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Yes, Prime Minister: School choice and its opponents

A 1988 episode of the BBC political sitcom Yes, Prime Minister provides an humor-laden insight into the motivations and methods of the forces that seek to squelch educational reform. Last December, EdChoice CEO Robert Enlow and Director of Policy Jason Bedrick commented on key clips from the episode and how...

Posted by Michael Bates on October 25, 2019 9:11 PM

LWVTulsa Hot Topic Lunch on SQ 790

The League of Women Voters of Tulsa are holding a "Hot Topic Lunch" at the newly remodeled Central Library next Tuesday, October 11, 2016, to discuss SQ 790. I will be arguing in favor of the state question, which repeals Article II, Section 5, the discriminatory "Blaine Amendment" language in...

Posted by Michael Bates on October 7, 2016 6:34 PM

National and Oklahoma Republican leaders back parental choice in education; so should Oklahoma leaders

A speech by President Ronald Reagan about parental choice in education forms the framework of this video montage, which begins with remarks from Republican presidential candidates Jeb Bush, Ben Carson, Chris Christie, Ted Cruz, Carly Fiorina, Mike Huckabee, Bobby Jindal, John Kasich, Rand Paul, Marco Rubio, and Scott Walker, all...

Posted by Michael Bates on September 19, 2015 1:03 AM

Celebrate school choice with a snowcone in the park tomorrow

The Oklahoma Council for Public Affairs (OCPA) and Americans for Prosperity Foundation are celebrating the 102nd birthday of Nobel Laureate and educational-choice champion Milton Friedman with snowcones at Tulsa's Mohawk Park Pavilion 2, tomorrow, Thursday, July 31, 2014, from 4 pm to 6 pm. It's a come-and-go event for the...

Posted by Michael Bates on July 30, 2014 12:11 PM

Poll: Oklahoma Republican voters strongly support school choice

A poll of likely Oklahoma Republican primary voters revealed strong support for school choice generally and specific school choice proposals, as strong in the rest of the state as it is in the Tulsa and Oklahoma City metropolitan areas. The poll was commissioned by the American Federation for Children and...

Posted by Michael Bates on July 10, 2014 12:07 PM

School Choice Week 2013 in Oklahoma and across America

Every January, supporters of expanded educational options for America's school children and their parents put on School Choice Week, events across America to call attention to and advocate for school choice. Nationally, there's a whistle-stop tour, beginning tomorrow in Los Angeles and ending eight days later in New York,...

Posted by Michael Bates on January 24, 2013 7:27 PM

Oklahoma school choice event a big success

State of the Union Address notwithstanding, hundreds of Oklahomans turned out for tonight's National School Choice Week event at UCO. We heard remarks by State Superintendent Janet Barresi, former Congressman J. C. Watts, State Sen. Gary Stanislawski, Jeff Reed of the Friedman Institute, and political reporter John Fund (on book...

Posted by Michael Bates on January 24, 2012 10:41 PM

National School Choice Week forum in Edmond tonight, January 24, 2012

A reminder that tonight, Tuesday, January 24, 2012, is Oklahoma's National School Choice Week event, "Restoring American Exceptionalism, an Oklahoma Town Hall," at UCO in Edmond, tonight at 7 p.m. Speakers include John Fund from the Wall Street Journal, State Superintendent Janet Barresi, former Congressman J. C. Watts, and Tulsa...

Posted by Michael Bates on January 23, 2012 10:42 PM

John Fund, J. C. Watts at Oklahoma School Choice event, January 24, 2012

BatesLine is proud to welcome a new advertiser about a topic near and dear to our hearts: school choice. John Fund from the Wall Street Journal, State Superintendent Janet Barresi, and former Congressman J. C. Watts will be speaking later this month, at Restoring American Exceptionalism, Oklahoma's National School Choice...

Posted by Michael Bates on January 10, 2012 1:19 AM

<em>The Cartel, The Lottery, Waiting for "Superman"</em> available online

Three recent documentaries critical of K-12 education in America are now available for online viewing. Each film dramatizes the failures of public education, the efforts by lower-income parents to secure a better education for their children, and the ways that bureaucracy and entrenched interest groups work to thwart those efforts....

Posted by Michael Bates on December 12, 2011 10:34 PM

Sand Springs school board blasts special-needs vouchers

Yet another Tulsa-area school board has voiced support for the lawsuit by Jenks and Union school districts to strike down the law that provides for adequate education for Oklahoma children with special needs. The Lindsey Nicole Henry Scholarship Act allows parents of a special-needs child to transfer some of the...

Posted by Michael Bates on November 15, 2011 11:22 PM

Mitch Daniels to headline OCPA Tulsa gala, October 6, 2011

The Oklahoma Council for Public Affairs (OCPA), a free-market think-tank focused on state policy, will hold its annual gala here in Tulsa, on October 6, 2011, at the Renaissance Hotel. Keynote speaker for the event is Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels. Single-seat tickets for the gala begin at $125 (of which...

Posted by Michael Bates on September 27, 2011 11:28 PM

Tulsa District 5: Must Karen Gilbert quit her day job with Tulsa Public Schools?

I've received a couple of emails regarding Tulsa Public Schools policy 4401, regarding employees running for public office. The policy allows for employees to be granted a leave of absence to run for and serve in elective office. The question posed is whether District 5 candidate Karen Gilbert is required...

Posted by Michael Bates on September 12, 2011 1:13 AM

Sen. Eason-McIntyre under fire from Kara Gae Neal, Margaret Erling

State Sen. Judy Eason-McIntyre (D-Tulsa) has come under attack twice in recent days by prominent Tulsans who evidently oppose educational choice and individual liberty, according to two recent stories by CapitolBeatOK. Last Thursday, lobbyist Margaret Erling harangued the Tulsa senator on the floor of the Senate over Eason-McIntyre's support for...

Posted by Michael Bates on May 20, 2011 2:51 AM

<em>Waiting for "Superman"</em>: The animated version

Next Media Animation is a Taiwanese media company that is making a name for itself with video-game-style retellings, often hilarious, of American news stories, narrated in Chinese. You may have seen their version of the Al Gore "crazed poodle" allegations or their take on the 2010 midterm elections. Here's NMA's...

Posted by Michael Bates on October 27, 2010 1:24 AM

Garrett: Tulsa-area school boards violating their oaths of office

On Friday, Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction Sandy Garrett spoke to CapitolBeatOK regarding the decision by several Tulsa-area school boards not to obey House Bill 3393, the Lindsey Nicole Henry Scholarships for Students with Disabilities Program Act. "When I took office as Superintendent of Public Instruction, I swore an oath...

Posted by Michael Bates on October 16, 2010 12:13 AM

Tonight: Tulsa school board to consider breaking law that helps special-needs kids

Tonight the board of Tulsa Public Schools will discuss whether to join Jenks, Union, Bixby, Broken Arrow and other area school districts in disobeying a new state law, HB 3393, the Lindsey Nicole Henry Scholarships for Students with Disabilities Program Act, which provides scholarships to meet the special educational needs...

Posted by Michael Bates on October 13, 2010 12:10 PM

To raise Oklahoma per-pupil funding, use school vouchers

Mickey Hepner, Professor of Economics at the University of Central Oklahoma, suggests one way to raise per-pupil school funding, other than raising taxes or cutting non-education spending: Offer vouchers to encourage parents to put their children in private schools. In 2008-2009 Oklahoma education funding averaged $8,006 per student. This figure...

Posted by Michael Bates on August 16, 2010 12:08 PM

Paglia: "What kids need is facts"

It's rare that you will find me quoting, with approval, a lesbian, atheist, leftist East Coast professor, but Camille Paglia's love of Western Civilization and her critique of what passes for education in America warms my heart. Paglia's recent interview with Margaret Wente in the Globe and Mail reads like...

Posted by Michael Bates on May 12, 2010 12:04 AM

<em>The Cartel</em>: Why more money != better schools

A new documentary on the state of public education in America opens in theaters today. The Cartel takes a close look at the disconnect between how much taxpayers spend and the results we see. For more info, read my latest post at Choice Remarks, the blog of Oklahomans for School...

Posted by Michael Bates on October 9, 2009 5:09 PM