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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.
A bill allowing public education dollars to go to private schools narrowly passed the Senate Finance Committee and is headed to the full Senate. The bill was amended in committee to remove a provision that would have allowed public education dollars to go to home schools. A new report from the Center for Civil Rights Remedies finds that African American students in the Oklahoma City school system are more likely to face suspension during their high school years than students in any other district in the nation. On the OK Policy Blog, we examine Governor Fallin’s new “OKStateStats” website that the governor says will become the basis of “performance-based budgeting” for state agencies. At a “Politics On Tap” event this evening in Oklahoma City, OK Policy’s David Blatt and OCPA’s Jonathan Small will discuss the state’s $600 million budget shortfall.
NPR examined fears that a prolonged drop in oil prices could endanger Oklahoma’s banks. The Tulsa World examined conflicts between the Osage Nation and small oil drillers in Osage County whose permits have been delayed for an environmental assessment. Rep. Doug Cox wrote an op-ed arguing for Oklahoma to increase the tobacco tax to boost education funding. A bill that seeks to protect the controversial practice of gay conversion therapy passed out of an Oklahoma House committee. A bill allowing school districts to develop rape and sexual assault programs for both students and staff passed unanimously through a House committee.
A proposal to force certain sex offenders in Oklahoma to undergo chemical castration as a condition of release from prison has failed in a state Senate committee. The state’s mental health commissioner has apologized to a judge who had threatened to jail her because a mentally ill criminal defendant did not get treatment for six months. Oklahoma Watch profiled Exodus House groups in Tulsa and Oklahoma City that are providing treatment for drug and alcohol abuse to a few ex-offenders for the first time in their lives.
Oklahoma seniors and disabled people have saved nearly $191 million on medicine in the last four years because the Affordable Care Act is closing the “doughnut hole” coverage gap in Medicare. The Oklahoma House of Representatives on Tuesday passed an anti-texting while driving bill after years of resistance, though the bill received criticism for not going far enough. News9 reported that a bill passed last year to reduce uninsured driving in Oklahoma is not having much impact. The Oklahoma editorial board warned that Oklahoma’s Open Records Act is under attack. A KRJH investigation that fewer than half of the dash cameras purchased by the Tulsa Policy Department under court order are actually in use.
The Number of the Day is the percentage of black male secondary students in Oklahoma City Public Schools who were suspended at least once in 2011-12, the highest suspension rate in the nation. In today’s Policy Note, Vox explains how harsh school discipline policies have created a school to prison pipeline.
In The News
School voucher bill OK’d by committee, heads to full Senate
A bill allowing public education dollars to go to private schools is headed to the full Senate. Senate Bill 609, by Sen. Clark Jolley, R-Edmond, on Tuesday passed the Senate Finance committee by a vote of 8-6. The measure, dubbed the “Oklahoma Education Empowerment Scholarship Act,” allows 80 percent of state aid to follow a student who wishes to attend a private school or another public school. The district would retain the 20 percent and any revenue from ad valorem taxes. Jolley amended the measure to remove a provision that would have allowed public education dollars to go to home schools.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
OKC home to highest black suspension rate in nation
African American students in the Oklahoma City school system are more likely to face suspension during their high school years than students in any other district in the nation. Oklahoma City Public Schools is one of the top ten highest-suspending districts at the secondary level for all students, and is the highest suspending district in the nation for black secondary students, according to the Center for Civil Rights Remedies and a new report that tracks suspension data across the country.
Read more from Oklahoma Gazette.
What Fallin’s goals for state government tell us about Oklahoma
During her 2015 State of the State Address, Governor Fallin announced a new state website that would identify measurable objectives for state government and track how Oklahoma is doing at reaching these objectives over time. The website looks at 160 metrics in five areas. For each metric, the site shares a current statistic and a target to reach in the next few years. The site also describes some of what the state is doing to reach that target.
Read more from the OK Policy Blog.
On Tap: How do you deal with a $600,000,000 budget shortfall?
The legislature is dealing with a $600 million dollar shortfall, but teachers are underpaid, the capitol is crumbling and prisons are understaffed. Everyone needs money. How do you balance it all when there’s not enough to go around? Let’s talk about it at On Tap. OK Policy’s David Blatt will be discussing the state budget along with OCPA’s Jonathan Small. We look forward to hearing your ideas too!
Find out more and RSVP on Facebook.
Analysts Fear A Prolonged Drop In Oil Prices Will Hurt Oklahoma’s Banks
In Oklahoma, a state that largely rode out the recession on a gusher of new-found oil, things may be about to change. Now it costs more to produce most of Oklahoma’s oil than it’s worth on the world market. That’s triggering a sharp economic reversal, one that some say has the makings of a prolonged downturn.
In Osage County, small oil producers complain about Osage Nation’s handling of mineral rights
Based a few miles east of Hominy, Fisher Wireline Services employed a dozen people last fall. Now it’s down to just two — and that’s counting the owner, Jerry Fisher, who’s not actually paying himself anymore. Oil prices, down 50 percent since last summer, are surely a factor. The bigger problem, according to oil producers, is the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs, which is responsible for processing those permit applications, since the mineral rights belong to the Osage tribe. Few, if any, permits have been issued since August, when the BIA announced that it was doing a new environmental assessment of the entire county, a process that could take until the end of 2015.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Oklahoma state Rep. Doug Cox: Raising tobacco tax could help education
It’s about time that we raised the tobacco tax again in Oklahoma. Not only would it discourage young people from taking up a bad habit, but it could be a source of additional funding for education. I have proposed House Bill 1719, which would raise the tobacco tax by about $1 a pack along with an increase in the tax on other tobacco products, except for e-cigarettes. Research shows that each 10 percent increase in the retail price of cigarettes reduces youth smoking by 6.5 percent, adult prevalence by 2 percent and total cigarette consumption by about 4 percent.
Gay conversion therapy bill clears Oklahoma House committee
A bill that seeks to protect the practice of gay conversion counseling passed out of an Oklahoma House committee Tuesday. House Bill 1598, which now goes to the full House, says the state will not prohibit or restrict counseling intended to rid people of attraction to those of their own gender. It also seeks to protect parents who want such counseling for their children. Nothing prevents this type of counseling now, but Rep. Sally Kern, R-Oklahoma City, said her bill is needed because the practice is under attack legislatively in other states.
Sexual assault response bill passes through Oklahoma House committee
A bill allowing school districts to develop rape and sexual assault programs for both students and staff passed unanimously through a state House committee Tuesday. House Bill 1362, by Rep. Claudia Griffith, D-Norman, was crafted in response to allegations that a student at Norman High School raped three classmates.
Chemical Castration Bill Killed By Oklahoma Senate Panel
A proposal to force certain sex offenders in Oklahoma to undergo chemical castration as a condition of release from prison has failed in a state Senate committee. The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 5-4 on Tuesday against the bill by Republican Sen. Mark Allen of Spiro. Since this week is a deadline for bills to emerge from committee, the measure is likely dead for the session.
Oklahoma mental health commissioner to keep court informed
The state’s mental health commissioner has apologized to a judge who had threatened to jail her because a mentally ill criminal defendant did not get treatment for six months. Commissioner Terri White promised that the judge will be promptly notified in the future if a defendant is not provided competency treatment within a reasonable time because of bed shortages. Oklahoma County District Judge Ray C. Elliott dismissed a contempt-of-court proceeding against White after meeting with her Friday.
Groups Serve as Havens for Ex-Offenders
In a modest neighborhood less than a mile west of the Oklahoma State Capitol, about a dozen former prison inmates huddle around a well-used conference table trying to rebuild their lives. The former inmates are participants in Exodus House, a non-profit that helps them get jobs, find homes and overcome their past. Inmates apply to the program during the process of being released. If accepted, they can get treatment for alcohol and drug abuse.
Oklahoma ‘doughnut hole’ savings near $191 million
Oklahoma seniors and disabled people on Medicare have saved nearly $191 million on medicine in the last four years because the coverage gap in the prescription drug program has been narrowed, the administration said Tuesday. The coverage gap, also known as the “doughnut hole,” has been part of the Medicare Part D program since Republicans created it in 2003. The hole meant considerable out-of-pocket expenses once a senior’s drug costs reached a covered limit of about $3,000, and before the senior reached the level where catastrophic coverage kicked in. The Affordable Care Act, approved in 2010, took steps to reduce the impact of the “doughnut hole.”
Oklahoma House passes anti-texting while driving bill
Citing the recent death of an Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper, the Oklahoma House of Representatives on Tuesday passed an anti-texting bill after years of resistance. The House voted 96-2 for the measure, but only after nearly an hour of criticism from Democrats who said it did not go far enough. Their chief complaint was that, under HB 1965, texting while driving will be a secondary offense, meaning law officers could not stop a motorist for texting. Instead, motorists could only be charged after being stopped for a primary offense such as speeding or erratic driving.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Law To Reduce Uninsured Driving In Oklahoma Stuck In First Gear
Sometimes, it’s good not to be number one. Certainly, Oklahoma’s insurance commissioner, John Doak, would prefer that Oklahoma were not the leading state when it comes to the percentage of uninsured cars on the road. Unfortunately, with 25 percent of motorists driving without insurance, one of every four, Oklahoma is indeed number one. Commissioner Doak said he is determined to drop that dubious distinction, however, and is hopeful that a law he helped push through the Legislature in 2013 will do the trick. It hasn’t so far.
Oklahoma’s Open Records Act is taking a beating
Last week, a Cleveland County judge agreed not to make available to the public a videotape showing University of Oklahoma football player Joe Mixon striking a woman last summer. She suffered four broken bones in her face. A recent change to the Open Records Act says facts concerning an arrest must be made public upon request, and also that copies should be allowed too. Norman’s city attorney, police department and the district attorney all refused to make copies of the videotape public.
Tulsa Police Department dash cams are installed, but many aren’t operating
Millions of tax dollars have been spent on police equipment that is not being used. Why aren’t the cameras up and running? The City of Tulsa was ordered by court to purchase 575 cameras after the Black Officers Coalition sued the city more than a decade ago. Tulsa Police Department Captain Van Ellis says the city received funds in 2010 to buy the cameras at a cost of $4,600 each. Of the 575 cameras purchased, all but 100 have been installed. But the 2 Works for You Investigators uncovered less than half of the cameras are actually in use.
Quote of the Day
“The tobacco tax in Oklahoma was last raised in 2005. Our rate is the 37th in the nation, meaning 36 states have a higher tobacco tax rate. Since the last increase, sales have gone down by 30 percent, but tax collections have increased 330 percent per the Oklahoma Tax Commission. Basically, the increased cost outweighs the drop in sales, creating more tax revenue.”
-Rep. Doug Cox, R-Grove, arguing that Oklahoma should increase the tobacco tax and use the revenue to boost education funding (Source)
Number of the Day
75.1%
Percentage of black male secondary students in Oklahoma City Public Schools who were suspended at least once in 2011-12, the highest suspension rate in the nation.
Source: The Center for Civil Rights Remedies
See previous Numbers of the Day here.
Policy Note
The school to prison pipeline, explained
Juvenile crime rates are plummeting, and the number of Americans in juvenile detention has dropped. One report shows the juvenile incarceration rate dropped 41 percent between 1995 and 2010. But school discipline policies are moving in the opposite direction: out-of-school suspensions have increased about 10 percent since 2000. They have more than doubled since the 1970s. Black students are three times more likely to be suspended or expelled than white students, according to the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights, and research in Texas found students who have been suspended are more likely to be held back a grade and drop out of school entirely.
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