In The Know: Study shows Oklahoma homeowners pay the nation's highest insurance rates | Highest-income families' share of private school tax credits increases | Our children deserve investment. When will lawmakers act?

In The Know is your daily briefing on Oklahoma policy-related news. OK Policy encourages the support of Oklahoma's state and local media, which are vital to an informed citizenry.

MONDAY, JUNE 22, 2026 Subscribe // View web version (current and archived) Oklahoma children deserve investment. When will lawmakers act?   Oklahoma children face a host of challenges that stem from the conditions and policies shaping life in our state – nearly 1 in 4 Oklahoma children experience food insecurity, children of color are overrepresented in the youth justice system, and young children are inappropriately exposed to court involvement. Parents’ resources are stretched thin, whether it’s due to the stagnant minimum wage of the last two decades, the frustrating reality of finding and keeping stable housing, or cuts to child care subsidies that families and daycares relied on. This need is clear in the latest KIDS COUNT report, which ranked Oklahoma 44th nationally for overall child well-being. Parents and children need help now, but did not receive it from their legislators this session. While legislators introduced and passed a budget within record time, it did not include or make time to consider investments in resources that would help Oklahoma families struggling to make ends meet in the present. [Jill Mencke / OK Policy] NEW: OK Policy is now hiring a Tribal-State Policy Analyst!   We are hiring for a Tribal-State Policy Analyst to conduct research and analysis on Tribal-State policy in Oklahoma, in direct collaboration with OK Policy team members, Tribal partners, and Inter-Tribal organizations on Tribal-state-specific policy issues.    Deadline to apply is Friday, July 3, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. (CST) Learn More & Apply OK Policy & Together OK are bringing the voices of your community to the Capitol.   This summer, we’re hosting listening sessions in towns and cities across the state to provide an opportunity for the public to have conversations with our fellow Oklahomans about issues that matter most in their communities. By hearing directly from residents, we can better advocate for state policies that reflect your priorities.   Sessions are free and open to the public, and participants will be compensated for their time (in-person events only). [Learn More] Find A Listening Session Near You Take Our Quick Online Survey 90%   The share of LGBTQ+ young people who said recent anti-LGBTQ+ laws, policies, and political debates have negatively affected their well-being by causing stress or anxiety. [The Trevor Project] June is Pride Month, an annual June celebration honoring LGBTQ+ identity, history, and rights What the Research Says About Supporting LGBTQ+ Youth   All young people need safe and supportive environments to grow, explore, and learn, but we know from evidence that it is especially important for sexual minority youth, who are more likely to face discrimination and harassment. In recent years, we have seen an increase in the kinds of LGBTQ+ policies that we know create barriers to positive health and well-being. It is critical that we use what we have learned from decades of research about supporting our young people to inform the policies and programs that affect them. Creating better school climates, inclusive laws, and providing support for sexual minority youth helps ALL young people. [UCLA Center for the Developing Adolescent] “I'm not asking government to carry us on their back, I’m just asking government to be there with Oklahomans and to sit at the table. Let’s work together. We need to have assistance for families when they need it, but also, the name of the game is that ultimately here at the food bank we want to not just feed the line (but) we want to shorten the line. So we’ve got to look at ways that we can invest in people through housing, education and livable wages.”   —Jeff Marlow, head of the Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma, explaining that nonprofits are struggling to meet community needs since federal support for the SNAP food assistance program has been reduced. He emphasized that nonprofits cannot meet the demand alone and require substantial assistance from both state and federal governments. [Tulsa World] From OK Policy: H.R. 1’s hidden costs: What the federal megabill really means for Oklahoma Oklahoma News   Oklahoma homeowners still pay the highest insurance rates in the US, 2026 study shows: An analysis of home insurance premiums has confirmed that Oklahomans pay more to insure their home than anywhere else in the nation. While Oklahoma rates aren't the fastest-growing, Oklahomans pay more money per year than any other U.S. state, according to LendingTree's 2026 State of Home Insurance report. [The Oklahoman] From OK Policy: Property tax cuts aren’t the real driver of housing costs Highest-income families' share of private school tax credits increases: While the number of families applying for tax credits to pay for private school tuition has inched higher, data from the Oklahoma Tax Commission indicates that a greater share of those credits are going to families making more than three times the state’s median income. [Tulsa World]   State Government News   New Office of Juvenile Affairs director advocates for youths, agency staffers, accountability: Sharon Millington doesn’t want or expect a lot of credit for leading the Office of Juvenile Affairs. But she does want people employed at the state agency — there are about 520 of them — to be recognized for their work helping kids who have had brushes with the law to make their best way in the world. [Tulsa World] Functional Family Therapy strategies employed to help troubled youths in Oklahoma [Tulsa World] From OK Policy: Reimagining Youth Justice in Oklahoma: A Landscape Report of the Youth Justice System and Recommendations for Reform Oklahoma lacks bids from childcare providers to run facility for state employees: An Oklahoma state agency is planning to try a third time after failing twice before to find a provider willing to operate a five-story childcare center to serve state employees’ children. [Oklahoma Voice]   Opinion, This Week in Oklahoma Politics: Lahmeyer suspends campaign, State Question 832 fails, GOP governor race runoff and more (podcast): The panel talks about Tulsa pastor Jackson Lahmeyer suspending his campaign for Congress after a texting scandal, State Question 832 to raise Oklahoma's minimum wage fails to get enough votes to pass and the Republican race for governor is heading to a runoff between Attorney General Gentner Drummond and former State Senator Mike Mazzei. They also talk about the easy win in the Republican Primary for U.S. Senate by Congressman Kevin Hern and other races they were watching on Tuesday. [KOSU]   Federal Government News   How an unwarranted immigration arrest began unraveling one Tulsa couple's life: As immigration enforcement in Oklahoma continues to ramp up, one Tulsa couple’s experience shows how the federal government is piling onto the trauma of people it has already deemed protected from deportation. [KOSU]   Report: Mullin backed kratom interests tied to Broken Arrow company: The New York Times reported Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin owns a financial interest of up to $1 million in a Broken Arrow kratom company and “played a key role” in advancing its interests in Congress and with the Trump administration. [Tulsa World]   FEMA nominee pressed on whether Trump favors disaster funding requests from GOP states: President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Federal Emergency Management Agency testified before a U.S. Senate committee Wednesday that if confirmed he would ensure natural disaster recovery efforts are “objective” and “fair.” But it was Democrats who repeatedly pressed Cameron Hamilton about whether states controlled by Republicans should receive a disproportionately higher number of disaster declarations than blue states. [Oklahoma Voice]   D.C. Digest: Lankford says Iran MOU ‘not the final deal’: Publicly, at least, U.S. Sen. James Lankford was not among Republicans expressing dismay last week over the Trump administration’s memorandum of understanding. [Tulsa World]   Tribal Nations News   Cherokee cyclists return after retracing 950-mile Trail of Tears, 'reclaiming that journey': Smiling through streams of tears, Cherokee cyclists proudly wrapped in their nation’s flag hugged their friends and families for the first time in three weeks on Friday, celebrating the end of their 950-mile journey tracing the historic Trail of Tears. [Tulsa World]   Voting and Election News   Most Oklahoma voters didn't cast a ballot during June's primary election: Oklahoma has historically had low voter turnout. Tuesday’s primary election was no exception. Only one in four Oklahoma voters cast a ballot. Just 26%, or about one in four registered Oklahoma voters, cast a ballot in the race, according to an analysis of the results. [KOSU] Capitol Insider: Reviewing Oklahoma Primary Election results [KGOU] Primary runoff candidates clamor for voters’ fading attention [Tulsa World] Weekly rewind: Drummond, Mazzei advance in GOP governor's race; state question goes down [Tulsa World] Political notebook: Dills narrowly avoids runoff in primary victory [Tulsa World] Lahmeyer formally withdraws from US House race, sending Tedford to general election [Tulsa World] From OK Policy via The Oklahoman: SQ 832 turnout shows Oklahomans don't feel their vote matters Big money fails to sway voters in some Oklahoma primaries: Candidates, donors and shadowy interest groups flooded millions of dollars into Oklahoma primary races as they attempted to influence the results of the June 16 election. But some campaigns that raised and spent the most failed to reap any rewards. At the same time, a handful of candidates advanced while spending very little on advertising and voter outreach. The Election Night results illustrated the power of platforms that resonate with voters, and not necessarily the most money spent. [The Oklahoman]   Oklahoma GOP governor race will focus on personal lives, experts say: In a Republican gubernatorial race that has focused on candidates fighting their way to a runoff, political experts expect the final two contenders to shift their campaigns to highlighting their personal lives. [The Oklahoman] Trump attacks Drummond as runoff campaign for governor begins [Tulsa World] Help Oklahoma Watch Report on Political Text Messages: Political campaigns and outside groups spent at least $309,000 on dedicated text messaging services ahead of last week’s election, according to reports filed with the Oklahoma Ethics Commission. That number is likely to increase when the most recent campaign finance reports come due on June 30. [Oklahoma Watch]   Opinion: We all must commit to knowing issues, voting in every election: The last 20 years of politics in Oklahoma reminds me of the Book of Judges, a biblical narrative of a political and societal downward spiral into chaos marked by idolatry and civil unrest. While there are bright spots mixed in and a good leader every now and then, the intervening seasons of peace get shorter and shorter throughout the biblical story until they are nonexistent. The book eventually ends ominously: “All the people did what was right in their own eyes.” [The Rev. Lori Walke / The Oklahoman]   Opinion: Oklahoma House Speaker Kyle Hilbert’s take on primary elections is off: The system is broken: The top Republican in the Oklahoma House is disingenuously trying to insult our intelligence by insisting that last week’s election sent a clear message that voters support the “conservative” work that the House Republicans have been doing. It does nothing of the sort. [Janelle Stecklein / Oklahoma Voice]   Education News   Opinion: Oklahoma needs to find better ways to recruit new teachers: Like the rest of the country, Oklahoma has been experiencing crisis-level teacher shortage for several years. Once upon a time, teachers were encouraged to get multiple certifications as a way of increasing their chances of finding a job. Now school districts are desperate to fill vacancies and each year, many classroom teaching positions go unfilled. There are many factors that go into this decline, one of which is a dramatic decrease in enrollment in university-based teacher preparation programs. [Sara Small / The Oklahoman]   Health News   Waived exam requirements for Oklahoma optometrists cause ‘grave concern’ to national testing group: Oklahoma regulators have licensed some eye doctors who did not pass all of a national test, which could put patients in harm’s way, a national optometry group is warning. [Oklahoma Voice]   Justice System News Legal roundup: Indian jurisdiction DA suits stayed, American Heartland case continues: There are high-stakes cases about criminal jurisdiction in eastern Oklahoma, which the U.S. Supreme Court functionally affirmed as a series of Indian Country reservations with its 2020 decision in McGirt v. Oklahoma. A $2 billion theme park project is not coming to Vinita, but a lawsuit alleging that its financier was defrauded by pastors who pretended God was sending emails to the nonagenarian has seen notable developments. Meanwhile, the attorney general has sued the governor, six people have been convicted in the death of a woman at the Garvin County Jail, and a multitude of voices will be allowed to intervene in litigation over a proposed Jewish charter school. [NonDoc]   Housing & Economic Opportunity News   OKC Evictions Have Doubled in a Decade: Oklahoma City’s eviction rates have doubled since 2016 and are more than double New York City’s. More than 40% of evictions filed in Oklahoma County were from the same 100 properties. Over the past 12 months, 37% of eviction claims were for less than $1,000. Fifty percent were for less than the median monthly rent. Only 1% were for more than six months’ median rent. [Oklahoma Watch] From OK Policy: Tenants continue to face an unbalanced eviction process with few protections against bad actors More Americans are hungry in the face of federal cuts, rising grocery prices: Families are facing rising grocery prices at the same time that many of the most vulnerable are losing access to the nation’s largest food assistance program, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. More than 4 million Americans lost SNAP benefits between February 2025 and this February, according to analyses of the most recent federal data. The numbers are expected to increase as states whittle the rolls further as required by the broad tax and spending law President Donald Trump signed last summer, known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. [Oklahoma Voice] Big dip in state SNAP enrollment doesn’t reflect diminished needs, advocates say [Tulsa World] Economy & Business News   OG&E proposes new data center agreement intended to prevent residential utility cost spikes: Oklahoma has at least a dozen data centers planned for its electric grid and each is in need of massive amounts of electricity. To prevent households from shouldering grid connection costs for companies like Google and Meta, utilities have been tasked with creating terms and conditions for data centers and other energy-hungry facilities. [KGOU]   Community News   Tulsa mayor shifts public safety role, blindsiding council a day after budget approval: Mayor Monroe Nichols is shifting the role of public safety commissioner from an appointed cabinet role to a civil service position, the Tulsa Flyer confirmed Thursday evening. The move occurred a day after Tulsa City Council unanimously approved next year’s fiscal budget. [The Oklahoma Eagle] Plan to change public safety commissioner to civil service classification puzzles councilors [Tulsa World] City councilors concerned about handling of separate emergency management agency [Public Radio Tulsa]  Tulsans and tourists gather in Greenwood to celebrate and reflect on Juneteenth: The streets of Greenwood were filled on Saturday as people from across the state and country gathered for Tulsa’s Juneteenth Festival. The annual holiday commemorates the date — June 19, 1865 — when soldiers arrived in Texas to free enslaved people two years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. [The Oklahoma Eagle]   Local Headlines Luther joins growing list of Oklahoma communities with data center moratoriums [KOSU] Luther adopts data center moratorium after backlash to Beltline proposal [The Journal Record] Under new operator, Tulsa’s Mohawk Park golf course sees rise in revenue and renovations [Tulsa Flyer] Smart glasses with AI seen as threat to sensitive courthouse records [The Oklahoman] Support Our Work with a Donation In The Know is your daily briefing on Oklahoma policy-related news. Inclusion of a story does not necessarily mean endorsement by the Oklahoma Policy Institute. Some stories included here are behind paywall or require subscription. OK Policy encourages the support of Oklahoma’s state and local media, which are vital to an informed citizenry. 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