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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.

Experts: OK can restore reading gains without massive new spending

Tulsa Beacon

Among the major issues facing the 2026 session of the Oklahoma Legislature, the effort to improve reading outcomes in state schools is expected to be one of the most high-profile, with growing momentum for adopting the Mississippi model. Mississippi law requires early assessment of grade-school reading skills, aggressive intervention for those falling behind, and retention…

Ruling reaffirms state’s power to prosecute crimes within tribal bounds

Tulsa Beacon

A U.S. District Court judge has rejected the Muscogee (Creek) Nation’s request for a preliminary injunction that would prevent Oklahoma state and local governments from prosecuting American Indian defendants who are not members of the Muscogee tribe but allegedly commit their crimes on land within the boundaries of the tribe’s pre-statehood reservation. The opinion and…

OK Democrats lament government shutdown caused by Congressional Democrats in D.C.

Tulsa Beacon

For three weeks now, parts of the federal government have been shut down after Democrats successfully prevented the passage of legislation that would keep the government open, operating at existing funding levels. By the start of November, the shutdown is expected to result in the loss of funding for the federal food-stamp program, now referred…

OSU controversy doesn’t shock former students

Tulsa Beacon

Oklahoma State University has received national attention following an incident in which OSU’s coordinator of student government affairs programs reprimanded a student for discussing the assassination of activist Charlie Kirk. Former students are not shocked that the controversy has occurred, saying it fits with a longstanding pattern in the OSU student government since Melisa Echols…

Brecheen: ‘open primary’ to help left-wing politicians

Tulsa Beacon

If Oklahoma were to adopt a California-style “open primary” system, as is being promoted via an initiative petition, it would serve to boost the chances of left-wing politicians regardless of voter wishes, U.S. Rep. Josh Brecheen warns. “California’s ‘top two’ election system has steadily elevated increasingly liberal policies in that state, and there’s no reason…

New Test results expose deep reading crisis

Tulsa Beacon

The results of 2025 state tests, administered in public schools last spring and publicly released this week, show that nearly three in four Oklahoma students are not proficient in reading. Those results bolster the findings of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) tests, which found similarly low levels of reading proficiency in Oklahoma public…

OSU student reprimanded after honoring Charlie Kirk in speech

Tulsa Beacon

Josh Wilson, a junior at Oklahoma State University, has long been interested in public policy and free speech, which led him to be involved in the OSU student government and the debate society. He also volunteered with Turning Point USA, the organization founded by free-speech activist Charlie Kirk, when Kirk visited the Stillwater campus in…

Trump DOJ Sides with OK in Birth Certificate Case

Tulsa Beacon

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed a brief in support of an Oklahoma law that requires birth certificates to list a person’s biological sex and limits the options to either “male” or “female.” The DOJ brief, submitted by U.S. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon, argued that Oklahoma’s law does not discriminate against…

OK Supreme Court ruling opens door for California-style elections in OK

Tulsa Beacon

An effort to replace Oklahoma’s current election system with one like California’s model, which often limits voters’ general-election choices to two Democrats with no alternatives, can proceed under recent decisions issued by the Oklahoma Supreme Court. The court also held that the signature-collection process, which could place the California model before Oklahoma voters, will not…

Kirk’s death comes as more college students support violence

Tulsa Beacon

The assassination of Charlie Kirk, a conservative activist and outspoken Christian, comes as a record share of U.S. college students now say violence is an acceptable response to speech with which they disagree. The sixth annual College Free Speech Rankings, released by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression and survey partner College Pulse, showed…