By Janelle Stecklein | Editor
“The complete gutting of these goals ignores what we know really works in early childhood education. If you’re going to spend money on something, wouldn’t you want it to have positive effects?” - Deborah Stipek of the Trump administration’s plans to gut central Head State policies
James Taylor, left, and Robert Franklin, right, are seeking the Republican nomination for state superintendent in an Aug. 25 runoff election. (Provided photos)
By Nuria Martinez-Keel
The Republican nomination for Oklahoma state superintendent will go to one of two longtime educators — either an experienced school administrator who decries political partisanship or a high school teacher and Christian minister who says his insight from the classroom could benefit schools statewide.
Robert Franklin and James Taylor advanced to the Aug. 25 runoff election as the top two vote earners from a crowded GOP primary. The winner will face Democrat Jennettie Marshall in the Nov. 3 General Election.
State superintendent, considered Oklahoma’s chief of public schools, leads the state Department of Education and the state Board of Education.
Transmission lines are pictured in central Oklahoma. (Photo by Chloe Bennett-Steele/StateImpact Oklahoma)
By Chloe Bennett-Steele, StateImpact Oklahoma
Oklahoma passed a law last year allowing energy-hungry facilities to build their own power. But as data center announcements sprout up across Oklahoma, most include plans to work with local utilities.
Preschool children line up to go outside at the Ralph Hawley Head Start Center in Emeryville, Calif., in December. The Trump administration has proposed major changes to the Head Start program. (Photo by Florence Middleton for CalMatters)
By Carolyn Jones
The Trump administration appears poised to gut the central policies that shape Head Start, a popular and long-established early childhood education program that serves the country’s neediest children.
Migrants wait through the night on May 10, 2023, in a dust storm, on land between the Rio Grande and the U.S.-Mexico border wall, hoping they will be processed by immigration authorities before the expiration of Title 42, a public health order used to expel migrants. (Photo by Corrie Boudreaux/Source NM)
By Ariana Figueroa
The Department of Health and Human Services plans to award a $150 million contract to a small Texas firm — with no specialty in immigration law and run by a former Trump official — to provide legal services to tens of thousands of unaccompanied immigrant children, according to a Wednesday pre-published notice in the Federal Register.
CoreCivic sold its newly reopened Leavenworth prison facility, the Midwest Regional Reception Center, to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the company announced Aug. 5, 2026. (Photo by Morgan Chilson/Kansas Reflector)
By Morgan Chilson
CoreCivic on Wednesday announced the sale of its Leavenworth prison to the federal government, likely negating months of negotiations and a legal battle city officials pursued to ensure the humane treatment of immigrants detained there.
ICYMI
US Senate confirms Trump’s pick for CDC director | Shauneen Miranda
Legal battle over Jewish charter school begins in Oklahoma City federal court | Nuria Martinez-Keel
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