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What’s up this week at Oklahoma Policy Institute? The Weekly Wonk shares our most recent publications and other resources to help you stay informed about Oklahoma. Numbers of the Day and Policy Notes are from our daily news briefing, In The Know. Click here to subscribe to In The Know.
This Week from OK Policy
Policy Matters: All children have right to education: It’s long settled law that every child in the United States has a right to a free, public education. But Oklahoma’s state superintendent of schools has begun machinations to undermine this basic right. It’s important to understand some historical context. In Plyler v Doe (1982), the Supreme Court ruled every child in this country, regardless of immigration status, has a right to receive a free, public education. [Shiloh Kantz / Journal Record]
Capitol Update: Law change in 2011 put power over public education effectively under governor’s control: How did we reach a point where Superintendent Walters is issuing threats and edicts to the schools, district superintendents, and teachers? That’s not a hard question. [Steve Lewis / Capitol Update]
Upcoming Opportunities
OK Policy and Together Oklahoma Hosting Online Listening Sessions
The Oklahoma Policy Institute, along with its grassroots advocacy program Together Oklahoma, will host two online listening sessions on Aug. 14 and Aug 15 so that we can hear your concerns about issues impacting your community.
These listening sessions provide an opportunity for the public to have conversations with fellow citizens and policy experts about issues that matter most to you. The listening sessions are free and open to the public, but advance registration is needed to access the online meeting.
- Wednesday, August 14 – VIRTUAL: Statewide
- 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.
Open to all Oklahoma residents throughout the state. Zoom meeting link will be sent to those who pre-register.
- 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.
- Thursday, August 15 – VIRTUAL: Native Voices
- 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.
Open to Native Americans living in Oklahoma. Zoom meeting link will be sent to those who pre-register.
- 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.
Weekly What’s That
Title I
Title I is a section of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) that provides federal funds to local school districts and schools with high numbers or high percentages of children from low-income families. Title I is meant to ensure that all children receive a high-quality education and reach proficiency on State academic achievement standards assessments. Federal funds are split up based on Census poverty estimates and the cost of education in each state. To be eligible, districts must have a poverty level of at least 35 percent or be at or above the statewide average district poverty level. In addition to funds to support basic school services, there are several targeted categories of Title I funding, including for students in foster care, the education of migratory children, and prevention and intervention programs for children and youth.
Look up more key terms to understand Oklahoma politics and government here.
Quote of the Week
“Shelter doesn’t end homelessness, right? Housing ends homelessness.”
-Meghan Mueller, CEO of Homeless Alliance, speaking about how emergency assistance alleviates symptoms but doesn’t solve homelessness. [The Oklahoman]
Op-Ed of the Week
Opinion: Ryan Walters’ agenda is actively harming Oklahoma’s students
This school year will mark my first not spent in an Oklahoma classroom in some capacity in decades. Oklahoma public schools molded me into the person I am today and provided me a safe place to grow as both a student and a teacher.
This summer, I left Oklahoma because Ryan Walters’ agenda to turn the state’s schools into a political playground no longer serves the values I hold dear as an educator. I needed to leave so I could speak out against this danger without fear of losing my job daily for teaching a true, unabridged history of this nation and supporting students regardless of their background.
I hope that my words can spur Oklahomans to reject the threatening scheme that the state schools superintendent brings to public education. Walters is dangerous to public education in Oklahoma, and everywhere. He doesn’t uphold the Oklahoma Standard of acting with kindness and honor. Additionally, his policies are dividing Oklahomans and distracting from the vision of the Oklahoma State Department of Education to provide “all Oklahoma students … a high-quality education.”
Within the oath taken by the superintendent, Walters vowed to “support, obey, and defend the Constitution of the United States, and the Constitution of the State of Oklahoma,” but his actions suggest otherwise. He is blatantly disregarding the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment that establishes the notion of separation of church and state, and allows the people to freely exercise whichever religion they so choose.
Walters would like to turn Oklahoma’s classrooms into churches where the Bible and Ten Commandments are required curriculum, in spite of the thousands of Oklahomans who are not Christian. He is bringing individuals outside of the state into Oklahoma’s curriculum, despite enthusiastically supporting these same academic standards in 2019. Walters is merely imposing his own personal beliefs onto public education to seek higher political office.
In addition to overtly overlooking constitutional principles, Walters’ agenda is actively harming Oklahoma’s students. Our students will surely fall behind due to his extreme mismanagement of the department’s resources, not to mention his positions that put our at-risk student populations in danger. Queer students are collateral damage in Walters’ march for national recognition. He riles up his supporters by claiming that schools are embracing gender ideology and campaigned on “protecting women’s sports” making transgender students into a type of specter in Oklahoma schools. His rhetoric clearly alienates students who are already four times more likely to take their own lives. Walters said he would keep politics out of the classroom, but it seems as though he has played into the culture wars and twisted the narrative to demonize public schools.
Ryan Walters, you were elected to ensure that all Oklahoma students receive the education they deserve. Take the culture wars out of the classroom and focus on addressing the real issues impacting public education in the state: funding, access to technology and the mental health crisis.
Oklahoma schools are not failing. The Oklahoma State Department of Education is failing Oklahoma’s children. Ryan Walters, do your job and protect all of Oklahoma’s students, not just the children of those who voted for you.
Numbers of the Day
- 18 – In 2022, there was an 18 percentage point gap in nationwide voter turnout between white voters and voters of color. This gap has increased more rapidly in areas that were previously covered by the Voting Rights Act, which required federal oversight to prevent discriminatory voting changes before a 2013 Supreme Court decision. [Brennan Center for Justice] | [Full Report]
- 7% – More than seven percent of athletes on Team USA are children of immigrant parent(s) or second-generation immigrants. [The Guardian] | [Full Report from the Institute for Immigration Research]
- 3.7% – Approximately 3.7% of athletes competing on Team USA in this year’s Olympic games are foreign-born. [The Guardian] | [Full Report from the Institute for Immigration Research]
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$161 billion – An estimate from the USDA’s Economic Research Service in 2010 about the cost of food waste. This represents about 31 percent food loss at the retail and consumer levels, corresponding to approximately 133 billion pounds and $161 billion worth of food. [The Oklahoman] | [USDA]
What We’re Reading
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Restoring the Voting Rights Act with the John Lewis Act: Fifty-nine years ago, President Lyndon Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act into law, undoing the barriers of the Jim Crow era and opening up important voting opportunities for communities of color. But in the last decade, the Supreme Court has relentlessly weakened this landmark achievement of the civil rights movement. [Brennan Center for Justice]
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Undocumented kids have a right to attend public schools. This coalition wants to keep it that way.: A new coalition is on high alert for violations of a landmark Supreme Court ruling that guarantees children the right to a free public education regardless of their immigration status. Known as Education for All, the campaign is working to counteract anti-immigrant rhetoric and conservative policy proposals seeking to limit the educational rights of undocumented children, which are protected by the 1982 Supreme Court decision Plyler v. Doe. [Chalkbeat]
- How the origins of America’s immigrants have changed since 1850: The United States is the top destination in the world for people moving from one country to another. Over 70 million immigrants have arrived in the U.S. since 1965, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of Census Bureau data. These immigrants trace their roots to virtually all countries around the world. In recent years, the largest numbers hail from Mexico and India. That’s different from a century ago: In 1920, the largest immigrant populations were from Germany and Italy. [Pew Research Center]
- Treat Kids as Kids: A Modern Approach to Ensuring Safe Communities: Across the nation, incidents involving youth crime underscore the importance of ensuring communities have the best information, tools, and resources to ensure public safety without abandoning decades of progress in juvenile justice reforms. A new report from the Bureau of Justice Statistics on Crimes Involving Juveniles, 1993-2022 shows fluctuations in the incidence and patterns of youth crime over time. While upticks in certain offense categories demand action and justice, it is crucial to view them within a broader context. [Administrator of the U.S. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Liz Ryan / Newsweek]
