Oklahoma Watch
Oklahoma Watch is a non-profit organization that produces in-depth and investigative journalism on important public-policy issues facing the state. Oklahoma Watch is non-partisan and strives to be balanced, fair, accurate and comprehensive. The reporting project collaborates on occasion with other news outlets. Topics of particular interest include poverty, education, health care, the young and the old, and the disadvantaged.
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The state Election Board dismissed the Republican member and a Republican alternate from the Oklahoma County Election Board after it determined they failed to certify election results, refused to approve meeting minutes and didn’t disclose conflicts of interest.
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The Department of Education overpaid at least $290,000 in teacher bonuses and is working to claw back the money mere months after it was distributed. Nine teachers have been issued demands for repayment.
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After several scandals and turnover in agency leadership, some Oklahoma lawmakers are rethinking their efforts to give the governor direct appointment power over the largest state agencies.
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Oklahoma used state disaster response funds to pay for a 30-day deployment of National Guard troops to help with border security as part of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s Operation Lone Star.
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Politically involved nonprofits and committees without contribution limits spent $2.3 million to influence Oklahoma voters in 2023, rivaling the $2.95 million candidates put toward campaign expenses.
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The Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board is considering an administrative rule change that would place several restrictions on when Oklahoma prisoners may seek commutation.
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Opportunities for A.P. classes, which give students a leg up in college admissions, are lacking in rural high schools. A new law aims to address the divide.
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Conditions are improving at a state prison where staff locked inmates in two-by-two-foot shower stalls for days in mid-August, but one lawmaker who specializes in criminal justice issues said the incident warrants further accountability efforts.
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After a summer pause to expand outreach efforts to SoonerCare members, the Oklahoma Health Care Authority has resumed an unwinding process to pare an estimated 270,000 low-income Oklahomans who kept Medicaid coverage during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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With less than five months until Oklahoma’s presidential primary elections, former President Donald Trump has built a significant fundraising advantage among Republican candidates.