Education

Amid Oklahoma Budget Cuts, Students Join Protests

By Daarel Burnette II — October 13, 2016 1 min read
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Since 2008, the Oklahoma legislature has cut almost a quarter out of its per-pupil education spending. It’s the largest drop in the nation and has resulted in teacher layoffs, overcrowded classrooms, and a reduction in class offerings.

We’ve written extensively about how the budget cuts have roiled state politics there, culminating this year in a ballot measure to raise the state’s sales tax and more than 40 teachers running for state office.

Cassidy Coffey, a student at U.S. Grant High School in Oklahoma City, used social media to organize over a thousand students to walk out of school on May 16, 2016. In this video she tells us her story.

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A version of this news article first appeared in the State EdWatch blog.