Small: Session will reap benefit for years

Session will reap benefit for years

By Jonathan Small

Academic outcomes in Oklahoma’s public school system have been among the worst in the nation for years. But this year’s legislative session alters that trajectory and the full benefit will become apparent over time.

One of the most important actions taken this year was passage of Senate Bill 1778, which effectively requires that students read at least on a second-grade level before beginning the fourth grade, or face retention in the third grade. The new law also provides for intensive early intervention for struggling students in the first through third grades.

Based on state testing results, just 27 percent of Oklahoma third graders read at or above grade level, and National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) tests show that only 23 percent of Oklahoma fourth-grade students scored at or above proficient in 2024. Only two states did worse.

AFP-OK celebrates legislative victories following end of the 2026 session

AFP-OK Celebrates Legislative Victories Following End of the 2026 Session 

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK (May 18th) - Americans for Prosperity-Oklahoma (AFP-OK) celebrated the end of a successful 2026 legislative session today, highlighting its victories and sharing its goals for next year. The chapter’s wins beneath the dome this year reflect its ongoing commitment to making the Sooner State the most prosperous state in the nation by advocating for the policies to make it happen, whether it’s expanding school options or strengthening free speech protections and agency transparency.  

AFP-OK's biggest legislative wins for 2026 include: 

Small: School-choice opponents think everyone is ‘rich’

School-choice opponents think everyone is ‘rich’

By Jonathan Small

To attack school choice, opponents now insist virtually everyone in Oklahoma is “rich.” That will surprise most families.

The Oklahoma Parental Choice Tax Credit program provides refundable tax credits of $5,000 to $7,500 per child to cover private school tuition. The largest tax credits go to those with the lowest incomes and families with income of less than $150,000 per year are prioritized.

The program has been very popular and demand is expected to exceed the current $250 million supply, so House Bill 3705 increases the cap to $275 million. During April 9 debate, however, opponents repeatedly implied that thousands of working families are, in fact, wealthy.

Small: It’s not unusual for school programs to benefit all

It’s not unusual for school programs to benefit all

By Jonathan Small

In one important aspect, the Oklahoma Parental Choice Tax Credit program, which helps families send children to private school, operates just like the public school system: The program is open to all.

Opponents act as though this is a major flaw yet never say a peep about the much larger taxpayer benefit provided to the “rich” who use public schools.

Op-ed: The dangers 'school choice' brings to the homeschool community

The homeschool community in Oklahoma has entered a new era, one in which the specter of government regulation is closer than ever before due to the 2023 passage of the Parental Choice Tax Credit, which includes a $1,000 credit for homeschool families.

I've written before about the wariness homeschoolers have for government strings (here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here). As the saying goes, with the shekels come shackles. As a result, many homeschoolers in Oklahoma (me included) are declining to take the "free* money!" offered by the latest government Pied Piper. Don't be a party in laying the groundwork for infringement on educational freedom. The camel's nose is now under the tent.

 

Image by wirestock on Freepik

THE DANGERS SCHOOL CHOICE BRINGS TO THE HOMESCHOOL COMMUNITY

by Robert Scott

Our freedoms are rarely eroded in one fell swoop. Like the frog in boiling water liberty is lost in baby steps. Participating in the school choice tax credit will impact us all. Simply not taking the tax credit is not enough. All forms of government money (subsidies, credits, grants, incentives, welfare) are a means to control the people.

Small: Attacking the "rich"

Attacking the “rich”

By Jonathan Small

Liberals often argue the tax system should penalize the “rich,” who allegedly never pay their “fair share.” That argument has resulted in a system where a large share of citizens is declared “rich.” In fact, the top 50 percent of all taxpayers now pay an astounding 97.7 percent of all federal individual income taxes.

A similar argument is being made regarding school choice. Some critics argue the “rich” shouldn’t benefit from the Oklahoma Parental Choice Tax Credit program. As with taxes, this argument relies heavily on defining much of the population as rich.

To illustrate my point, recall that an Oklahoma teacher married to a firefighter enjoys family income well above $100,000 today.

Small: U.S. Supreme Court should take Oklahoma case

U.S. Supreme Court should take Oklahoma case

By Jonathan Small

This year the Oklahoma Supreme Court declared the Catholic Church cannot sponsor the proposed St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School, declaring the church would be a “state actor” using taxpayer funds for religious purposes.

The case could be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. Oklahomans should hope justices agree to take up this important case.

There are good policy reasons to hope St. Isidore ultimately prevails.

Small: Court errs on religious school decision

Court errs on religious school decision

By Jonathan Small

When it comes to religion, many on the left twist the principle of government neutrality into a doctrine of government suppression.

The Oklahoma Supreme Court recently ruled the Catholic Church cannot operate a state charter school. The decision is the latest in which an Oklahoma Supreme Court decision is at odds with simple logic.

Small: Conservatives gain in legislative races

Though I have some minor quibbles with Small regarding school choice (primarily as it relates to protecting homeschool freedoms from future government intrusion), but I agree with him that the recent Republican primary results were great news for conservatives. In fact, it may well have been the best election for Oklahoma conservatives in the past decade.

Conservatives gain in legislative races

By Jonathan Small

Last month’s primary elections resulted in the Oklahoma Legislature likely being more conservative next year. That’s good news for voters who care about issues such as judicial reform, taxes and education.

This year’s legislative session ended without reform to Oklahoma’s secretive and liberal process for nominating judges in Oklahoma and without personal income tax reductions.

But many candidates who prevailed or advanced to runoffs in Republican primaries advocated for conservative reforms to change the secretive process for how Oklahoma nominates judges and for cutting or eliminating the personal income tax. Also, voter support for school choice has become undeniable.

State Sup't Walters announces creation of Office of School Choice at OSDE

Walters Announces Creation of Office of School Choice

Oklahoma City, Okla (March 28th) – At today’s Oklahoma State Board of Education meeting, State Superintendent Ryan Walters announced the creation of the Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE) Office of School Choice. The new division will function as a one-stop shop for all things related to school choice and parental empowerment in Oklahoma.

Small: Two OK House bills are an attack on parents

An attack on parents

By Jonathan Small

Opponents of deference to parents often believe parents cannot be trusted to raise their own children.

The latest proof comes in two bills filed at the Oklahoma Legislature.

House Bill 4130, by state Rep. Amanda Swope, D-Tulsa, would require any homeschooling parents to notify the state Department of Human Services and undergo a background check. The bill would also impose registration and background-check requirements on parents who “change school districts, whether a result of a move or otherwise.”

Basically, Swope’s default assumption is that any parent who educates their child anywhere other than a local, geographically assigned school should be treated as a likely child predator.

This is complete nonsense. Research shows a child’s educational setting – whether homeschool, public school or private school – has no significant correlation with child abuse.

Attorney General Drummond takes over, dismisses Gov. Stitt's lawsuit against ClassWallet

I will be the first to admit that I'm skeptical of Attorney General Drummond on a lot of issues, but I think he's dead right on this one. 

Background from a 2023 post on this issue:

Back in 2020, Oklahoma officials hired ClassWallet to distribute $17.3M in a federal COVID-19 relief program, intending for these funds to be used for private school tuition and materials. This could be considered one of Gov. Stitt's and now-State Superintendent Ryan Walters' first "school choice" programs.

It ended in abject failure and scandal, with a lot of taxpayer money being misspent. After a lot of frankly pathetic passing-the-buck by several individuals, Walters among them, former Attorney General John O'Connor filed a lawsuit on behalf of the state against ClassWallet for mishandling the funds. I felt that was oddly misplaced at the time, as emails later showed that blanket approval was given by Walters and others in government.

Walters, in particular, who gave "blanket approval" to the spending, bears a lot of responsibility for the failure of the program - responsibility that to this day he continues to dodge and deflect (it's always someone else's fault, don't you know...). 

Families to rally for homeschool freedoms Tuesday at State Capitol

Some of the homeschool students at Capitol Day 2023

Oklahoma is the only state in the union that explicitly protects home education in the state's Constition. Homeschool freedom is unparalleled here.

Tomorrow is the 39th annual Homeschool Capitol Day, where homeschool families from across the state come to the State Capitol to lobby legislators to protect existing homeschool freedoms, learn about legislation, network with other groups and families, and hold various educational and informational workshops and activities for all ages.

Gov. Stitt celebrates launch of OK Parental Choice Tax Credit

Gov. Stitt is celebrating  (after a brief 'optics' faux pas over whether he'd be applying for his kids) what appears to be a succesful launch of the Oklahoma Parental Choice Tax Credit program, with what appears to be enough applicants in the first 90 minutes to use up the entire first-year allocation of $150M. Under the current law, the credit will increase to $200M in 2025, and $250M in 2026. I expect that to change as it looks like this will be a popular program.

GOV. STITT CELEBRATES LAUNCH OF OK PARENTAL CHOICE TAX CREDIT

OKLAHOMA CITY (December 7, 2023) - Governor Kevin Stitt today celebrated the launch of the Oklahoma Parental Choice Tax Credit program and revealed the Oklahoma Tax Commission (OTC) received over 30,000 submissions within the first 90 minutes of launch. OTC, alongside its operational partner Merit, began accepting applications on Wednesday, December 6, 2023, at 2:00 p.m. CST. To date, approximately 140 accredited schools have been registered to participate.

Small: Private school critics ignore reality

Private school critics ignore reality

By Jonathan Small

School-choice opponents have tried, and failed, to convince parents to oppose policies that grant greater educational opportunity to their children.

So now school-choice opponents have a new tactic: They’re urging Oklahomans to ignore reality.

Under the Oklahoma Parental Choice Tax Credit Act, all families in Oklahoma are now eligible for refundable tax credits of $5,000 to $7,500 per child to pay for private-school tuition. The lower a family’s income, the larger the tax credit. The program takes effect in January.

AG Drummond sues over Catholic charter school, draws ire from Stitt and Walters

This is from the 20th, but it's newsworthy enough to go ahead and post despite being "old news" at this point. Attorney General Gentner Drummond is once again lining up against Governor Kevin Stitt and State Superintendent Ryan Walters, this time over the Oklahoma Statewide Virtual Charter School Board's approval of a Catholic public charter school, which is touted (or decried, depending on the perspective) as the first publicly funded religious charter school in the nation.

Drummond thinks the approval violates the state and federal constitutions, while Stitt and Walters disagree and think it would instead violate religious liberty to deny the charter.

Small: Arguments against religious charter schools fall short

Arguments against religious charter schools fall short

By Jonathan Small

The Catholic Church wants to open the nation’s first religious public charter school here in Oklahoma. After reviewing the application, the Oklahoma Statewide Virtual Charter School Board has voted to approve creation of the online St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School.

That decision has drawn pushback from some, but opponents’ arguments are weak.

AFP comments on OK Tax Commission's proposed rules for Parent Choice Tax Credit Act

With the passage of HB 1934 and signing by Gov. Stitt, landmark 'school choice' legislation is now law in Oklahoma, providing tax credits of $5,000-$7,500 for private school students (depending on household income) and $1,000 tax credits for homeschool students (with a cap of $5,000,000, or 5,000 students for now, though estimates put the Oklahoma homeschool student population from a low of 25,000 to 120,000 on the high end). 

A relatively little-known aspect of law and government is that state and federal agencies must develop and publish rules to put most legislation into effect. Typically, there is a public comment period for citizens to have some input on the impact of proposed rules before the rules are finalized (and in some cases sent to the legislative branch for approval).

John Tidwell, State Director for Americans for Prosperity Oklahoma (which advocated very heavily for the bill), submitted the following letter during public comment on the proposed rules put forth by the Oklahoma Tax Commission:

Democratic legislative leaders gripe about GOP policies, special session goals

Able to do little else of substance, the leaders of the Democratic superminority in the Legislature are lambasting Gov. Stitt's call of a special session, and GOP priorities in general:

Democratic leaders comment on special session call

OKLAHOMA CITY (Sept. 14th) – Democratic legislative leaders Kay Floyd and Cyndi Munson released the following statement regarding the governor’s call for a special session on October 3, 2023.

Small on Oklahoma's plunging reading, math scores: "Back to the '70s"

Back to the ‘70s

By Jonathan Small

The surge of inflation under President Joe Biden has given many people flashbacks to the 1970s. Sadly, the latest data released by the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) evokes a similar sense of déjà vu.

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) administered the NAEP long-term trend reading and mathematics assessments to 13-year-old students from October to December of the 2022–23 school year.

The results provide much reason for alarm.