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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.

OU and OSU both embroiled in controversies

Tulsa Beacon

OU defends tuition hike despite record funding, State Senators call for reform The University of Oklahoma’s recent decision to further increase tuition, despite a huge increase in state appropriations, is drawing fire from state Senate leaders and leading to calls for reform, including imposing a legislative freeze on tuition. “The higher education system just received…

Groups across the political-spectrum support Free-Speech lawsuit against OSU

Tulsa Beacon

Earlier this year, Speech First, a national civil-rights organization, sued Oklahoma State University (OSU), saying the university’s harassment, computer, and bias-incidents policies violate students’ First and Fourteenth Amendment rights. Speech First represented three OSU students in the lawsuit who were associated with Speech First but did not identify those students by name. A judge ruled…

2023 legislative session dominated by education

Tulsa Beacon

To a greater degree than in most years, the 2023 session of the Oklahoma Legislature was dominated by one issue. “Education, education, education was the focus for me this year,” said Senate President Pro Tempore Greg Treat, R-Oklahoma City. The session began in February with Gov. Kevin Stitt calling on lawmakers to approve an Education…

OU fights public transparency

Tulsa Beacon

The University of Oklahoma has spent more than $1 million investigating claims of bogus financial reports and sexual harassment by David Boren, its former president who stepped down in 2018, but continues to stonewall efforts to make the findings public. Instead, the university has spent the last two years arguing in court that the Oklahoma…

SPLC says Oklahoma parent organizations are ‘hate’ groups

Tulsa Beacon

At one time, being a member of a hate group meant one was involved in acts of violence, including lynching, as was the case with the Ku Klux Klan. But now the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) has redefined the phrase “hate group” to include parents whose only offense is being active in civic affairs…

Oklahoma Supreme Court continues pro-Abortion rulings

Tulsa Beacon

The Oklahoma Supreme Court has declared two state laws restricting abortion to be unconstitutional, citing an earlier ruling in which the court declared abortion is a right granted by the Oklahoma Constitution despite the fact that the state constitution contains no language directly or implicitly addressing abortion. In a March case, Oklahoma Call for Reproductive…

Oklahoma Pop Museum a money pit?

Tulsa Beacon

Eight years after state lawmakers provided $25 million to build the Oklahoma Museum of Popular Culture in Tulsa, the facility has yet to serve patrons and its cost to state taxpayers is exploding. The concept for the Oklahoma Museum of Popular Culture, also called OKPOP, was originally developed in 2008. By 2015, state lawmakers voted…

Bill could mandate pursuit of Biden Federal School Grants

Tulsa Beacon

A provision snuck into legislation funding Oklahoma public schools could force the Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE) to apply for federal grants that were a priority of the prior Democratic state superintendent of public instruction. The mandate comes at a time when the Biden administration is openly trying to use federal funding to force…

Tax-cut discussion to continue?

Tulsa Beacon

Although lawmakers are expected to adjourn from the current budget-focused special session without passing a major tax cut, Gov. Kevin Stitt said he may continue to push for one in the coming weeks. “I’m considering calling people back for another special session to get a tax cut done,” Stitt said. “You know, when you think…

Lawmakers approve rules on School pornography and Parental Rights

Tulsa Beacon

Oklahoma State Department of Education regulations that ban pornographic materials in public-school libraries and spell out parental rights in schools have received approval from Oklahoma lawmakers. Lawmakers’ decision to approve the rules is a victory for State Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters, who championed adoption of the new regulations. In March, at Walters’ urging,…