‘This is not OK’: Cuts are hitting all aspects of public education

Miami Public Schools in Ottawa County serves about 2,500 K-12 students in seven schools. This year, four school librarian positions were eliminated, leaving the district without a single librarian. In Newkirk, there is no librarian and no speech or drama… Read more [More...]

‘This is not OK’ Infographic

Read the related blog post here.… Read more [More...]

Bill Watch: Teacher pay and charter school oversight top the education agenda for this year’s Legislature

This post is the last in a series highlighting key bills in several issues areas that we’re following. Previous posts looked at legislation affecting economic opportunity for Oklahoma families, legislation to reform our criminal justice system, and legislation affecting Oklahomans’ access… Read more [More...]

Lunch shaming is real – but we can end it (Guest Post: Effie Craven)

Effie Craven is the State Advocacy and Public Policy Director for the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma Imagine you are a child waiting in the school lunch line with your friends.  You laugh and joke as you move through the… Read more [More...]

Our top priorities in Oklahoma’s 2018 legislative session

With the 2018 legislative session fast approaching, today we released OK Policy’s top policy priorities for the coming year. OK Policy is committed to supporting fair and adequate funding of public services and expanded economic opportunity for all Oklahomans through… Read more [More...]

2018 Legislative Policy Priorities

Download this fact sheet as a PDF. OK Policy is committed to supporting fair and adequate funding of public services and expanded economic opportunity for all Oklahomans through research and advocacy. During the 2018 legislative session, we will work to… Read more [More...]

2018 Policy Priority: Increase Teacher Pay

See the full list of our 2018 policy priorities. Download this fact sheet as a PDF. Background Oklahoma’s average teacher pay and benefits are among the very lowest in the nation and well below surrounding states. This non-competitive pay damages… Read more [More...]

Keeping all school taxes local would break our obligation to rural kids (Capitol Update)

Steve Lewis served as Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives from 1989-1991. He currently practices law in Tulsa and represents clients at the Capitol. An idea has surfaced again recently that, since the state will not or cannot properly fund public… Read more [More...]

Watch This: Ending Hunger in Oklahoma Schools

One in four Oklahoma children are at risk of not having enough to eat, yet the state leaves over $400 million in child nutrition funding on the table each year because of our low participation in federal assistance programs. By… Read more [More...]

Our 10 most popular posts in 2017

When it comes to Oklahoma politics, 2017 was one of the most tumultuous and unpredictable in history. The year was consumed by a long, still unresolved showdown over the state budget and need for new revenues, with shifting coalitions, unusual… Read more [More...]