Oklahoma News
Oklahoma Board of Education to vote on proposal requiring families to prove citizenship when enrolling students: The Oklahoma State Board of Education is set to vote Tuesday on a proposal that would require families to report their immigration or citizenship status when enrolling their children in school. [CNN]
- Oklahoma proposal would require parents to provide proof of citizenship when enrolling students [AP via Public Radio Tulsa]
- Oklahoma parents enrolling kids in school might have to prove kids' citizenship status [CBS News]
- Trump Bible-Loving Oklahoma Education Official Ready—and Eager—to Deport His State's Migrant Kids [The Daily Beast]
Ryan Walters' agency issues a second request for proposal to buy Bibles for state schools: The Oklahoma State Department of Education has quietly issued a second request to allow bids to purchase 55,000 Bibles for the agency for distribution to Oklahoma schools, according to a court document filed in a lawsuit. [The Oklahoman]
- Court filing reveals OSDE will re-issue Bible purchase request [KFOR]
State Government News
Republicans aim to set up Oklahoma's mass deportation infrastructure during legislative session: Oklahoma's Republican-led legislature is in lockstep with President Donald Trump's rollout of mass deportation policies. A week before the start of the Legislative session, state lawmakers have filed bills making the deportation of unauthorized immigrants in Oklahoma more efficient. [KOSU]
- Tulsa Sheriff's Office would consider holding undocumented immigrants [Tulsa World]
Oklahoma's HB 4156: What to know about state's paused immigration law, Trump policies: President Donald Trump's opening salvo against illegal immigration has brought new life to a state law that would allow Oklahoma to punish someone for being in the United States without permission. [The Oklahoman]
Oklahoma AG asks U.S. Supreme Court to review case on state birth certificate gender policy: Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review a lower court decision on the state's birth certificate policy and determine whether it's constitutional. [KGOU]
- Supreme Court asked to rule on Tulsa-area case involving transgender birth certificates [Tulsa World]
- Attorney general asks US Supreme Court to consider Oklahoma birth certificate gender policy [The Oklahoman]
Oklahoma Legislature sees renewed efforts to change cockfighting laws: Bills introduced by Oklahoma lawmakers seek to make changes to the state's cockfighting laws by reducing the penalties for participating or allowing robotic participation in the fights. [Oklahoma Voice]
Bill defining antisemitism slated for Oklahoma Statehouse: Oklahoma lawmakers are looking to legally define antisemitism. House Bill 2243 uses a definition published by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance. Some think it's too broad because it says certain criticisms of Israel are antisemitic. [Public Radio Tulsa]
Oklahoma files another lawsuit related to Winter Storm Uri against natural gas companies: In his third related lawsuit, Attorney General Gentner Drummond claims more companies unlawfully increased prices during the freezing temperatures. [KGOU]
Proposed House Bill 1364 adds AI-generated explicit content to Oklahoma's intimate images law: A state lawmaker has proposed a bill that would include images created by artificial intelligence in Oklahoma's intimate images law. [News 9]
- Senator proposes bill to ban all pornography: What to know about SB593 [The Oklahoman]
House and Senate Leaders Extend Legislative Deadlines: Republican legislative leaders are aiming to create some breathing room during the upcoming session. The first major bill deadline is March 6, giving lawmakers more than a month to review bills. Last year lawmakers had just 24 days to pass bills out of committee in their chamber of origin. [Oklahoma Watch]
Federal Government News
All federal grants and loan disbursement paused by White House: The White House budget office has ordered a pause on all federal grants and loans, according to an internal memorandum sent Monday, potentially impacting trillions in government spending and halting public programs that affect millions of Americans. [CNN]
- White House pauses all federal grants, sparking confusion [Washington Post]
Air Force Reinstates Tuskegee Airmen Video After Outcry: In a swift reversal following widespread public backlash, the U.S. Air Force announced it will restore a training video featuring the legendary Tuskegee Airmen to its curriculum. The move came after criticism from lawmakers, veterans' organizations, and the public, who expressed outrage over the video's removal as part of compliance with executive orders targeting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. [The Black Wall Street Times]
The 19th Explains: Birthright citizenship and Trump's order to end it: A federal judge on Thursday temporarily blocked President Donald Trump's executive order restricting birthright citizenship to babies born on U.S. soil. [The 19th]
Tribal Nations News
Here are 5 legislative bills that could impact tribal nations in Oklahoma: Oklahoma's 39 tribal nations play a significant role in state laws, and this year, lawmakers will again hear a variety of bills regarding Indigenous affairs. [KOSU]
Now Trump's Immigration Raids Target Native Americans: The Navajo Nation is on edge after some 15 people were reportedly detained or questioned by federal agents at their homes or workplaces as part of President Donald Trump's much-hyped immigration crackdown. [The Daily Beast]
Education News
'Extreme focus': Despite ongoing efforts, teacher shortage concerns stakeholders: Widely recognized as a nationwide issue, the severity of America's teacher shortage has culminated in a record number of emergency certifications and millions of dollars in pay incentives to fill Oklahoma classrooms. Nonetheless, as working conditions, large class sizes and an increase in student behavioral issues exacerbate the situation, most urban and rural school districts remain in a decade-long struggle to recruit and retain teachers. [NonDoc]
Senate education leadership to prioritize teacher raises in K-12, prohibiting DEI in higher education: Oklahoma Senate education leadership debuted a list of priorities Monday ahead of the start of the legislative session next week. [KGOU]
- Longer school year, higher teacher pay on Senate Education Committee agenda [The Oklahoman]
- Focus on education: Notable bills proposed by Oklahoma lawmakers for 2025 [Tulsa World]
- Teacher pay raises, cell phone ban top Oklahoma Senate's education agenda [News 9]
- Senate Republicans lay out plans for education in upcoming legislative session [KFOR]
'The people spoke': Oklahoma lawmaker aims to codify higher education DEI ban: During a Monday press conference, State Sen. Adam Pugh (R-Edmond) highlighted legislation he authored to eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts at public colleges and universities in Oklahoma. [Fox 25]
Bipartisan bills would kick chronic absenteeism from Oklahoma school evaluations: Grading public schools based on students' poor attendance has gained bipartisan opposition in the Oklahoma Legislature. Lawmakers from both sides of the political aisle said they support tracking chronic absenteeism rates, but they called it unfair to penalize schools for it. [Oklahoma Voice]
Health News
Opinion: We're finally paying attention to PFAS, but Oklahomans are already feeling the impact: For over 80 years, chemical makers have made and profited off the sale of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl synthetic chemicals, better known as PFAS. Industry documents released through litigation show that manufacturers had sufficient information to know of dangers as early as 1961, but continued to make products containing them for decades. [Mike Altshuler / Oklahoma Voice]
Housing & Economic Opportunity News
KOSU tagged along during Oklahoma City's Point In Time count. Here's what we saw: Every January, homeless service organizations in Oklahoma City conduct a 24-hour count of residents experiencing homelessness, known as a Point In Time count. This year, KOSU's mental health and addiction reporter Sierra Pfeifer tagged along. [KOSU]
Economy & Business News
Oklahoma homeowners to face higher insurance costs: As the damage toll from recent wildfires in California and hurricanes in the Southeast mount into hundreds of billions of dollars, many are wondering how those disasters might impact the cost of homeowners insurance. [The Journal Record]
Egg costs predicted to rise in 2025, despite Vance saying 'prices are going to come down': According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA's) price outlook, egg prices are predicted to increase about 20% in 2025, compared to about 2.2% for overall food prices. The USDA attributed the rise in egg costs to the highly pathogenic avian influenza, or bird flu, outbreak, which has caused a strain in supply. [USA Today]
U.S. Companies continue to roll back diversity initiatives: As the country prepares for a second Trump administration, companies are getting ahead of the curve to maintain compliance with a 2023 Supreme Court ruling. Following in the footsteps of Lowe's, Walmart John Deere, and McDonald's, Target has also announced it's rolling back diversity initiatives. [The Black Wall Street Times]
Local Headlines
- Opioid relief funds used for youth education, resources in Edmond [KOSU]
- Former Tulsa mayor talks about regrets, bloody primaries and more at Press Club luncheon [Tulsa World]
- Tulsa school board tables sales of vacant school buildings [Tulsa World]
- School threats investigated in Mounds, Pryor, local officials report [Tulsa World]
