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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.

Panelist claims OU football celebrates white supremacy

Tulsa Beacon

During a recent program touted as a “conversation about race and race relations in Oklahoma,” one featured panelist declared that football games at the University of Oklahoma involve repeated “celebration of white supremacy.” “The University of Oklahoma, their mascot or their whole thing is the ‘Sooners,’” said Sarah Gray, director of movement building and organizing…

Governor Stitt Signs “Save Women's Sports Act” Into Law

New law will keep biological males from women’s sports

Tulsa Beacon

Surrounded by women of all ages, Gov. Kevin Stitt signed legislation that prevents Oklahoma girls from having to compete against transgender women—biological males who identify as female—in sporting events. “These talented, hardworking young women, they’re the reason we’re here,” Stitt said. “This bill, the ‘Save Women’s Sports Act,’ to us in Oklahoma is just common…

Trans bathrooms in Stillwater schools?

Tulsa Beacon

Parents in the Stillwater school district report that students have been allowed to select bathroom facilities based not on their biological gender, but on the identity the student professes that day—even though the district has single-occupant bathrooms for gender-nonconforming students. That has left parents feeling frustrated and powerless in the face of what they view…

Open transfer policy affects Tulsa, OKC

Tulsa Beacon

A new open-transfer law that allows students to shift from one public school to another has been touted as a significant expansion of opportunity for Oklahoma children. But a review of public data, conducted by the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs (OCPA), shows a significant share of the slots available through open transfer are in…

Hofmeister wants giant increase

Tulsa Beacon

While State Superintendent of Public Instruction Joy Hofmeister’s budget request includes a modest percentage increase in funding for school districts, it includes a much larger increase of 27 percent for her agency’s budget. The request for increased administrative spending comes even as lawmakers note it appears less money is going to classrooms in Oklahoma than…

How have public schools spent $2 billion to safely open?

Tulsa Beacon

More than $2 billion in federal COVID-bailout funds have been  provided to Oklahoma school districts since 2020 to cover the costs to safely open amidst the pandemic. But despite that lavish infusion of cash, numerous schools are now closing again amidst the rise of the Omicron variant. That has left many parents—and students—with an unsettling…

Forum spotlights effort to defund law enforcement

Tulsa Beacon

Efforts to “defund the police” and claims that Oklahoma district attorneys are racially biased were touted by speakers at a recent race-relations program sponsored by Paycom and other state business entities. “It is possible to defund the police,” said Tiffany T. Crutcher, executive director of the Terence Crutcher Foundation and an official with the Demanding…

Teaching CRT racism

Tulsa Beacon

The Oklahoma State Department of Education’s website includes or directs teachers to materials that tout themes common to Critical Race Theory (CRT), a Marxist-derived theory that views issues through a lens of racial privilege and often divides groups along racial lines as either privileged or oppressed. While those materials are not explicitly labeled as CRT,…

Teachers are fired

Tulsa Beacon

Gov. Kevin Stitt said Oklahoma City Public Schools’ decision to fire six teachers for not complying with a legally suspect mask mandate is “preposterous” and harms students. “These are the types of misguided decisions that are leaving many parents across the country so frustrated with their local schools,” Stitt said in a video message. “Oklahomans…

Promoting Transgender

Tulsa Beacon

An Oklahoma Teacher of the Year nominee, Bristow Middle School teacher Lauren Vandever, has declared that it is important to be supportive of children exploring transgender transition. “I am not transgender. I’ve never experienced being transgender or on the LGBTQ spectrum,” Vandever said. “But I definitely think it is something that is an important thing…