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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. E-mail your suggestions for In The Know items to gperry@okpolicy.org. You can sign up here to receive In The Know by e-mail.
Statewide achievement test scores for public school students showed improvement. The State Department of Education has been criticized for withholding a record amount of state aid, mostly for virtual and charter schools. The Oklahoman wrote about the growing momentum behind efforts to enforce sales tax collection from online retailers.
David Blatt wrote in The Journal Record that Oklahoma is a poor state no longer, and it’s time to translate that newfound prosperity into enhanced personal and social well being. Firefighters in southwestern Oklahoma have successfully contained a wildfire. A drought covering two-thirds of the continental U.S. has rapidly increased in intensity.
The Tulsa World considered the Governor’s recent statements about state implementation of the new federal health care law. In today’s Policy Note, the New England Journal of Medicine found that previous rounds of state Medicaid expansion resulted in fewer deaths. The Number of the Day is the percentage of Oklahoma high school students who do not attend a physical education class during an average week of school.
In The News
Statewide test scores make gains
Statewide, public school students showed improvement on achievement tests for third- through eighth-graders and exit exams for high-schoolers. The Oklahoma State Department of Education reported results of the Oklahoma Core Curriculum Tests and End of Instruction exams for 2011-12 at a Thursday morning state board meeting.
Read more from the Tulsa World at http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=19&articleid=20120726_19_0_hrbRel51823
Oklahoma Education Department slammed over withholding school funds
The Oklahoma State Department of Education on Thursday drew new criticism for withholding a record amount of state aid for anticipated growth, namely at virtual and charter schools. State board members Lee Baxter of Lawton and Joy Hofmeister of Tulsa were joined by Jenks Superintendent Kirby Lehman in questioning the department’s timing and decision to reserve nearly $64 million from initial allocations sent to school districts.
Read more from the Tulsa World at http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=11&articleid=20120727_19_A1_ULNSbq221218
Remote-tax firewall is gradually eroding
Main Street retailers in Oklahoma got a cool reception last year from the state’s congressional delegation to the retailers’ support of federal legislation to compel state and local sales tax collections. Although a softening of the GOP stance against remote sales tax collection is being seen in the offices of governors and legislators, members of Congress will ultimately determine the fate of pending bills.
Read more from NewsOK at http://newsok.com/remote-tax-firewall-is-gradually-eroding/article/3694644#ixzz21pAaMtLx
Prosperity Policy: Not poor anymore
Contrary to what many people believe, Oklahoma is no longer a poor state. We just continue to play one on TV. As recently as 1999, Oklahoma ranked 44th in state per capita personal income, outpacing only a handful of Southern states. However, between 2000 and 2010, Oklahoma’s personal income growth was 10th highest, as the state avoided the worst effects of the decade’s two recessions and grew robustly during the recovery years of 2003 to 2008.
Read more from The Journal Record at http://journalrecord.com/2012/07/25/prosperity-policy-not-poor-anymore-opinion/
Large wildfire burns in southwestern Oklahoma
Firefighters have a wildfire that’s charred about 15 square miles in southwestern Oklahoma 90% contained and most people who left their homes have been allowed to return. Officials say three homes remained evacuated late Thursday as crews tried to control the blaze in the western part of the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge north of Indiahoma. No homes have burned.
Read more from KTUL at http://www.ktul.com/story/19121340/large-wildfire-burns-in-southwestern-oklahoma
Report shows US drought rapidly intensifying
The drought covering two-thirds of the continental U.S. had been considered relatively shallow, the product of months without rain, rather than years. But Thursday’s report showed its intensity is rapidly increasing, with 20 percent of the nation now in the two worst stages of drought – up 7 percent from last week. The U.S. Drought Monitor classifies drought in various stages, from moderate to severe, extreme and, ultimately, exceptional. Five states – Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska – are blanketed by a drought that is severe or worse. States like Arkansas and Oklahoma are nearly as bad, with most areas covered in a severe drought and large portions in extreme or exceptional drought.
Read more from the Associated Press at http://www.valleynewslive.com/story/19121014/report-shows-us-drought-rapidly-intensifying
Editorial: Fallin to wait until November on Medicaid expansion decision
Of course, the most compelling reason for her to wait until after the elections is to see who the next president is going to be. But her comments give us hope that she does recognize the importance of carefully weighing all sides of this issue, and that she will consider making the choice that will provide insurance coverage for tens of thousands, even if it is politically unpopular. Some of her other comments, though, certainly indicate she isn’t warming up to the idea of expanding Medicaid. She said the Affordable Care Act is unaffordable and unworkable for state and federal governments.
Read more from the Tulsa World article at http://www.tulsaworld.com/opinion/article.aspx?subjectid=61&articleid=20120727_61_A16_GovMar417203&allcom=1
Quote of the Day
[Gov. Fallin] said the Affordable Care Act is unaffordable and unworkable for state and federal governments. That’s been the mantra of opponents of the law for many months now, but there’s no disputing the fact that what we have now is unaffordable and unworkable for state and federal governments. Those of us who have insurance are paying, one way or another, for the care of those who don’t. The health-care infrastructure is overburdened to the breaking point.
Tulsa World’s Editorials Writers, on a statement in which the Governor implied she would wait until after the November election to implement the Affordable Care Act
Number of the Day
63.2 percent
Percentage of Oklahoma high school students who do not attend a physical education class during an average week of school, compared to 48.2 percent nationally, 2011
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
See previous Numbers of the Day here.
Policy Note
Mortality and Access to Care among Adults after State Medicaid Expansions
Several states have expanded Medicaid eligibility for adults in the past decade, and the Affordable Care Act allows states to expand Medicaid dramatically in 2014. Yet the effect of such changes on adults’ health remains unclear. We examined whether Medicaid expansions were associated with changes in mortality and other health-related measures.
Read more from the New England Journal of Medicine at http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMsa1202099
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