<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=06Hf6i_1H30lzU200" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=06Hf6i_1H30lzU200" width="600" height="400" ><figcaption>Mariah Nicole , Oklahoma City</figcaption></figure>Oklahoma Is Second in the Nation for Preschool Suspensions. Federal Protections May Be Going Away.Jessica Hottman’s son was born at 25 weeks. When he entered Early Head Start, he still had a gastrostomy tube. The low staff-to-child ratios and wraparound supports in the program gave his teachers the time and training to care for him. He’s now in pre-K and developmentally on track with his peers.Hottman is also the disabilities coordinator at Sunbeam Family Services. She knows what the federal Head Start standards make possible — and she’s watching a federal proposal that would gut more than 1,400 of them.Raynee Howell reports that Oklahoma already has the second highest number of suspended preschoolers in the country, according to the most recent Civil Rights Data Collection. The federal rules that currently govern Head Start require providers to treat suspension as a last resort, mandate parent involvement before any exclusion and require that at least 10% of enrollment slots serve children with disabilities. Under the Trump administration’s deregulation proposal, those requirements would disappear, and Oklahoma has no state law to replace any of them.The populations most at risk are already the most vulnerable. Nationally, Black children make up 18% of the preschool population but 38% of suspensions. Children qualifying for IDEA services make up 23% of enrollment but 74% of expulsions. Without federal floors, providers in rural areas with fewer resources and less experienced staff are the most likely to see those numbers worsen.Sarah England of Sunbeam Family Services put it plainly: removing federal standards doesn’t create flexibility, it removes the quality floor. And for babies who can’t yet articulate their needs, that floor is the whole point.This is the second in Oklahoma Watch’s series on the Head Start deregulation proposal. The first examined how eliminating Spanish-language instruction would affect Hispanic families.More worth knowing: HOAs Can Ban AirbnbsMore than a year after a northwest Oklahoma City homeowners association petitioned the Oklahoma Supreme Court to overturn an appellate decision saying one of its residents had the right to operate a short-term rental, a narrow majority of the high court released a 63-page opinion that sided with SilverHawk HOA and declared the practice constitutes business activity. [NonDoc]Lawton Councilors Flock to New Camera PolicyLawton’s city manager said the city’s newly adopted Flock (or ALPR) camera policy was “forward-leaning” after councilors heard the assistant police chief tout its benefits and public safeguards, promising they see nothing but the backs of cars to verify insurance via the license plate. You have to read to the 12th paragraph of the story to discover the policy includes some things that weren’t discussed in the public meeting, such as the part that says, “consideration should be given to using ALPR-equipped vehicles to canvass areas.” [Dark Roast Report]Hamm Settles Shareholder LawsuitAn Oklahoma County district judge has approved a $60 million settlement resolving a four-year class action shareholder litigation over Continental Resources founder Harold Hamm’s 2022 transaction that took the company private. [The Oklahoman ▲]▲=Possible paywallKaren Silkwood, a Kerr-McGee plutonium plant technician raising safety concerns, died in a one-car crash near Crescent on this day in 1974.Ciao for now,Ted StreuliExecutive Director, Oklahoma Watch<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=3IgxKp_1H30lzU200" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3IgxKp_1H30lzU200" width="800" height="1000" ></figure>Help Us Make a DifferenceOklahoma needs high-quality investigative journalism. That is our mission at Oklahoma Watch. We produce stories that hold government and public officials accountable and make transparent what some prefer to keep secret. We depend on financial support from readers like you to sustain our coverage. Will you help us make a difference?<h2>Support our publication </h2>Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.</div></body>

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Oklahoma Is Second in the Nation for Preschool Suspensions. Federal Protections May Be Going Away. Jessica Hottman’s son was born at 25 weeks. When he entered Early Head Start, he still had a gastrostomy tube. The low staff-to-child ratios and wraparound supports in the program gave his teachers the time and training to care for him. He’s now in pre-K and developmentally on track with his peers.

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Oklahoma Is Second in the Nation for Preschool Suspensions. Federal Protections May Be Going Away. Jessica Hottman’s son was born at 25 weeks. When he ente

First Watch: Stuff You Should Know

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