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In The Know is a daily synopsis of Oklahoma policy-related news and blogs. Inclusion of a story does not necessarily mean endorsement by the Oklahoma Policy Institute. You can sign up here to receive In The Know by e-mail.
Today you should know that a new immigration policy that took effect Wednesday could allow more than a million young undocumented immigrants to remain in the country without fear of deportation, including 9,000 who live in Oklahoma. OU welcomed its largest freshman class in history, at more than 4,100 students. The OK Policy Blog finds mixed news in the latest state revenue numbers.
Gov. Fallin’s office asked the state Pardon and Parole Board to change some of its practices following a prosecutor’s accusation that it violated the Open Meeting Act. Three people in Oklahoma have died after being infected with West Nile Virus (WNV), and epidemiologists warn this summer could be the worst WNV season in Oklahoma history. The city of Tulsa has agreed to pay a $25,000 settlement on behalf of two police officers in an excessive-force lawsuit brought by a man who was naked and unarmed when he was shot repeatedly with pepper balls.
A representative from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation said Tulsa’s Teacher Leader Effectiveness model is being watched by education reformers across the United States. A School Board official writes in NewsOK that it’s time for Oklahoma to support education excellence. The Enid News and Eagle writes that Oklahoma needs a contingency plan for a state-based insurance exchange.
The Number of the Day is how many inmates are housed in private prisons in Oklahoma. In today’s Policy Note, Economix explains how the “doctor shortage” is defined and measured and examines whether it’s as big of a problem as people think.
In The News
New policy for young undocumented immigrants takes effect
A new immigration policy that took effect Wednesday could allow more than a million young undocumented immigrants to remain in the country without fear of deportation. The policy, which was created through executive order by President Barack Obama, allows young undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. as children to apply for a two-year deportation deferment or work permit. To apply, undocumented immigrants must be between 16 and 31 years of age, must be attending or have graduated high school and must have no criminal record. According to some estimates, as many as 1.7 million immigrants could qualify for the program, including 9,000 who live in Oklahoma.
University of Oklahoma welcomes largest freshman class in school history
Thursday marked the beginning of OU’s Sooner Orientation Weekend, a four-day period designed to get incoming freshmen and other new students acquainted with the university before they begin classes Monday. At more than 4,100 students, this year’s freshman class is the largest in university history, topping last year’s freshman class size of just more than 4,000. At the time, last year’s freshman class represented the largest in state history at a four-year public university. OU’s freshman classes have grown steadily in recent years, climbing from just 2,600 in 1995.
Quick Take: New fiscal year off to mixed start
This week’s announcement of General Revenue (GR) collections for the first month of the new fiscal year (FY 2013) provided mixed news for both overall collections and the performance of particular major taxes. Overall GR in July was $382.7 million. This is $6.4 million, or 1.7 percent, above last year. However, as the chart below shows, state revenues have yet to fully recover from the collapse that accompanied the last economic downturn. This year’s July collections remain 15 percent below four years ago and are still not back to where they were a full six years ago.
Read more from the OK Policy Blog.
Gov. Fallin’s office recommends changes to Pardon and Parole Board policies
Gov. Mary Fallin’s office has asked the state Pardon and Parole Board to change some of its policies and practices following a prosecutor’s accusation that it conducts a secret parole docket in violation of the Open Meeting Act, according to a letter to the board made public Thursday. The letter from Fallin’s general counsel, Steve Mullins, states the recommendations were outlined for board officials during a meeting with the governor’s staff on Monday and are intended to address “recent public concern regarding openness and transparency at the Pardon and Parole Board meetings.” Mullins’ letter to the board says Fallin’s office supports the board’s belief that it has the constitutional authority to recommend commutations on all criminal offenses including death sentences, life in prison without parole and so-called 85-percent crimes. According to the letter, Fallin’s office maintains any alleged failure by the board to comply with the Open Meeting Act “was inadvertent and not willful.”
Read more from the Associated Press.
West Nile Virus kills 3 Oklahomans; Governor urges people to take precautions
The number of people who’ve died in Oklahoma after being infected with West Nile Virus (WNV) has increased to three. The Oklahoma State Department of Health reports one person died in Seminole County and two people died in Oklahoma County. Another 38 people have been hospitalized with the disease. 8/15/2012 Related Story: Oklahoma On Pace For Worst West Nile Virus Cases In State History State epidemiologists warn this summer could be the worst WNV season in Oklahoma history. The last severe outbreak was in 2007. Twenty Oklahomans died and 107 people became sick. The situation has become so serious, Gov. Mary Fallin is urging people to take precautions.
City to pay $25,000 to naked man Tulsa police shot with pepper balls
The city of Tulsa has agreed to pay a $25,000 settlement on behalf of two police officers in an excessive-force lawsuit brought by a man who was naked and unarmed when he was shot repeatedly with pepper balls. Richard G. Smith, 54, of Tulsa filed the lawsuit against the city and members of the Tulsa Police Department on Feb. 24, 2011, alleging that excessive force was used against him on July 27, 2010, at the Tudor House Inn, 6416 E. Archer. In March, U.S. District Judge James Payne granted the city’s motion for summary judgment, finding “no evidence of a widespread practice or policy of the city of Tulsa which allows the use of excessive force to effectuate a misdemeanor arrest.” But Payne allowed claims to survive against Sgt. Christopher Witt and Officer Tina Kennemer, who was at the scene but allegedly made no effort to stop Witt from repeatedly shooting Smith with pepper balls.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Tulsa Public Schools teachers praised by national leaders
Local and national leaders sent Tulsa Public Schools teachers back to work Thursday with encouragement to improve student achievement and praise for their support and cooperation in the development of a new evaluation system that is being held up as a model. Irvin Scott, deputy director of education at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, said the Tulsa district’s Teacher Leader Effectiveness model is being watched by education reformers across the United States because it was a collaborative effort by teachers, principals, union leaders, district administrators and local foundations. “We are excited about the Tulsa model,” Scott said. “It’s having a ripple effect statewide and nationally. … It is also focused on growth and development. Oftentimes, people talk about evaluation as a way of getting rid of people. It should be about development.”
Read more from the Tulsa World.
School Board official: It’s time to support excellence in public education
School boards and administrators have the task of educating every student who walks through the door. To do so effectively requires qualified personnel. Imagine making contractual agreements with teachers and support staff in June, as required by state law, only to learn in July that despite promises of “flat funding” from the state, your school district has less money. Many of Oklahoma’s school districts became concerned when it was announced that they’d be getting less money than anticipated. Jenks, for example, was allocated more than $200,000 less than the previous year. Oklahoma City got $1.5 million less and Tulsa got $1.7 million less. This creates a burden for school districts that have rehired teachers as outlined in law by June 1.
Enid News and Eagle: We need a contingency plan for a state-based insurance exchange
If the November elections don’t change the political landscape in Washington, Oklahoma could be forced into a federal health care exchange. Although our state would have the option to create its own exchange and opt out of the federal system, we’re not making any progress on a possible Plan B scenario. At this stage, Oklahoma is not implementing a health care exchange in accordance with requirements of the Affordable Care Act. … As the Oklahoma Policy Institute think tank pointed out, the feds don’t want to operate our exchange, but they are willing and obligated to operate their version as long as necessary.
Read more from the Enid News and Eagle.
Quote of the Day
It’s all these things that start hitting you and you want to sign up for all these scholarships or financial aid or something but you can’t because you weren’t born here. But it’s all I’ve known.
–Guillermo Romero, an undocumented immigrant who is applying for a two-year deportation deferment under President Obama’s executive order. Romero was brought to the U.S. by his parents when he was 8 years. He attends attends Tulsa Community College and wants to eventually be able to study computer engineering at OSU
Number of the Day
6,019
Number of inmates housed in private prisons in Oklahoma, 3rd most nationally behind only Florida and Texas in 2010
Source: The Sentencing Project
See previous Numbers of the Day here.
Policy Note
Health care reform and the ‘doctor shortage’
“Doctor Shortage Likely to Worsen With Health Law,” read the alarming headline of a recent article in The New York Times. … According to the Times article, the association has estimated that the extension of health-insurance coverage under the new law to slightly more than 30 million otherwise uninsured Americans will increase the doctor shortage by 30,000 for any future year, beginning in 2015. That would double the projected shortage of doctors in 2015, to about 60,000 from a shortage of about 30,000 and would raise the shortage in 2025 from 100,000 without the act to 130,000 after full implementation of the act. Opponents of the health care law see in these numbers one more useful piece of ordnance. In this case the protest appears to be that we, the well insured, should not be asked to share already scarce health care resources with millions of currently uninsured Americans now adding their claim to these same already scarce resources. Sometimes this critique is styled as concern for the poor, on the strange theory that having no insurance coverage and ability to pay for care is better than having insurance coverage but having to wait for a doctor’s appointment to get non-emergency care. … Be that as it may, a more fundamental question is what do we mean by a “doctor shortage”? How is it defined and measured?
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