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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.

TPS ‘social justice’ training seeks to ‘dismantle oppression’

Tulsa Beacon

A recent training program at Tulsa Public Schools (TPS) advised teachers to incorporate “social justice” into all courses, including subjects such as physical education and math. “When we teach, we either reinforce the oppressive status quo, or we work with students to dismantle it,” the training-program material stated. In August, staff at TPS underwent training…

State review of coronavirus criticizes lockdown strategy

Tulsa Beacon

To better prepare for future pandemics, state lawmakers conducted a review this month of state and local government responses to COVID-19. Among the takeaways: Many challenges early in the pandemic were the result of the government itself. “We started with, really, nothing,” said Oklahoma Commissioner of Health Lance Frye. Frye told members of the House…

Debate on class size limit continues: Research not conclusive

Tulsa Beacon

Class-size limits imposed by passage of House Bill 1017 in 1990 are often cited as a major reform, but those limits have effectively been repealed for almost a decade now. While some school lobbying groups continue to call for reducing class sizes, experts told members of the Senate Education Committee  that class-size reduction is very…

Chinese propagandists funded long-time OU program

Tulsa Beacon

OU’s Confucius Institute cited by U.S. State Dept. The U.S. Department of State has declared that the Confucius Institute U.S. Center, which has long operated an institute at The University of Oklahoma, is a foreign mission of the People’s Republic of China. In a statement on the action, the U.S. Department of State said the…

Freedmen ask Choctaws for their rights

Tulsa Beacon

The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, whose members owned Black slaves and fought on the side of the Confederacy in the Civil War, is now opposing federal efforts to require that descendants of the tribe’s former slaves, called Freedmen, be given promised rights before the tribe can receive federal housing funds. Choctaw leaders say any such…

Hunter’s agreement with the tribes raises troubling questions

Tulsa Beacon

Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter says he has reached an agreement with five tribal governments on proposed federal legislation that would address issues raised by a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling. However, the proposed agreement may raise more questions than it answers since its provisions appear to open the door for tribal governments to exercise…

GOP pays a political price for approving tax increases

Tulsa Beacon

In 2018, the Republican-controlled Oklahoma Legislature approved some of the largest tax increases in state history. Ever since, GOP supporters of those tax increases have proclaimed their moral courage and insisted voters endorsed their decision. But the results of the June30 elections provide evidence to the contrary, as the political bodies continue to pile up….

Private schools aren’t getting CARES aid from OSDE

Tulsa Beacon

The federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, which included $161 million for Oklahoma’s K-12 schools, requires public schools to coordinate with private schools on “equitable services funding” that can cover a host of costs. But the Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE) and local public schools appear to be violating provisions of…

Journalism professors demand censorship of Trump

Tulsa Beacon

A group of journalism professors, including three from colleges in Oklahoma, have called on television networks to stop the live airing of President Donald Trump’s briefings on COVID-19. “We write to demand that the live, unedited airing of the Daily White House Task Force Briefings stop,” the group letter states. “Because Donald Trump uses them…

Shutdown didn’t deter crime; lawsuits on the horizon?

Tulsa Beacon

The statewide COVID-19 shutdown may have dramatically impacted most Oklahomans, but it may not have deterred serious crimes, law enforcement officials told lawmakers. At the same time, the state could soon face a rash of lawsuits challenging the legality of government actions that forced business closures and the loss of citizens’ jobs. Officials made those…