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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.

OK teacher pay ranks higher than many realize

Tulsa Beacon

In a press release issued earlier this year, House Democratic Leader Cyndi Munson of Oklahoma City declared that Oklahoma ranks “last in the region for teacher pay.” That statement received a good deal of attention at the Oklahoma state Capitol for one major reason: It wasn’t true. A report issued in April by the National…

NEA commits to fight ‘fascist’ Trump

Tulsa Beacon

At the National Education Association’s national convention this summer, attendees adopted business items that committed the teachers’ union to opposing President Donald Trump’s agenda in general and the deportation of illegal immigrants in particular. Information about the NEA event, which was closed to the public, indicates that union activists focused far more time on left-wing…

OK Supreme Court: McGirt does not extend to Civil and Regulatory Law

Tulsa Beacon

The U.S. Supreme Court’s 2020 ruling in McGirt v. Oklahoma, which held that the pre-statehood reservation of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation was never formally disestablished for purposes of federal criminal law, created vast uncertainty regarding regulatory issues across most of eastern Oklahoma. The multiple “reservations” effectively recreated by McGirt cover nearly half the state and…

‘Big Beautiful Bill’ law requires Medicaid recipients to seek work

Tulsa Beacon

When Congress passed, and President Donald Trump signed, the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” work requirements for able-bodied individuals on Medicaid were among the changes enacted. Under the legislation, able-bodied adults who have no children and are between the ages of 19 and 64 are required to complete at least 80 hours per month of…

Civil rights complaint filed against the University of Tulsa

Tulsa Beacon

A civil rights complaint has been filed against the University of Tulsa (TU), alleging the school has engaged in illegal discrimination. Adam Kissel, a visiting fellow on Higher Education Reform for The Heritage Foundation who previously served as the deputy assistant secretary for Higher Education Programs with the United States Department of Education, filed the…

Oklahoma ranked as a top 10 state in Education Choice

Tulsa Beacon

A new report ranks Oklahoma among the 10 best states in the nation for parental empowerment and educational choice. The 2025 Parent Power! Index, released by the Center for Education Reform (CER), analyzes educational opportunities state by state and highlights the success and failure of laws to ensure the availability of education that meets the…

Oklahoma Supreme Court declares all Oklahomans must pay Income Tax

Tulsa Beacon

So long as the State of Oklahoma imposes a tax on income, all Oklahomans must pay it, according to a new ruling from the Oklahoma Supreme Court. A lawsuit filed by Alicia Stroble argued that all American Indians living on land affected by the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2020 ruling in McGirt v. Oklahoma are exempt…

Nichols vows to stop prosecuting crimes committed by Indians

Tulsa Beacon

Under an agreement publicly released this week, Tulsa Mayor Monroe Nichols, a Democrat, has promised that Tulsa police and municipal courts will no longer pursue charges against any alleged criminal who is a member of any of the more than 500 American Indian tribes in the United States, and also promised to dismiss all pending…

Medicaid fraud issues are arising nationwide

Tulsa Beacon

Reviews of Medicaid spending across the nation indicate billions of dollars are being wasted on individuals who do not qualify for the welfare program, echoing similar findings in Oklahoma during a 2020 review. In Ohio, a review launched by state Rep. Mike Dovilla, a Republican, identified a “troubling abdication of oversight” in Ohio’s Medicaid system…

U.S. Supreme Court upholds ban on Child Sex-Change Surgeries

Tulsa Beacon

In a decision with repercussions for the state of Oklahoma, the U.S. Supreme Court has upheld a Tennessee law prohibiting medical officials from performing sex-change surgeries on minors who identify as transgender or providing those children with puberty blockers or cross-sex hormones. Oklahoma has a similar law that has also been challenged in court. The…