Oklahoma: New education standards open for public comment

Do you know someone with a connection to Oklahoma schools? New academic standards for social studies are open for public comment until January 21.

There are other pushes for more Christianity in Oklahoma public schools. For those who wish to contact local decision-makers about related mandates, American Atheists has template letters.

The issue

As Melina Cohen explained yesterday in an email for American Atheists:

"on Thursday, the Oklahoma State Department of Education released new social studies standards that were developed by an “executive committee” made up of pseudohistorians, indoctrinators, ideologues, talking heads, and other extremists, all hand-picked by State Superintendent Ryan Walters and only three of whom have ever lived in Oklahoma."

Cohen explained that, should the state legislature approve the new standards:

• "First-grade students will be taught the 'significance' of 'under God' in the Pledge of Allegiance and the 'meaning' of 'In God we trust.'"
• "Fifth graders will learn 'how the framers based the Constitution on Biblical principles.'"
• "High schoolers will be offered an elective class in which they can gain a greater understanding of 'the Christian ideal of charity and the renunciation of worldly wealth.'"

Further:

"In a press release, Walters said: 'Oklahoma is putting the Bible and the historical impact of Christianity back in school.' He boasted that the new standards mention the Bible more than 40 times and called them 'pro-America, pro-American exceptionalism.'"

Tim Ward, the Oklahoma state director for American Atheists who has a couple kids in school in the state, wrote a December 13 essay in the Oklahoman. Ward accused Walters of believing that "my family isn’t welcome in Oklahoma, simply because we don’t share his beliefs." Walters responded by posting to X a few days later to essentially confirm the prejudice, calling American Atheists "outsiders."