If you live in Oklahoma, eviction filings, whether you win or lose, will usually remain on your record forever. Some believe judges should be more liberal in their discretion regarding sealing and expunging certain eviction cases from public records. Many states are enacting laws with more protection for tenants, especially in eviction cases that were illegally or erroneously filed, or dismissed. Laws in Oklahoma, which ranks high nationally for the number of yearly eviction cases, favor landlords over tenants, and open records over sealed eviction records, which can cause future harm to Oklahomans evicted.

The post Oklahoma Evicted: Thousands of Civil Filings Linger in Records Forever appeared first on Oklahoma Watch.

Federal regulations mean some refugee students in Oklahoma are getting more support than others.

The post Refugee Students Face the Same Hurdles But Get Different Levels of Support appeared first on Oklahoma Watch.

Latino legislators are launching a political action committee to educate Latino voters about civic life and fund Latino candidates for elected office in local and state government. Others in the Latino community are working on parallel initiatives toward the same end: make the Latino voice louder in Oklahoma politics.

The post Plan Set to Engage More Latinos in Oklahoma Politics appeared first on Oklahoma Watch.

Hossain Ahmadi and Zahra Eyvazi fled Afghanistan in 2022 with student visas, which means they don’t qualify for the same resettlement benefits as their approximate 1,850 Afghan counterparts who landed in the state with humanitarian parole a year before. And while others in Oklahoma's Afghan community qualify for a two-year extension to their parole status, the couple is racing to file for asylum before their visas expire at the end of this year.

The post Asylum Relief Elusive for Two Afghan Scholars-at-Risk appeared first on Oklahoma Watch.

The number of students hit by educators in Oklahoma schools each year has reduced significantly in recent decades, but disparities still exist when it comes to race and disabilities in the small rural places where it’s allowed.

The post In Oklahoma, School Educators Hit Native, Black and Students with Disabilities the Most appeared first on Oklahoma Watch.

Debt collections lawsuits are not only the most common type of civil litigation in the state, but are disproportionately brought upon low-income Oklahomans of color, which perpetuates a cycle of financial instability among the most vulnerable people in the state

The post Minority Oklahomans Disproportionately Sued Over Debt appeared first on Oklahoma Watch.

In a 7-2 decision, the United States Supreme Court on Thursday affirmed the constitutionality of a federal law meant to keep Indian children with their families and tribes.

The post Supreme Court Upholds Federal Law Meant to Protect Indian Children appeared first on Oklahoma Watch.

Lionel Ramos reports on how overturning the 1978 Indian Child Welfare Act would affect Oklahomans. Also: Whitney Bryen updates an investigation into the Oklahoma Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault; Paul Monies wraps up the Oklahoma Legislature's regular session.

The post Long Story Short: Another Looming Supreme Court Decision Centers On Oklahomans appeared first on Oklahoma Watch.

If the U.S. Supreme Court agrees with the Brackeens, Native children again will be subject to removal from their tribes after more than four decades of protection. Tribal law experts say other federal Indian laws could be challenged on the same grounds.

The post Supreme Court Decision Threatens to Erode Longstanding Tribal Protections appeared first on Oklahoma Watch.

Dozens of people spoke at a hearing for public comment Friday, and hundreds more submitted written comments to the department. Here’s a sampling of the public comments.

The post In Their Own Words: Oklahomans On Gender Identity Proposal in Schools  appeared first on Oklahoma Watch.