave will not return to instructing [KGOU]
Lawmakers hope to bring ‘Mississippi Miracle’ to Oklahoma classrooms through proposed legislation: After Mississippi students climbed from 49th to ninth nationally in literacy, some Oklahoma lawmakers want to replicate Mississippi’s strategy. [StateImpact via KGOU]
State regents’ vice chancellor will be Southwestern’s interim leader: A vice chancellor for the state agency that oversees public higher education in Oklahoma will serve as the next interim president of Southwestern Oklahoma State University. [The Oklahoman]
Criminal Justice News
Oklahoma’s Prison Population Climbed in 2025: As the Legislature enacted tougher sentencing laws, Oklahoma’s prison population increased for a third consecutive year in 2025. The Department of Corrections reported a population of 23,498 on Dec. 22, including pending county jail transfers. That’s a 1.7% uptick from December 2024, when 23,109 people were under the agency’s jurisdiction. [Oklahoma Watch]
Healthy meals, healthy families: Beyond Bars offers both to girls with incarcerated parents: About 100 Tulsa families received free meal boxes last week through the Girl Scouts of Eastern Oklahoma’s Beyond Bars program, which works directly with girls whose parents are incarcerated. The program has a 10-year partnership with Food on the Move, a Tulsa organization that combats hunger through distributing healthy food. [Tulsa Flyer]
Community News
In Latin cultures, most families celebrate ‘Noche Buena’ on Christmas Eve. Here’s why: Christmas Eve, known in Latin culture as Noche Buena, is often the night Latinos gather to celebrate Christmas. It’s a long evening that often runs until the early morning of the 25th. It’s the holiday that I look forward to the most every year. Starting at around 8 p.m., my cousins and aunts start trickling into my parents’ home for the celebration. [La Semana via Tulsa Flyer]
Greenwood park sets sights on new $10M facility exploring Black and Indigenous history: The John Hope Franklin Center for Reconciliation wants to raise $10 million to build a new facility at Reconciliation Park. The capital campaign, which launched Monday, is an effort to honor the legacy of Greenwood and its relationship with Native American culture. [The Oklahoma Eagle]
National Weather Museum and Science Center at risk of closing: A one-of-a-kind museum in Norman is fighting to keep its doors open after losing a major funding source. The National Weather Museum and Science Center in Norman is the only museum dedicated to weather in the United States. [KFOR]
Quote of the Day
“Everyone’s scared to even go outside to pump gas, to go to grocery stores.”
-Sandra, an Oklahoma City woman who is legally allowed to live in the U.S. but was arrested by ICE when she was three months pregnant. ICE came to her house looking for her partner, then arrested her when she refused to call him. The increased ICE activity in Oklahoma has hurt families and businesses in the predominantly Latino south side of Oklahoma City. [The Oklahoman]
Number of the Day
15th
In terms of population, Oklahoma ranks 28th, but when looking at arrests by ICE from January 2023 through July 2025, the state ranks 15th for most arrests nationally. [Deportation Data Project via The Oklahoman]
- Learn more at the Data Deportation Project
Policy Note
Most Immigrants Arrested in City Crackdowns Have No Criminal Record: The federal deployments that have swept through major cities as part of President Trump’s immigration crackdown have led to thousands of arrests. But they have been less effective at apprehending immigrants with a criminal record than more routine operations elsewhere, new data shows. Less than 30 percent of the people arrested in any of these operations had been convicted of a crime, and a very small share had been convicted of a violent crime. [New York Times]
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