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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.
Oklahoma has the highest rate of prison homicides in the nation, with state inmates killed at a rate more than three times the national average, according to the latest figures from the Bureau of Justice Statistics. At the first meeting of Gov. Mary Fallin’s Justice Reform Steering Committee, officials said the state’s budget problems won’t put the brakes on criminal justice reform. KGOU discussed the many barriers faced by convicted felons leaving Oklahoma prisons with a mountain of debt and few chances to get a job.
A House committee approved a bill to ban the teaching of AP US History, and some opponents of Common Core are questioning the legality of teaching any Advanced Placement courses in Oklahoma schools. On the okeducationtruths blog, an Oklahoma teacher refuted some of the misinformation being spread about the AP US History curriculum. Three national experts advised Oklahoma education leaders on Monday to look to other states’ examples of proven math and English/language arts standards.
The reported distribution of Bibles in several Oklahoma public schools by the son of a state representative has sparked letters of complaint from the Freedom from Religion Foundation. A Senate panel passed a bill Monday that would let public education dollars go toward private and home schooling. KGOU examined how the frequent earthquakes caused by the oil and gas industry are impacting a small community in Oklahoma. On the OK Policy Blog, the Scholars Strategy Network’s Rachael V. Cobb discussed her research showing the many benefits of online voter registration.
Rep. John Bennett, R-Sallisaw – has filed a bill to allow anyone with a license to carry a handgun to take the weapon into the state Capitol. A bill to ban texting while driving cleared a House committee. NewsOK reporter Jaclyn Cosgrove examined challenges faced by thousands of Oklahoma who struggle to pay heat bills each year. StateImpact Oklahoma discussed the geographic divide in Oklahoma between those who have plenty of water and those who desperately need it. Northeastern Oklahoma will have access to a new digital broadcast channel devoted to Native American and indigenous content starting March 1.
The Number of the Day is the approximate number of Oklahoma high school students who scored high enough on the AP US History exam in 2013 to earn college credit. In today’s Policy Note, Robert Greenstein discussed why a constitutional convention could be the single most dangerous way to ‘fix’ American government.
In The News
Oklahoma’s prison inmate homicide rate leads nation
Oklahoma has the highest rate of prison homicides in the nation, with state inmates killed at a rate more than three times the national average, according to the latest figures from the Bureau of Justice Statistics. The figures reviewed by The Associated Press as part of a months-long investigation show 39 homicides at Oklahoma prisons between 2001 and 2012, a rate of 14 per 100,000 inmates.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Oklahoma officials say budget hole won’t put brakes on justice reform
Texas has been able to reduce its incarceration rate and its crime rate by spending hundreds of millions on treatment programs providing alternatives to prison for many nonviolent offenders. Oklahoma doesn’t have that kind of money — and in fact is facing a $611.3 million budget hole — but can still begin to make the kind of gains seen by its neighbor to the south. That was the message Monday after the first meeting of Gov. Mary Fallin’s Justice Reform Steering Committee.
Without Structure, Stability, Many Offenders End Up “Right Back In Jail”
For many convicted felons leaving Oklahoma prisons, repaying their debt to society means paying down a mountain of actual debt from court costs, fines and fees, and keeping former inmates from re-offending and returning to prison often depends on help available when they’re released. Men and women clutch binders and sack lunches as they shuffle into a cafeteria and catch up before the day begins. They’re all participants at TEEM, The Employment and Education Ministry, in Oklahoma City.
Oklahoma legislative committee questions legality of Advanced Placement courses in public schools
Some opponents of Common Core apparently have now turned their guns on Advanced Placement courses. The legality of teaching Advanced Placement courses in Oklahoma public schools was raised Monday during a House Common Education Committee hearing on a bill aimed at the AP U.S. history guidelines. That measure, House Bill 1380, by Rep. Dan Fisher, R-Yukon, would direct the state Board of Education to review those guidelines and bar the use of state funds for AP U.S. history courses.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
See also: The legislative AP US History push-back: A teacher’s perspective from okeducationtruths
National experts urge Oklahoma to look at other states when developing academic standards
Three national experts advised Oklahoma education leaders on Monday to look to other states’ examples of math and English/language arts standards with proven track records for improving student achievement. The Oklahoma Standards Setting Steering Committee is preparing to oversee the development of new standards in those two core subjects by 2016 because the state legislature last summer repealed the controversial Common Core standards.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Bible distribution at some Oklahoma public schools prompts complaint
The reported distribution of Bibles in several Oklahoma public schools has sparked letters of complaint from the Freedom from Religion Foundation. Foundation officials said they sent complaint letters to 26 Oklahoma school districts after receiving information that Gideons International and the son of a state representative had been passing out Bibles to fifth-grade students in Checotah, Eufaula and Stidham. The organization identified the state representative’s relative involved in the distribution as Jamison Faught, the 26-year-old son of state Rep. George Faught, R-Muskogee.
School vouchers: Measure would let Oklahoma tax dollars go to private and home schooling
A Senate panel passed a bill Monday that would let public education dollars go toward private and home schooling. Senate Bill 609, the “Oklahoma Education Empowerment Scholarship Act,” passed the Senate Education Committee by a vote of 6-3 and now heads to the Senate Finance Committee. The author is Sen. Clark Jolley, R-Edmond, who calls it a school-choice bill. But critics say it is a voucher bill. The measure would let parents receive a debit card with 80 percent of the state aid allocation for the student that would have gone to a school district.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
With Quakes Spiking, Oil Industry Is Under The Microscope In Oklahoma
Out on Oklahoma’s flat prairie, Medford, population about 900, is the kind of place where people give directions from the four-way stop in the middle of town. It seems pretty sedate, but it’s not. “We are shaking all the time,” says Dea Mandevill, the city manager. “All the time.” The afternoon I stopped by, Mandevill says two quakes had already rumbled through Medford. “Light day,” she laughs. But, she adds, “the day’s not over yet; we still have several more hours.”
The many benefits of online voter registration
In order to vote, every American must register first – except in North Dakota, which has no voter registration. Making registration secure, efficient, and easily accessible for voters should be a goal for every state. Online voter registration accomplishes all of these objectives. Providing an online tool that eligible citizens can use to register to vote reduces administrative costs, minimizes data entry errors, and increases the accuracy of state voter lists.
Read more from the OK Policy Blog.
See also: Repairing Oklahoma’s Broken Democracy from OK Policy.
Bill would allow some to carry guns into Oklahoma Capitol
Anyone with a license to carry a handgun should be allowed to take the weapon into “the people’s Capitol,” a state legislator said. “It’s our God-given right and our constitutional right,” said Rep. John Bennett, R-Sallisaw, who has filed legislation to allow weapons to be brought into the Capitol. Bennett’s bill has been assigned to the House Public Safety Committee, but has not been set for a hearing. A similar bill was approved in the House Judiciary Committee last year, but the proposal did not reach the full House.
Approval of anti-texting measure should be easy call for Oklahoma lawmakers
Oklahoma has moved toward joining the overwhelming majority of states that have told their drivers it’s not OK to text-message at the wheel. Here’s hoping lawmakers, who have ignored the issue long enough, carry this bill all the way to the governor’s desk. House Bill 1965 by Rep. Terry O’Donnell, R-Tulsa, cleared a House committee without opposition last week. This alone is progress. Other attempts in the past seven years to ban texting and driving generally failed to even get a committee hearing because they were spiked by GOP leadership.
Thousands of Oklahomans struggle to pay heat bills each year
Cari Crittenden has been at her job for seven years, and still, one story sticks with her. When Crittenden started working at the Oklahoma Department of Human Services, a coworker training her told her about a man in southeast Oklahoma who was using a space heater in his bathroom. The man slept in his bathroom because it was the smallest room in his house, making it easiest to heat. One night, the man’s blanket caught on fire. He died that night. “So that’s why we keep doing this job,” her coworker told her.
Oklahoma City Drought Problems A Microcosm Of the State’s Water Crisis
The latest update of the U.S. Drought Monitor shows 98 percent of Oklahoma experiencing at least abnormally dry conditions. As has been the case for the past five years, the worst of the drought is being felt in western Oklahoma, while the abundant waters of the eastern half of the state remain relatively unscathed. There’s a geographic divide in Oklahoma between those who have plenty of water and those who desperately need it.
RSU-TV to Offer Channel Devoted to Native American Content
Northeastern Oklahoma will have access to a new digital broadcast channel devoted to Native American and indigenous content starting March 1, thanks to RSU-TV. The Claremore-based public television channel will offer FNX programming 6 p.m.-6 a.m. on its second digital channel 35.2 available over the air on digital TVs or those equipped with a digital converter and antenna. RSU becomes the 21st affiliate of the network, which will provide an outlet for area tribes to provide content to audiences across the country.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Quote of the Day
“We spent a lot of time over the past decade talking about accountability and transparency of taxpayer dollars. … Now we want to set up a parallel system where taxpayer dollars can be spent for home school students and private school students that have no accountability.”
-Oklahoma State School Boards Association executive director Shawn Hime, speaking about proposals in the legislature that would redirect state aid funding to pay for private and home school expenses (Source)
Number of the Day
1,170
Approximate number of Oklahoma high school students who scored high enough on the AP US History exam in 2013 to earn college credit. Multiple legislative proposals this year seek to ban the teaching of AP US History.
Source: College Board
See previous Numbers of the Day here.
Policy Note
A constitutional convention could be the single most dangerous way to ‘fix’ American government
A dangerous proposal is circulating in states across the country that could widen political divisions and jeopardize cherished rights and freedoms. The push is coming primarily from well-organized, arch-conservative groups seeking to capitalize on the decline in public trust in government to limit the federal government’s role and spending powers. And the method they prefer is a constitutional convention — the first since the 1787 conclave that produced the U.S. Constitution. Under the Constitution, if two-thirds of state legislatures call for a convention to amend it, one must be convened.
Read more from The Washington Post.
See also: The con-con con from the OK Policy Blog.
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