The Biden administration lashed out at Oklahoma’s policies limiting mask wearing in a letter to Gov. Kevin Stitt and state schools superintendent Joy Hofmeister Wednesday. StateImpact’s Robby Korth sat down with Hofmeister to discuss its contents and Oklahoma City Public Schools’ masking requirement rules, Thursday.

In a statement sent by a spokesman, Gov. Stitt says Oklahomans want to make their own decisions about whether their children should wear masks in school. "The fact that President Biden is focused on telling Oklahomans how to parent their kids while he turns his back on the American citizens trapped by terrorists in Afghanistan is another example in his pattern of poor judgment.”

School is in session across Oklahoma, even as the pandemic continues to rage and the Delta variant impacts more and more children. Managing editor Logan Layden sat down with StateImpact reporters Robby Korth and Catherine Sweeney for a discussion on the disruptions already occurring. 

People who are personally affected when justice is denied will never think about the state's courts and law enforcement in the same way. StateImpact’s Quinton Chandler reports wrongful convictions can do long lasting harm and change how individual Oklahomans view the criminal justice system.

As the school year draws nearer, COVID-19 is not the only disease putting pressure on Oklahoma’s children’s hospitals. Across the state, kids are being admitted amid an unseasonable surge in respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV. With demand already high, a back-to-school spike in COVID-19 could create a strain on pediatric beds.

Oklahoma is making a big bet on helping students in the wake of a year interrupted by the coronavirus with mental health supports. StateImpact’s Robby Korth travels to Poteau to report how the district is leveraging a $35 million program to hire hundreds of counselors in schools across the state.

An advisory group hired consultants to find structural solutions to some of the Oklahoma County's Detention Center's longest running problems.

More than 100,000 Oklahomans have already enrolled in the program, which provides health coverage to low-income adults.

House Bill 1775 was supposed to do a lot of things: Ban critical race theory, ensure white students aren’t shamed for actions of their ancestors and limit difficult conversations in the classroom. But the actual effects are unclear. StateImpact’s Robby Korth sat down with Oklahoma State School Boards Association attorney Brandon Carey to discuss what the new law means for educators and students.

An Oklahoma lawmaker's belief that an innocent man is on death row inspired him to call for the creation of a special unit to review death penalty convictions.

A school year like no other has now led to a summer like no other for Oklahoma students. StateImpact’s Robby Korth traveled to Stillwater to see how schools are incorporating fun and going back to basics to get students ready for a more typical fall.