On Friday, Gov. Kevin Stitt said he may spend his education funds on the Oklahoma Equal Opportunity Education Scholarship Act, which gives tax credits to individuals and corporations donating towards tuition for private school students.
While schools have made contact with most students during a shift to distance learning, thousands have been unreachable and are at risk of not having contact with a school for at least the next five months until buildings reopen.
It has been 25 years since Jay Curry’s father was killed in the Oklahoma City Bombing. It has taken almost that long to pick up the pieces.
At a time when homeless students and those experiencing extreme poverty already face a wide academic gap compared to their peers, the loss of teacher-led instruction could create an even larger gap.
Both Shrum and Pollard are key members of the governor’s coronavirus response team and have been central figures in crafting the state’s testing strategy, which has relied more on private companies than the federal government.
While the Oklahoma governor may lack a political worldview, his mantra of fighting the virus through “personal responsibility” is in line with his own history.
Gov. Kevin Stitt is expected to order all public schools to continue paying support staff who have lost the ability to work due to the statewide closure of school buildings.
In some districts the most students may receive are worksheet packets, storybooks and directed to watch public television programming that is being reoriented for students at home.
