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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.
After attending a delegation to Central American countries where extreme poverty and violence is driving thousands of people to the United States, Rep. James Lankford said that “flippant” calls to secure the U.S. border weren’t enough to solve a complicated problem. OK Policy previously debunked several myths that had emerged about the children fleeing Central America. The Republican runoff for Oklahoma’s 5th Congressional district was decided with less than 5 percent of the district’s population voting. On the OK Policy Blog, Steve Lewis writes that with Oklahoma slashing funding for regulation of horse races, it may not be long before we see a doping or race-fixing scandal.
The loss of the state’s No Child Left Behind Act flexibility waiver could redirect $3.7 million in federal funding that Oklahoma City Public Schools spends on programs and services for low-performing schools. Missed class time means lower test scores for Oklahoma students, and large shares of students are missing class before taking a key national test, according to a new report released Tuesday. In an op-ed for The Oklahoman, the director of the Oklahoma State School Boards Association wrote that Oklahoma’s teacher shortage has reached critical levels. A Tulsa World op-ed discussed an increasing trend of re-segregation in Tulsa schools.
For the second straight year, workers’ compensation loss costs used by insurers to determine rates for Oklahoma employers will show an overall decrease. An animal rights group is seeking an investigation of Oklahoma State University for possible violations of the federal Animal Welfare Act by university researchers. Oklahoma Watch has received a $30,000 grant to fund in-depth journalism and community forums on mental health in Oklahoma.
The Number of the Day is the total earthquake insurance premiums paid by Oklahomans in 2013, almost triple what Oklahomans paid in 2009. In today’s Policy Note, Pew Charitable Trusts discussed how even though the unemployment rate is declining, food stamp statistics suggest many Americans still are struggling to get by with part-time or low-paying jobs.
In The News
Oklahoma Rep. James Lankford sees poverty behind influx of Central American minors
After seeing the extreme poverty driving thousands of people from Central America to the United States, Rep. James Lankford said Tuesday that “flippant” calls to secure the U.S. border weren’t enough to solve a complicated problem. “It was pretty clear you’re not going to be able to secure the border enough” to prevent some of those fleeing El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras from getting into the United States and reuniting with family members, Lankford, R-Oklahoma City, said in an interview. Lankford led a delegation of seven U.S. House members — four Republicans and three Democrats — to the three Central American countries from which tens of thousands of unaccompanied minors have fled in recent years, and especially the past several months — to seek better lives in the U.S..
Previously: Debunking myths about migrant children at Ft. Sill from the OK Policy Blog
Oklahoma’s 5th congressional district race seems to lack voter interest
Oklahoma’s 5th congressional district has more than 750,000 people, the capital city and the state Capitol, the headquarters of some major companies and 273 precincts in which to cast a vote. What it doesn’t apparently have is many engaged voters. Less than 5 percent of the district’s population — total population, not registered voters — likely selected the district’s next congressman on Tuesday. Here’s why that’s true:
Budget cuts not horsing around
A recent article by Journal Record columnist Marie Price reported on a meeting of the Oklahoma Horse Racing Commission. The OHRC was created when the people voted in pari-mutuel horse racing in 1982. The story caught my attention because it seems to describe the condition of many state agencies. OHRC officials were quoted as saying the agency’s funding has been slashed so much over the past several years that it is in danger of becoming unable to perform its mandated functions. In FY 2008, the OHRC received an appropriation of almost $2.7 million. The FY 2015 appropriation is about $1.97 million, a cut of over 25 percent.
Read more from the OK Policy Blog.
Oklahoma City school district could lose control of $3.7 million it spends on math, reading programs, services
The loss of the state’s No Child Left Behind Act flexibility waiver could redirect $3.7 million in federal funding that Oklahoma City Public Schools spends on programs and services for low-performing schools, district officials said Tuesday. About 37 schools designated as “priority schools” — 26 elementary schools, eight middle schools and three high schools — use the money for summer school and after-school math and reading programs, professional development or supplemental curriculum for remediation purposes.
Poor attendance hurts Oklahoma students’ test scores
Missed class time means lower test scores for Oklahoma students, and large shares of students are missing class before taking a key national test, according to a new report released Tuesday. About a quarter of Oklahoma’s fourth and eighth graders missed at least three days of school in the month before they sat down to take a national assessment used to compare academic performance among states in 2013. The report by Attendance Works, which advocates for policies aimed at improving attendance, found students’ test scores dropped based on how many days of school they missed before taking the National Assessment of Educational Progress, or the “Nation’s Report Card.”
Read more from Oklahoma Watch.
Oklahoma school boards director: Solutions needed for state teacher shortage
Over much of the past decade, Oklahoma has been all in on education reform. We raised high school graduation requirements. We required students to take more tests. We told teachers and principals to do more and perform better if they want to keep their jobs. We adopted new academic standards, only to revert to the old ones. The state has instituted these changes in the name of helping students while largely overlooking what research says is the most important in-school factor in improving student achievement: teachers.
Edwin Rossman and Ann Patton: Are Tulsa schools re-segregating?
This year marks the 60th anniversary of the Brown v. Topeka Board of Education Supreme Court decision to end racial segregation of public schools. Following that landmark decision and some long social upheaval, remarkable changes occurred in Tulsa and elsewhere to dismantle dual school systems and address inequalities that arose from “separate but unequal” education systems. Americans were beginning to recognize the importance of doing away with social isolation to ensure social justice for all… But by 2011, the percentage of black students in majority-white schools was 23.2 percent — slightly lower than it was in 1968.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Workers comp rates decline for Oklahoma employers
For the second straight year, workers’ compensation loss costs used by insurers to determine rates for Oklahoma employers will show an overall decrease. The National Council on Compensation Insurance has filed an overall loss cost level decrease of 7.8 percent, bringing the total two-year decrease to 22.4 percent. The new loss costs go into effect on Jan. 1. Gov. Mary Fallin said changes in Okahoma’s workers compensation system helped produce the decrease.
Animal rights group seeks investigation, fine against Oklahoma State University
Officials who enforce the federal Animal Welfare Act will determine if Oklahoma State University will be investigated for noncompliance, a spokeswoman said Tuesday. In a complaint filed Friday, the group Stop Animal Exploitation NOW! alleges OSU has committed multiple violations, including actions that resulted in the deaths of more than 80 animals. SAEN called for the U.S. Department of Agriculture to investigate and impose a “significant fine.” In the complaint, Michael Budkie, executive director of SAEN, cites unapproved surgical procedures on three cows and the permanent suspension of animal use privileges for an OSU researcher who used unapproved euthanasia methods.
Oklahoma Watch receives grant for mental health coverage
Oklahoma Watch has received a grant from the Anne and Henry Zarrow Foundation to support the non-profit investigative news organization’s coverage of mental health. The $30,000 grant will fund in-depth reporting and writing, interactive data, video journalism and community forums in a year-long project, “Troubled State: A Multimedia Series on Mental Health in Oklahoma.” The Anne and Henry Zarrow Foundation is a broad-based funding foundation, giving primarily in Tulsa, but also throughout Oklahoma and in Israel. Areas of emphasis include Jewish causes and social services impacting the indigent, the disenfranchised, and the homeless.
Read more from Oklahoma Watch.
Quote of the Day
“[Secure the border] is very easy to say. It’s very, very difficult to do.”
-U.S. Representative James Lankford, who said that “flippant” calls to secure the U.S. border weren’t enough after he participated in a delegation to Central American countries where extreme poverty and violence are causing numerous children to flee to the United States (Source: http://bit.ly/1CpT82f).
Number of the Day
$13.1 million
Earthquake insurance premiums paid by Oklahomans in 2013, almost triple the $4.8 million paid by Oklahomans in 2009.
Source: Insurance Information Institute
See previous Numbers of the Day here.
Policy Note
Food stamp use shows continued ‘underemployment’ pain
Luxuries were affordable for Linda Fish before she lost her job in retail management in 2009. It was a shock, Fish said, to go downscale “in a culture where we have been systematically weaned from living with family, cooking our own food, sewing our own clothes, walking,” she told Stateline. Fish had a job, but she was what economists call “underemployed.” The plight of people like her might explain a puzzling discrepancy between the declining unemployment rate and the rising rate of food stamp usage.
Read more from the Pew Charitable Trusts.
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