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The Tulsa Beacon

 

Ray Carter

Center for Independent Journalism

Ray Carter is the director of OCPA’s Center for Independent Journalism.

Stitt signs sweeping literacy law

Tulsa Beacon

Sitting before a class of students at John Rex Charter School in Oklahoma City, Gov. Kevin Stitt signed into law a bill to dramatically strengthen reading instruction in Oklahoma’s public schools. “We all know that reading paves the way for bright futures, and if a child can read, they can learn,” Stitt said. “And if…

Oklahoma House overwhelmingly passes reading reform to tackle literacy crisis

Tulsa Beacon

Oklahoma state lawmakers have voted in overwhelming numbers to require focused intervention for grade-school students who are struggling in reading, with third-grade retention mandated as a last resort. The legislation largely duplicates a highly successful program used in Mississippi that has achieved national acclaim, and it also reinstates many provisions used successfully in Oklahoma prior…

Reform bills advance as Medicaid expansion threatens Oklahoma budget

Tulsa Beacon

With the costs of Medicaid expansion exploding, and even greater increases potentially looming in the future, members of an Oklahoma Senate committee have voted overwhelmingly to place reform proposals before voters. “Oklahomans have a kind heart as a whole, and we want to make sure we can take care of those people who have a…

Third-grade reading reform clears both chambers of Oklahoma Legislature

Tulsa Beacon

Legislation designed to dramatically improve Oklahoma’s public-school literacy outcomes, including a mandate that students repeat the third grade if they read far below grade level, has advanced from both chambers of the Oklahoma Legislature with strong support. “This is legislation that I’ve been talking about, relentlessly, for many months now,” said House Speaker Kyle Hilbert,…

Tulsa burger shop owner says SQ 832 would force menu prices to rise again

Tulsa Beacon

The massive inflation unleashed during the Biden administration had a devastating impact on working families across the nation as food prices soared and earners’ real income declined. Now, a state question to hike Oklahoma’s minimum wage based on prices in the nation’s largest urban centers threatens to drive up fast-food prices even further, putting even…

House votes to lock in Oklahoma’s participation in the new Federal School-Choice Tax Credit

Tulsa Beacon

Members of the Oklahoma House of Representatives have voted to lock in Oklahoma’s participation in a federal tax-credit program that supports private-school scholarships for state children. Among other things, the federal One Big Beautiful Bill Act provided for an individual, dollar-for-dollar tax credit of up to $1,700 per individual taxpayer for contributions to state-approved, federally…

Oklahoma House votes to increase length of school year

Tulsa Beacon

Currently, Oklahoma has one of the nation’s shortest school years and some of the nation’s worst academic outcomes. House lawmakers have now voted to increase the length of the school year, hoping additional instructional time will boost student learning as well. Currently, Oklahoma mandates only 166 days of school each year, so long as school…

House passes bill barring sexually explicit materials from school libraries

Tulsa Beacon

Legislation that increases state regulation of sexually graphic materials in school libraries has easily advanced from the Oklahoma House of Representatives, overcoming the opposition of liberal lawmakers who dismissed concerns about those materials. House Bill 2978, by state Rep. Chris Banning, prohibits school libraries from offering books to students that include depictions or descriptions of…

Socialists promote SQ 832 in Oklahoma

Tulsa Beacon

A socialist organization is among the entities promoting State Question 832, which would mandate rapid increases in Oklahoma’s minimum wage based on the cost of living in places like New York City and San Francisco. State Question 832 would require continual increases in Oklahoma’s minimum wage based on increases in the cost of living in…

Third-grade reading reform moves ahead

Tulsa Beacon

With Oklahoma’s third-grade reading outcomes among the worst in the nation, state lawmakers have advanced legislation that requires early intervention for struggling readers in elementary school and mandatory retention for students who end the third grade reading years below grade level. House Speaker Kyle Hilbert, R-Bristow, said Oklahoma cannot afford to continue its current trajectory….