A member of the Oklahoma State Board of Education suggested Thursday that private schools should not be allowed to participate in a state program for children with special needs unless they substantially abandon their Christian identity.

As the COVID-19 pandemic hit Oklahoma last spring, state lawmakers responded by authorizing temporary changes to state open-meetings laws and allowed government bodies to meet entirely by video or teleconference.

With several large Oklahoma schools remaining closed for in-person instruction, parental opposition to school closures has become more vocal as parents sign petitions and hold protests.

Claiming that “racism is deeply embedded in our institutions, including in the legal profession,” the deans of 150 American law schools—including all three in Oklahoma—have signed a letter urging the American Bar Association to require their schools to “provide training and education around bias, cultural competence, and antiracism.”

In recent weeks, COVID-19 rates have surged in Oklahoma prisons, contributing significantly to higher overall rates in many counties across the state. But even as infection rates surged in prisons, resulting sickness from the virus has been minimal.

If an Oklahoma citizen tries to closely monitor state agencies’ rules and regulations today, the antiquated and cumbersome processes used by state officials are a major deterrent. But Gov. Kevin Stitt’s administration is working to end that problem, lawmakers were told Tuesday.

Universal choice is the principled—and pragmatic—education policy. Every Oklahoma family that wants choice should have it—now.

A U.S. district court judge has

Oklahoma’s economy has been fully reopened for months and, although more Oklahomans have contracted COVID-19, the number of those being hospitalized for the virus has declined.