Cell phone ban advances
A bill to ban cell phones in schools made its way off the House floor Thursday.
House Bill 1276 by Enid Republican Chad Caldwell would require school districts to create policies restricting student cell phone use during the school day, but also allows districts to opt out if the school board revisits the policy every year.
"We are leaving it up to the schools," Caldwell said. "If they disagree with that, they can opt out of that policy. I will tell you, I hope there isn’t a single school in the state that opts out of this policy. The data is extremely clear. And if schools want to do the right thing for their kids, they’re going to enact this policy."
The bill passed the House floor with a vote of 82 to 9 and now heads to the Senate. A similar bill is also making its way through Senate committees.
New Survivors' Act filing
Tyesha Long is the latest Oklahoman to file for resentencing under the Oklahoma Survivors’ Act.
Enacted in 2024, the law requires courts to revisit sentencing decisions for survivors of domestic abuse.
Originally sentenced to 27 years in prison, Tyseha Long was found guilty of first-degree manslaughter for the 2020 killing of Ray Brown. Her original case documented a turbulent relationship with Brown that started when she was 17 and he was 53 years old.
Now, the Oklahoma Appleseed Center for Law and Justice is bringing her case back to the Oklahoma County courts. Attorney and center executive director Colleen McCarty said they hope Long’s sentence will be reduced.
“I just think for a long time, we've been a ‘lock them up and throw away the key’ type of state, and this allows us to kind of be a little bit more thoughtful about how long someone has to serve,” McCarty said.
Oklahoma blood shortage
A nonprofit blood provider in Oklahoma is 2,000 donations behind what it needs to replenish the local blood supply. Recent inclement weather and a spike in flu cases have fueled a blood supply emergency.
Our Blood Institute is the nation's sixth-largest independent blood center, providing more than 95 percent of Oklahoma’s blood supply to over 160 hospitals, medical facilities and air ambulances.
The institute said this shortage is in addition to the 1,200 daily donations it requires to meet the needs of area hospitals.
A blood emergency was declared before winter weather hit, which led to canceled blood drives and a drop in donations. An uptick in flu cases has also fueled the crisis, as people must wait to donate if they have a fever or productive cough.
Dr. John Armitage, the institute’s president and CEO, said it needs donors to step up now more than ever. Oklahomans can make an appointment on the institute’s website.
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