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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.
Mid-year teacher layoffs are a possibility if Oklahoma’s No Child Left Behind waiver is rejected by the U.S. Department of Education. The Oklahoma State Department of Education has requested a one-year extension of its flexibility waiver, but there is no timeline for when a decision will be made. Jenks Middle School Principal Rob Miller is one of six finalists for 2015 National Principal of the Year from the National Association of Secondary School Principals. You can find Miller’s blog here and listen to his remarks on an education panel at OK Policy’s Summer Policy Institute.
Phillips 66 will be giving $1.7 million to Bartlesville Public Schools to create new innovative laboratories on three school campuses to support science, technology, engineering and math classes and research projects. OK Policy is accepting applications for our paid fall internships and our 2014-2015 research fellowships. An over-capacity crowd came out to attend a forum in Norman with a New York activist who said it was possible for the city to put a moratorium on fracking in city limits. Oklahoma City residents soon will weigh in on a proposed water rate increase that would see utility bills climb by 17 percent to promote conservation while funding $2.1 billion in work needed to support projected population growth.
In the wake of Robin Williams’ suspected suicide, Oklahoma’s mental health commissioner Teri White spoke about what to do if you think someone is contemplating suicide. A report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows Oklahoma babies are breast-fed at some of the lowest rates in the nation. The Cherokee Nation increased its operating budget by more than $4 million, to help cover health costs, increase employment and assist with emergency housing for citizens.
Officials with the medical examiner’s office say they are one step closer to reaccreditation with the hiring of two new staff members. This Land previously examined the severe problems at the Medical Examiner that caused it to lose accreditation. A court decision on whether Tulsa County will have to pay the attorney fees of couples who sued the county to overturn a ban on same-sex marriages was delayed pending an appeal to the US Supreme Court. Among the emails withheld by Governor Fallin, citing a need to protect the “deliberative process” for policy decisions, was a political analysis of state Senate races filled with pointed criticisms of some candidates. Despite the release of the emails, the Lost Ogle blog and the ACLU will continue to pursue a lawsuit against the governor to avoid a precedent that governors can hide records using “executive privilege.”
The Number of the Day is the percentage of Oklahomans reporting no physical activity. In today’s Policy Note, education researcher Amanda Ripley discusses a growing movement to improve schools by making it harder to become a teacher.
In The News
Oklahoma Schools Could See Mid-Year Teacher Layoffs
Mid-year teacher layoffs are a possibility if Oklahoma’s No Child Left Behind waiver is rejected by the U.S. Department of Education. Failure to get the one-year waiver, for which the state submitted a request Tuesday, could tie up nearly $28 million in federal funding used for programs that help students in poverty. Instead of being used to fund reading programs or to hire teachers, the money would be used for programs such as tutoring or to bus students to different schools. A decision from the U.S. Department of Education will likely come after school has started statewide.
Oklahoma seeking extension of its No Child Left Behind waiver
The Oklahoma State Department of Education on Tuesday requested a one-year extension of its flexibility waiver from the federal No Child Left Behind Act. In 2012, Oklahoma was one of the first states to be granted such a waiver, but since the state Legislature repealed Common Core standards for public schools this spring, the status of that waiver has been in question.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Jenks’ Rob Miller named finalist for 2015 National Principal of the Year
Jenks Middle School Principal Rob Miller is one of six finalists for 2015 National Principal of the Year from the National Association of Secondary School Principals. He was named Oklahoma Principal of the Year in February, which made him eligible for the national honor. As a national finalist, Miller will be honored during a September awards luncheon in Washington, D.C., on Capitol Hill and will be recognized at the annual State Principals of the Year Institute conference.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
See also: Miller’s blog A View from the Edge; and listen to Miller discuss education in Oklahoma at our 2014 Summer Policy Institute
Phillips 66 CEO announces $1.7 million STEM grant for Bartlesville schools
The CEO of Phillips 66 announced Tuesday that the company will be giving $1.7 million to Bartlesville Public Schools to create new innovative laboratories on three school campuses to support science, technology, engineering and math classes and research projects. The first phase is a new laboratory at Bartlesville High, which next school year will open as a four-year campus. The new space and funding will allow a research-based science course and a hands-on program through which scientists in the community can mentor students and work with them on research.
Read more from the Bartlesville World.
Two great opportunities for Oklahoma college students
OK Policy is pleased to announced two exciting opportunities for Oklahoma college students. We are currently accepting applications for our fall internship and for our 2014-2015 research fellowship. Students working with OK Policy have a wide range of opportunities to conduct research, write blog posts, and contribute to OK Policy projects and events. We invite all interested candidates to apply by Friday, August 29.
Read more from the OK Policy Blog.
Fracking forum exceeds capacity
A moratorium on hydraulic fracturing is possible in Norman, a New York activist told Oklahomans at a town hall meeting Monday. Interested residents and oil industry stakeholders crowded the Norman Public Library, filling the Lowry Room to capacity and forcing a state trooper working security to bar the door to many. Library staff worked to provide sound for the overflow crowd who waited outside in the hallway.
Read more from the Norman Transcript.
Oklahoma City Council sets public hearing on water rate increases
Oklahoma City residents soon will be able to weigh in on a proposed water rate increase that would see utility bills climb by 17 percent. The matter is set for a hearing in two weeks when the city council will take public comments on plans to upgrade the city’s water system. The proposal is designed to promote conservation while financing the start of $2.1 billion in work needed to support projected population growth.
Mental health commissioner talks in the wake of Williams suicide
You might save a person’s life by being brave enough to ask a difficult question: “Are you thinking of killing yourself?” Depression and suicide are in the news following the death of actor Robin Williams, who had self-divulged struggles with mental illness and substance abuse. If someone had asked the 600 Oklahomans who kill themselves every year that difficult question, it’s likely many would still be alive, said Terri White, commissioner of the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services. More people die of suicide every year in Oklahoma than in car crashes, she said.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Oklahoma babies are breast-fed at lower rates than most of the nation, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says
Oklahoma babies are breast-fed at some of the lowest rates in the nation, a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows. About 71 percent of Oklahoma babies in 2013 were ever breast-fed, lower than the national average of about 79 percent of babies, according to the report. Overall, Oklahoma’s breast-feeding rates in 2013 were lower than a majority of states in each category the CDC included in the report.
Cherokee Nation increases operating budget
The Cherokee Nation increased its operating budget by more than $4 million at its Tribal Council meeting on Monday. The increase puts the Nation’s budget at $613.7 million and will help cover health costs, increase employment and assist with emergency housing, according to Cherokee Nation spokeswoman Julie Hubbard. Roughly one-fourth of the $4.6 million increase will help to cover contract health costs for Cherokee Nation citizens who use Claremore Indian Hospital and are then referred to non-Cherokee Nation facilities for specialized care.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Medical Examiner’s Office Gains New Staff, Seeks Path To Reaccreditation
State officials with the medical examiner’s office say they are one step closer to reaccreditation under the National Association of Medical Examiners (NAME) with the hiring of two new staff members. Amy Elliott, chief administrative officer for the medical examiner’s office, told the Board of Medicolegal Investigations last week that two new full-time forensic pathologies have joined the state. Dr. Cheryl Niblo joined the Tulsa office in July and Dr. Clay Nichols will join the Oklahoma City home office in September. This will bring the agency’s full-time forensic pathology staff up to 11, only four away from the number needed to regain accreditation at present workload levels.
See also: Under Closer Examination from This Land.
Legal fees arguments put off pending Supreme Court action on same-sex marriage lawsuit
The timeline was extended Monday for a court decision on whether Tulsa County will have to pay the fees of attorneys representing lesbian couples seeking to overturn a ban on same-sex marriages. The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals stated it will not decide in the near future whether the attorneys are entitled, by law, to have their fees paid by the county. The attorneys for the Tulsa-area couples asked the Denver-based court on Aug. 4 to award them fees from the county for their legal work on the case in the court.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Fallin used ‘deliberative process’ privilege claim to withhold political analysis of Senate races
A political analysis of state Senate races filled with pointed criticisms of some candidates was among the emails initially withheld by Gov. Mary Fallin to protect the “deliberative process” involved in policy decisions. The analysis was included in more than 100 pages of emails released on Monday by the governor’s office after being withheld last year. The Tulsa World and other media originally sought records regarding Fallin’s decision to reject federal funds to create a state health-care exchange and expand Medicaid.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
So we got Mary’s secret emails. Now what?
As you know, Mary Fallin released the batch of secret emails related to our Open Records lawsuit yesterday afternoon. Now that we got the prize, you’d think we’d be popping champagne bottles and rolling around in the records on the floor like they were hundred dollar bills. Well, that’s true.
Quote of the Day
“It says a lot about the health of both women and babies in the state of Oklahoma. There’s lots and lots of research showing that breast-feeding is the best choice for both mom and baby. For babies, we know it decreases their risks for allergies … serious childhood illnesses like diabetes and decreases their risk of diseases later on in life.”
– Kathryn Konrad, co-leader of the Oklahoma Birth Network, discussing CDC data showing Oklahoma has low rates of breastfeeding compared to the national average (Source: http://bit.ly/1vFxGVV)
Number of the Day
28.3%
Percentage of Oklahomans reporting no physical activity. The national average is 22.9%.
Source: 2014 State of the State’s Health
See previous Numbers of the Day here.
Policy Note
Higher Calling
So far this month in education news, a California court has decimated rigid job protections for teachers, and Oklahoma’s governor has abolished the most rigorous learning standards that state has ever had. Back and forth we go in America’s exhausting tug-of-war over schools—local versus federal control, union versus management, us versus them. But something else is happening, too. Something that hasn’t made many headlines but has the potential to finally revolutionize education in ways these nasty feuds never will. In a handful of statehouses and universities across the country, a few farsighted Americans are finally pursuing what the world’s smartest countries have found to be the most efficient education reform ever tried. They are making it harder to become a teacher.
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