Colleen McCarty

Note: This commentary is adapted from an email sent to the Editor Emeritus of CityNewsOKC. Tulsa, Oklahoma -- There was a heaviness to this Fourth of July. I know many of you felt it too. We’re told the Fourth of July is about freedom, about the promise of America. But many of us are carrying the tension -- the wide, aching gap between the stories we’re asked to celebrate and the reality we live every day. This past month alone, my team stood in courtrooms fighting for that promise.

Current Law Protects Both Schools and Juvenile Privacy Oklahoma law already provides a structured, case-by-case process for schools to obtain necessary information about students involved in the juvenile justice system. Under Oklahoma Statutes Title 10A § 2-6-102(M), school districts can request juvenile records for specific, legally justified reasons. These records are provided securely and confidentially, ensuring that schools have what they need while protecting a student’s privacy.

Tulsa County residents should be outraged at how county officials have managed the Juvenile Detention Center, also called the Family Center for Juvenile Justice or FCJJ. For the past 90 days, a shocking stream of revelations about mistreatment of children at the facility have emerged, only to be met by those in charge with silence, denial and half-measures.