Category: Press Releases & Statements

Statement: Eliminating U.S. Department of Education, moving to block grants would be bad for Oklahoma

The Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction on Thursday published a memo that called for eliminating the U.S. Department of Education. Instead, the memo called for moving to block grants to provide federal education funds to states. Statement from OK Policy’s… Read more [More...]

New report from OK Policy suggests reforms to improve outcomes for justice-involved youth

A new OK Policy report examines Oklahoma's youth justice system and suggests reforms to create impactful and transformative change for youth. [More...]

2023 Census data: Oklahoma ranks as sixth poorest state

Lawmakers have options to improve Oklahomans’ well-being, access to prosperity Data from the Census Bureau’s 2023 American Community Survey released Sept. 12 show that Oklahoma’s poverty rate was 15.9 percent, which was the nation’s sixth highest. The national poverty rate… Read more [More...]

Statement: SQ 832 election date is longest delay for a state question in past 10 years

The 21-month span between Gov. Stitt announcing the SQ 832 election date and the election itself is more than six times longer than the median time for all other state question elections during the last 10 years. [More...]

Fact Check: Will Oklahoma families save $800 a year from eliminating the state portion of the grocery sales tax?

On Aug. 14, Gov. Kevin Stitt said that Oklahoma would again not be participating in a summer food program for hungry schoolchildren. In that announcement, his spokesperson suggested it was not necessary, in part, because "Governor Stitt delivered for families by signing the grocery tax elimination bill, saving Oklahomans an average of about $800 per year at the grocery store." Our fact check shows this is not true. [More...]

Statement: All children have the fundamental right to an education – July 31, 2024

the state superintendent announced that the Oklahoma Department of Education would be issuing guidance to school districts to identify costs and resources associated with educating undocumented immigrant children. OK Policy wants to ensure that Oklahomans understand the historical context — see Plyler v Doe (1982) — about the right of every child in this country to receive a free, public education. [More...]

In The Know: AG: Lawmakers can attend closed meetings | Groping allegations leveled against corp. commissioner | Undocumented immigrants contribute $227M in Oklahoma taxes a year

In The Know is your daily briefing on Oklahoma policy-related news. OK Policy encourages the support of Oklahoma’s state and local media, which are vital to an informed citizenry. Inclusion of a story does not necessarily mean endorsement by the… Read more [More...]

National study: Undocumented immigrants contribute $227M in Oklahoma taxes a year

In Oklahoma, undocumented immigrants contributed $227.5 million in state and local taxes in 2022. Undocumented immigrants pay higher state and local tax rates (8.9%) than the top 1 percent of Oklahoma households (6.4%). [More...]

OK Policy Statement, Re: Budget Agreement Announced on May 22, 2024

We are grateful that legislative leaders held extended budget discussions in a public forum this month. This process opened new levels of fiscal transparency that Oklahomans deserve when it comes to seeing how their tax dollars are spent. [More...]

OK Policy Institute to Host FREE Sales Tax Relief Credit Virtual Town Hall Meeting Thursday, May 9

Oklahoma has a tax credit on the books designed to help low- and middle-income families, but the amount of the credit hasn't been adjusted in more than three decades. OK Policy and TogetherOK will host a virtual town hall on Thursday, May 9, so Oklahomans can learn how they can increase the value of their Sales Tax Relief Credit for tax savings.  [More...]