Putting parents in charge of education

Today in Oklahoma, parents fall into two camps. One camp has the financial resources to move to another school district or independently pay for private school if a local district isn’t working out for their child. The other camp must endure problems and hope things somehow improve because those families don’t have the finances to get their children out of a geographically assigned school.

But Senate President Pro Tempore Greg Treat wants to level the playing field and provide all Oklahoma parents—from all walks of life and all parts of the state—the ability to send their child to any school of their choice, including private schools.

Senate Bill 1647, by Treat, would create the Oklahoma Empowerment Account (OEA) Program and provide all Oklahoma families with a state account that could be used to pay for a range of education services, including private-school tuition. The money in the account would be based on the per-pupil state-funding allotment already dedicated for a child.

That’s revolutionary. For the first time, Oklahoma would fund students, not buildings, when it comes to education.

Under Treat’s bill, every dime now allotted for K-12 education will continue to go to education. Not one penny will be cut. But instead of giving bureaucrats control, Treat would put parents in charge.

First Baptist Church of Edmond is hosting the 2022 Abolition Now Conference, Feb. 5-8. This four-day conference combines teaching, training and application.

Abolition is a grassroots movement among churches to abolish abortion in Oklahoma. The tenets of abolition are built upon the following five principles. First, abolition is biblical. Rather than leaving the Bible out of engagements, abolitionists ground God’s Word as the foundation for everything that they do. The concept of abolitionism (the removal of evils) is derived from the Word of God. It follows from the call to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God (Micah 6:8).

Second, abolition is providential. Abolitionists rely on the providence of God, a not pragmatism in their efforts to abolish abortion. Abolitionists trust in the ordained means and methods God has given in His Word.

Third, abolition is Gospel-centered. Abolitionists recognize that the chief weapon they possess in the fight against abortion is the Good News of Jesus Christ. Abortion is sin, and the only answer for sin is repentance and a saving faith in the finished work of Christ. The Gospel alone brings redemption from destruction; it is the wellspring of love, hope and joy, and the answer to abortion. The Gospel truly and permanently mobilizes human action, motivates moral behavior and mandates consistent, compassionate justice.

OKLAHOMA CITY – The Oklahoma State Department of Health (OSDH) is working to make sure Oklahomans have widely available access to N95 masks in the state.

In partnership with the Oklahoma Pharmacists Association and pharmacy partners around the state, the OSDH will be distributing N95 masks around the state to local pharmacies through a distribution system that will provide Oklahomans the opportunity to go to their local pharmacies to receive N95 masks, free of charge.

Through the OSDH and Federal Government distributions, local, independent pharmacies and pharmacies that are a part of the Federal Retail Providers program will have N95 masks available to Oklahomans throughout the state.

“With the highly transmissible omicron variant we know that the quality of the mask someone chooses to wear matters,” said Michael DeRemer, director of emergency preparedness and response service for the OSDH. “We want to make sure all Oklahomans have access to the best mask possible to protect themselves and others from this virus, no matter where they live and at no-cost.”

Sen. Dahm celebrates eighth anniversary of debate with fake news Piers Morgan

OKLAHOMA CITY – Thursday, Sen. Nathan Dahm, R-Broken Arrow, issued the following statement:

“Eight years ago, Piers Morgan was headlining CNN nightly and using his platform to rail against our Second Amendment rights. He apparently never saw the irony of a Brit trying to take away our guns or never learned the history of our response to King George III when he tried the same thing. 

“When I filed my ‘Piers Morgan Constitutional Right to Keep and Bear Arms Without Infringement Act,’ he quickly took the bait and challenged me to come on his show to debate the bill. In a bittersweet moment, Piers was fired by CNN just a few weeks after our debate. It was bittersweet because I had enough material to go back on his show at least another half dozen times to demolish his arguments again.

OKLAHOMA CITY - The Oklahoma State Department of Health (OSDH), the Tulsa County Health Department (THD) and the Oklahoma City-County Health Department (OCCHD) are moving away from universal case investigation and contact tracing to focus on a more strategic approach of outbreak investigations and targeted case investigations.

Transitioning away from these is something Oklahoma has been moving toward in many ways, as evident in the implementation of OSDHCI which is allowing our case investigators and epidemiologist to prioritize following-up on outbreaks or clusters, as well as individuals in high-risk settings after a positive COVID-19 result.

“Tools such as at-home testing kits, updated isolation and quarantine guidance, and the self-serve case investigation portal has provided Oklahomans the opportunity to be the driver of their own personal health and the health of their family and community,” said leaders from all three agencies. “Empowering Oklahomans with the most up to date recommendations and mitigation strategies has paved the way for autonomy and a more sustained public health system that is not reliant on universal case investigation and contact tracing to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. The community has a greater understanding of public health and the necessity of public health intervention and how to navigate those tools.”

This change isn’t unique to Oklahoma. Five national public health organizations issued guidance on Tuesday supporting the transition.

“It is appropriate for our public health agencies to transition our resources into more effective strategies to lessen the impact of COVID-19 by focusing surveillance and prevention efforts on the most severe outcomes of COVID-19: hospitalizations and deaths,” stated the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) along with several other agencies.

You can read the full, joint statement from national public health organizations here.

OKLAHOMA CITY - The Oklahoma State Department of Health (OSDH) is committed to sharing the most up to date and timely information about the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Monday, the FDA removed the authorization for the use of two monoclonal antibody treatments that have been on the market, REGEN-COV and Bam/Ete, due to their ineffectiveness against the omicron variant, taking into consideration the prevalence of omicron in the country. 

Right now, in Oklahoma, our sequencing surveillance shows us 98% of cases are attributable to the omicron variant.  

OKLAHOMA CITY – Rep. Cynthia Roe, R-Lindsay, has filed legislation to require medical entities to allow visitation to COVID-19 patients, even when the patient is in isolation from the public and other patients. 

House Bill 3313 allows a patient with COVID-19 to designate an individual with full visitation rights. The individual may be required by the hospital to comply with certain requirements, including signing an acknowledgment-of-risks document, receiving a health screening from staff or wearing personal protective equipment. 

“Many Oklahomans have had to endure the horrible heartbreak of not being with a loved one while they were hospitalized with COVID-19,” Roe said. “This adds stress and trauma onto an already fraught situation.”

Roe said she has heard from constituents who were either not allowed to visit a loved one or were not allowed to receive a guest while hospitalized for COVID-19.

“Hospitalized Oklahomans have the right to visitation regardless of their health issues,” Roe said. “Not seeing anybody besides their nurses and doctors takes a severe toll on a patient’s mental health.”

Roe added, "I firmly believe that human touch is essential to the healing process."​

Roe has been a registered nurse for 39 years and a nurse practitioner for 22 years. She currently chairs the House Public Health Committee. ​

The hospital may revoke visitation rights to individuals if they fail to follow safety protocols or visitation policies.

If an individual’s right is revoked, the patient may designate a new individual. Individuals who have been suspended from visitation shall be reviewed every 30 days for reinstatement.

Last year, the Legislature approved the No Patient Left Alone Act to allow patients to designate a visitor to have unrestricted visitation, but Roe said facilities have not been complying. The legislation, House Bill 2687, did not include any kind of enforcement mechanism.​

HB3313 also allows any person to bring a civil action against anybody who isolates a COVID-19 patient without visitation rights, knowingly aids in the isolation of a patient or intends to isolate or aid in the isolation. 

The bill has an emergency clause allowing it to take effect immediately upon becoming law. 

HB3313 is available for consideration in the upcoming legislative session, which begins Monday, Feb. 7.

Rep. Cynthia Roe, a Republican, serves House District 42 in the Oklahoma House of Representatives. Her district includes portions of Garvin and McClain counties. 

Phillips to Run Legislation Creating the Southeast Asia Economic Trade Office

OKLAHOMA CITY – Rep. Logan Phillips, R-Mounds, has filed legislation for the upcoming session that would establish the Southeast Asia Economic Trade Office. The office would be housed in Taiwan to advance Oklahoma's interests in the country and region.   

According to Phillips, this legislation is necessary to strengthen Oklahoma's already strong relationship with Taiwan and open up the state to new economic investment opportunities.

“This trade office would help open new markets for our state and provide increased economic opportunities for our citizens both here and around the world," Phillips said. “We have a 40 year history of partnership with Taiwan, having sister cities in both Kaohsiung City and Taipei. That partnership has benefited our state culturally for years, and now we have the opportunity to expand the economic impact it can have as well. By establishing the Southeast Asia Economic Trade Office, we can attract new investors and new industries and create new jobs for Oklahomans."

Lankford Outraged That Defense Department Has Granted Nearly ZERO Religious Accommodations for COVID-19 Vaccine

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK (January 25th) – Senator James Lankford (R-OK) today sent a letter to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin demanding to know why, despite 19,979 known requests for religious accommodations from the COVID-19 vaccine, the Department has granted nearly zero requests for religious accommodations among the service branches. The US Marines reportedly have two religious accommodations—out of 3,367 requests.

In his letter, Lankford wrote that according to information his office obtained: the US Army has received 2,128 requests for religious accommodations, the US Navy has received 3,791 requests for religious accommodations; and the US Air Force has received 10,693 requests for religious accommodations. None have been granted.

“It is alarming that the Department is so blatantly disregarding the free exercise of religion that is guaranteed to our military service members, both through the First Amendment and through the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) (42 U.S.C. Sec 2000bb-1). Congress chose to apply RFRA to the military, and the military remains accountable to Congress for adhering to this law,” wrote Lankford in the letter.

Lowe's bill is named after the former judge pictured below, who resigned last year following what appears to have been extensive sexual misconduct with several prosecutors and attorneys. So far, at least one conviction in a case tried by the judge has been thrown out.

Disgraced former Oklahoma County District Judge Tim Henderson

Legislation Seeks to Raise Standards for Oklahoma Judges

OKLAHOMA CITY – Rep. Jason Lowe, D-OKC, filed legislation for the upcoming legislative session that seeks to protect and restore faith in the Oklahoma justice system. 

House Bill 3746, the Judge Timothy Henderson Act, would forbid judges from having a sexual relationship with a lawyer who is representing a client in the courtroom assigned to the judge. 

Any judge who violates the proposed law could be imprisoned for up to two years and fined up to $100,000.

“The people of Oklahoma have an expectation for how their public servants should act,” Lowe said. “This legislation helps ensure that the decisions being made by a judge are driven by the facts of the case and not a relationship with an attorney.” 

Establishing a clear line for expectations helps both the people of Oklahoma and judges.

“As most of us know, the appearance of impropriety is often as damaging as the impropriety itself,” Lowe said. “This is a proactive approach to protect public trust by holding public servants accountable.”

Roberts Plans to Push for Legislative Referendum to Remove Grocery Sales Tax

OKLAHOMA CITY – Rep. Sean Roberts, R-Hominy, today announced that he plans to continue his push for a referendum to remove Oklahoma's sales tax on groceries.

"Currently only six states allow full taxes on groceries, Oklahoma being one," Roberts said. "We currently have a surplus in funds and revenues are up, so now is the time to bring this much needed relief to Oklahoma families."

A legislative referendum is the mechanism by which the Oklahoma Legislature can submit a constitutional amendment or statutory change to a vote of the people. It is one of two ways to place a State Question on the ballot in Oklahoma, the other being by initiative petition. Roberts previously filed House Bill 2844 last session and will be advocating for its passage again this session.