The Oklahoma Tax Commission is still working through thousands of applications for the state’s new parental choice tax credits, five months after the high-demand program launched.

About $25 million is left to disburse from the program’s $150 million budget, according to the state agency. The Tax Commission reported $100 million went to 16,800 priority applicants whose households earn no more than $150,000 a year.

The refundable credits offer between $5,000 and $7,500 per student, depending on family income, to offset private-school costs.

Families in the priority group had extra time to apply, and their applications were considered first. The remaining applicants from higher-earning households are considered on a first-come-first-served basis.

About 36,000 people total applied for the tax credits, most of whom did so in the first 90 minutes of the program’s launch.

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With the priority families approved, the Tax Commission is now reviewing non-priority applicants, 4,300 of whom already have been accepted, agency spokesperson Emily Haxton said. The commission relies on its internal records to verify the total income of each family.

The total budget for the private-school program will increase to $200 million in 2025 and $250 million in 2026.

A separate $5 million program offers $1,000 per student for homeschooling costs.

How the parental tax credit program has changed since it was first implemented

The Oklahoma Legislature tweaked the program during its session this year, most notably to prevent the credits from being used to offset delinquent tax liabilities or unpaid debts. Under the program’s current rules, the Tax Commission could deduct a family’s tax credits to cover unpaid obligations.

The credits are now approved by school year rather than calendar year, and they are exempt from taxable income.

Lawmakers also added a provision to offer students the maximum $7,500 credit if they attend an accredited private school that exclusively serves children experiencing homelessness. There is only one such school in the state, Positive Tomorrows in Oklahoma City.

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Students also could qualify for the maximum credit amount if they attend a private school that has 90% enrollment from financially disadvantaged families, defined as earning 250% of the federal poverty line or below. 

The Legislature’s top two leaders, House Speaker Charles McCall, R-Atoka, and Senate President Pro Tem Greg Treat, R-Oklahoma City, were the primary authors of the changes, which Gov. Kevin Stitt has signed into law.

“It gives more clarity on some things that we thought were pretty common sense, but they weren’t written as specifically as they needed to (in the original legislation),” Treat said. “It also opens up new opportunities for the poorest among us to be able to take advantage of that tax credit.”

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Wheat producers in Southwest Oklahoma are hoping for one more good rain and a crop much better than they’ve seen in several years.

Across the state, conditions are mixed as farmers near harvest.

“We’ve just started crop tours,” says Oklahoma State University Extension Small Grains Specialist Amanda de Oliveira Silva, Stillwater.

“Wheat near Altus looks good,” Silva says. “We’ve seen some stripe rust that came in earlier than usual, but overall the crop looks good. Wheat in the Northwestern part of the state does not look good. Some fields started off good but are going backwards. It’s dry; they need rain.”

‘Hit or miss’ wheat conditions

Silva says wheat in West Oklahoma, near Sentinel and some other parts of the state, is in a “hit or miss” situation. Wheat that received the latest rains looks good, but there is some that missed a lot of rain, so we see short wheat, thinner stands, and some damage from early-season stripe rust infestation. Overall, I think we are in a much better shape than we were the past two years, but we could still use some rain, especially on the West, the Northwest, and North Central areas.”

She says acres for harvest likely will be down from earlier expectations as there were some people that had the field disastered out or are grazing out the wheat. I thought in early spring, we could have a bumper crop, but as conditions get drier in some places, yields will not be as high as we thought. Next week, at the Oklahoma Grain and Feed Association annual meeting, we will have harvest estimates from each region.

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“We’re better than last year, but we’re off from a month ago as conditions get drier and storm chances with possible hail damage increases in some regions.”

Stripe rust

Stripe rust came in earlier than usual at around wheat jointing stage, Silva says.

“Farmers sprayed fungicide early for stripe rust. I’ve heard that as much as 90% of the wheat in Southwest Oklahoma was sprayed for stripe rust. That’s atypical, but we had a lot of it.

“A big issue was that most of the wheat varieties grown in Oklahoma do not have seedling resistance against stripe rust, they only have the adult plant resistance (and not all varieties have the adult plant resistance either). So, what happens is that the adult plant resistance genes only get turned on after flag leaf stage. As stripe rust came in earlier than that, the genes were not activated and could not protect the plant.

Resistance comparison: The plot on the left is damaged by stripe rust next to a plot with a variety showing better resistance. (Photo by Amanda De Oliveira Silva)

“We have seen a lot of damage in Southwest Oklahoma. Some varieties have performed better than others.”

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Conditions that favor good wheat growth also favor rust, she adds.

English grain aphids

OSU Extension IPM Coordinator Ashleigh Faris says she’s seen some English grain aphids in some areas. “They are not typically economically important in Oklahoma, but they can transmit the barley dwarf virus, so it is worth paying attention to them in the field.

“The other ones we’re seeing are the bird cherry oat aphids. Numbers are low though, and every time I see these aphids, I’m also seeing a lot of natural enemies. So we’re seeing lady beetle larvae and lady beetle adults, and they’re all pretty voracious.”

Faris says considering crop maturity and natural predation, growers shouldn’t need to spray these pests. “The good news is the natural enemies are helping to manage the aphid populations.

“Some areas are still holding up yield potential,” Silva says. “Wheat at Apache, in South Central Oklahoma, looks great. Chickasha looks great.

“I think the main lesson for producers this year will be stripe rust resistance. We’re seeing one of the heaviest stripe rust pressures we have seen in a long time. Now, as it starts getting drier and drier, that’s another story.”

Silva says that if the weather conditions remain warm, many wheat farmers will harvest early, but cool temperatures should help the wheat slowly down and properly fill the grain. Southwest Oklahoma farmers are especially excited. They have not seen a crop like this in a long time. We all need a win.”

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