More Oklahoma students could eat free meals in their school cafeteria with a new expansion of federal reimbursements for child nutrition costs through a program called Community Eligibility Provision (CEP), which offers federal reimbursements to cover a portion of meal costs in schools that choose to provide free breakfasts and lunches to all students regardless of income. Additionally, Oklahoma children on Medicaid will automatically qualify for free and reduced-price meals and, therefore, count toward the program and create more opportunities for their schools to receive funding.
On the first day of a special session to consider Gov. Kevin Stitt’s call for a tax cut, the Oklahoma Senate voted to adjourn with no plan to return. Despite the Senate voting to withdraw their participation from the special session on tax cuts, the Speaker of the House Charles McCall said the Oklahoma House will continue their business in hopes of a resolution. However, no legislation can be passed without the Senate during this session.
On Monday, a report ordered by Gov. Kevin Stitt said Oklahoma’s child welfare system needs more people, more support and better pay to meet its objectives. According to the report, Oklahoma has one of the best reentry rates in the nation, meaning a relatively low percentage of children return to the system after permanent placement. However, permanency takes longer in Oklahoma than all but a few other states, and the state faces obstacles, including high staff turnover due to overwork and poor access to recovery services for biological parents trying to regain custody of their children. The goal, then, is to maintain the low reentry rate while shortening the time to place children permanently.
Within hours of Representative Kevin McCarthy’s removal as speaker of the House, the race among Republicans to succeed him began. Many Republicans are vying for the role, including Representative Kevin Hern of Oklahoma as a top contender because of his leadership role as the chairman of the conservative Republican Study Committee and a successful Newsmax interview, where he said he wanted real results and could deliver them if chosen for the position.
