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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.
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Only five out of 611 Oklahoma City third-graders held back because they failed a state-mandated reading test in April have passed an alternative assessment since the start of August, prompting a district official to blame some teachers and principals for the lack of improvement. Calling it a “game-changer” for less fortunate students, Oklahoma City Public Schools Superintendent Rob Neu said the district will pay for nearly 4,000 high school sophomores and juniors to take the PSAT. State Superintendent Janet Barresi is asking the federal government for a reinstatement of a No Child Left Behind waiver that the state lost when the Legislature repealed Common Core, because the state Regents have certified Oklahoma’s current standards as “college and career ready.” The Tulsa World editorial board discussed ImpactTulsa’s efforts to coordinate everyone working to improve Tulsa public schools. We previously wrote about the ImpactTulsa project on the OK Policy Blog.
Slate examined how women in Texas and Oklahoma are obtaining abortions after the passage of more restrictive laws. On the OK Policy Blog, we looked at the case for the US Postal Service to begin providing affordable banking and financial services. Oklahoma beer brewers are hoping to see a state law changed which restricts them from selling beer produced at their brewery directly to customers. The head of a wind industry trade group acknowledged to legislators that state tax incentives for wind energy producers may need to be re-examined in light of their growing cost. At an interim study on Oklahoma’s 665,000 uninsured, health care advocates asked lawmakers to find solutions to extend health coverage — whether it be accepting Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act or via its own state funded alternative. A federal contractor helping to enroll Americans in coverage through healthcare.gov will bring about 500 jobs to Lawton.
Members of the House Utility and Environmental Regulation Committee heard outlines of different ways to address Oklahoma’s water needs through a combination of greater infrastructure spending, conservation, and reuse. Administrators from the state’s seven veterans centers asked lawmakers to provide a state match for federal grants to fund much needed infrastructure improvements. African-American leaders in Oklahoma are voicing concerns about a growing sense of apathy about politics within their communities. OK Policy previously discussed way that Oklahoma’s democracy is broken and what’s getting in the way of voting.
The Number of the Day is how many children under the age of six in Oklahoma live in counties classified as high risk for poor school readiness. In today’s Policy Note, the New York Times discusses how low-income women sometimes get pushed out of their jobs — and into poverty — when they become pregnant.
In The News
More than 600 third-graders in Oklahoma City district could be held back for the remainder of the school year
More than 600 third-graders in the Oklahoma City school district have failed to prove they read well enough to earn promotion to the fourth grade as a state deadline for doing so approaches. Only five out of 611 district third-graders held back because they failed a state-mandated reading test in April have passed an alternative assessment since the start of August, prompting a district official to blame some teachers and principals for the lack of improvement. “These skills are being taught in some schools, and in some schools they’re not,” said Wilbur House, the district’s executive director of elementary curriculum.
Oklahoma City School District will spend more than $50,000 on aptitude tests for thousands of high school sophomores and juniors
Calling it a “game-changer” for less fortunate students, Oklahoma City Public Schools Superintendent Rob Neu said Monday the district will pay for nearly 4,000 high school sophomores and juniors to take the upcoming Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test (PSAT). The PSAT is a standardized test that assesses critical reading, math and writing skills that students will need for college. Besides being a primer for college admissions tests like SAT and ACT, the PSAT is the qualifying test for National Merit Scholarships and a good indicator of a student’s ability to succeed in Advanced Placement courses.
State Superintendent Janet Barresi asks for immediate reinstatement of waiver
State Superintendent Janet Barresi is asking the federal government for an immediate reinstatement of a flexibility waiver that the state lost when the Legislature repealed Common Core education standards for schoolchildren. Barresi announced Tuesday that she and her staff requested the No Child Left Behind waiver in a conference call late Monday with officials from the U.S. Department of Education.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
A data-driven, private approach to public school improvement
In the Tulsa tradition, a group of community leaders has recognized a daunting problem, worked out a smart strategy for addressing it and are forging ahead. ImpactTulsa is a privately organized, data-driven effort to make real, measurable improvements in metropolitan Tulsa’s public schools. The group — led by former Mayor Kathy Taylor and funded by the Schusterman Family Foundation, George Kaiser Family Foundation, Tulsa Area United Way, Tulsa Regional Chamber and Tulsa Community Foundation — will provide its initial public report Tuesday, and the challenges are significant.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
See also: Initiative seeks to bring together the puzzle pieces for improving Tulsa schools from the OK Policy Blog.
Backers of Oklahoma pot, shelter initiatives fall short of signature requirement
Backers of measures to place storm shelters in schools and legalize marijuana for recreational use have failed to collect enough signatures to put the issues before voters. No signatures were turned in by backers of the school shelters proposal, and only three boxes of signatures were turned in by the marijuana proponents, Amy Canton, an administrative assistant at the Oklahoma Secretary of State’s office, said Tuesday. The signatures were due Monday.
The Long Road to a Safe and Legal Abortion
That there is an abortion access crisis in Texas is beyond doubt. With the number of clinics in the vast state cut drastically in the past year, many have noted that Texas women are having to travel to other states to get the abortions they need. But a close look at the entire region shows that even crossing into a neighboring state does not guarantee a woman the procedure. In fact, for many Texas women trying to legally and safely end a pregnancy, a map of the entire South is quickly becoming a required tool.
How a profitable Postal Service could pad your pockets (Part One)
To say that the United States Postal Service (USPS) has struggled to find its place in a changing information age is an understatement. Facing the exponential growth of digital communication, stiff competition from private firms, and draconian budget cuts, USPS hobbles into an uncertain future. Yet the public post remains an important part of American life and it still plays an indispensable role in rural commerce, culture, and medicine.
Read more from the OK Policy Blog.
‘Free the Taps’ campaign aims to change state laws on breweries
Over the sound of glasses clanking and beer flowing from taps outside Prairie Artisan Ales in west Tulsa on Tuesday, a train rumbled past, its horn nearly drowning out the crowd that had assembled. That’s because Oklahoma requires breweries to set up shop in industrial zones. West Tulsa is scenic in areas, but the industrial spot Prairie calls home isn’t exactly what you’d envision for a craft beer brewery that’s making a name for itself across the state and nation.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Trade group head: Wind subsidies may need changes
State tax incentives for wind energy producers were created when the industry was in its infancy and may need to be re-examined in light of lawmakers’ concern over their growing cost, the head of an industry trade group told members of a Senate panel on Tuesday. The incentives have worked well over the last decade, luring 30 wind projects to 15 Oklahoma counties, providing jobs in often economically depressed rural communities and putting cash in the pockets of landowners, said Jeff Clark, executive director of the Wind Coalition.
With 665,000 Oklahomans Uninsured, Subcommittee Discusses Healthcare Availability
Healthcare advocates asked lawmakers Tuesday to find solutions to reduce Oklahoma’s uninsured population — whether it be accepting Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act or via its own state funded alternative. The comments were made in the Appropriations and Budget Subcommittee on Public Health during a combination of interim studies related to healthcare funding, access and the uninsured.
Almost 500 jobs coming to Lawton
A Virginia-based federal contractor plans to hire nearly 500 people in southwestern Oklahoma, according to officials from the city of Lawton and the Lawton-Fort Sill Economic Development Corporation. Serco Inc., headquartered in Reston, Virginia, will bring 475 jobs to Lawton. It provides professional, technology and management services and has about 10,000 employees, The Lawton Constitution reported.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
House Members Presented Water Alternatives: New Infrastructure and Conservation
Members of the House Utility and Environmental Regulation Committee heard outlines Tuesday of different ways to address Oklahoma’s water needs. Oklahoma Water Resource Board Executive Director J.D. Strong and Deputy Secretary of Environment Tyler Howell suggested a broadly based approach, while former OWRB Executive Director and Environmental Federation of Oklahoma President Jim Barnett told committee members greater infrastructure spending should be considered, but not at the exclusion of other ideas such as conservation and reuse.
Oklahoma Department of Veterans Affairs Needs State Match For Federal Funds
Administrators from the state’s seven veterans centers spoke to lawmakers Tuesday about the facilities’ needs and for replacement of antiquated infrastructure. Comments were made during an interim study evaluating Oklahoma Department of Veterans Affairs facilities at the State Capitol before the House Appropriations and Budget Subcommittee on Public Health. Interim Study H14-036 was requested by House Veterans and Military Affairs Committee Chair Gary Banz, R-Midwest City.
Oklahoma Black Leaders Worried About Citizen Involvement In The Political Process
Black leaders are voicing concerns about a growing sense of apathy about politics within the African-American community. Former state senator Angela Monson says there is an attitude among younger black voters that their vote isn’t making a difference, while Oklahoma NAACP President Anthony R. Davis says black voters are frustrated that getting a college degree still doesn’t guarantee a job.
Quote of the Day
“We’re investing our own time and our own money in this product. Why shouldn’t I be able to sell it here to who I want to? Every state that touches our state has that advantage. Why not Oklahoma?”
– Chase Healey, co-owner of Prairie Artisan Ales. Healey is one of a number of local brewers fighting an ordinance that relegates breweries to industrial zones and forbids breweries from selling their product on-site (Source: bit.ly/1w6NZuD)
Number of the Day
144,565
The number of children under the age of six who live in counties classified as high risk for poor school readiness.
Source: Oklahoma School Readiness, Reach-by-Risk Report 2014.
See previous Numbers of the Day here.
Policy Note
Doctor Says No Overtime; Pregnant Worker’s Boss Says No Job
Angelica Valencia put the doctor’s note in her pocketbook and stepped out of her apartment in the early morning darkness. Then she started praying. She prayed on the crowded buses and on the subway train that carried her from Queens into the Bronx to the potato-packing plant where she worked. “Please let me keep my job,” she repeated during her two-hour commute. “Please let everything work out.” She punched in at 7:30 a.m. and handed her manager the note. Then Ms. Valencia, who was 39 and three months pregnant, went straight to work. Last year, she had a miscarriage. This time, her doctor said, she was once again high risk. No overtime, he ordered, just eight hours a day.
Read more from the New York Times.
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