OKLAHOMA CITY — No references to Jesus, claims of “discrepancies” in the 2020 elections, nor disputed allegations about the origin of COVID-19 were included in a new draft of academic standards for social studies courses in Oklahoma public schools.
Oklahoma’s newly proposed academic standards for social studies education include no reference to controversial content that appeared in a version overturned last year. (Photo by Nuria Martinez-Keel/Oklahoma Voice)
The new draft deletes controversial elements of a 2025 version of the standards that the Oklahoma Supreme Court struck down over violations of state open meeting laws.
The Oklahoma State Department of Education on Wednesday unveiled the newly drafted standards, which dictate what public schools must teach in social studies classes. Members of the public can give feedback on the standards through Feb. 18 before they’re presented to the Oklahoma State Board of Education and, if approved, handed to the state Legislature for review.
The state Board of Education meets next on Feb. 26. If the board gives approval, state lawmakers would have 30 legislative days to vote on the standards or allow them to pass by taking no action.
Under the new draft, public schools wouldn’t be required to teach students Bible stories nor a disputed claim that COVID-19 originated in a Chinese lab. References to patriotism are pared down, though not completely removed, and students wouldn’t be taught how the Bible and “Judeo-Christian” ideals influenced America’s founders.
High school students wouldn’t be asked to “identify discrepancies” in the 2020 presidential election between former President Joe Biden and President Donald Trump, including “sudden halting of ballot-counting in select cities in key battleground states, sudden batch dumps, an unforeseen record number of voters, and the unprecedented contradiction of ‘bellwether county’ trends.”
Half of the state Board of Education members who voted in favor of the former standards later said they had no idea new, controversial content had been added about COVID-19 and the 2020 election. Neither element was included in an initial standards draft, and Education Department staff didn’t point out any changes in an updated version given to board members mere hours before the vote.
The state Supreme Court decided former state Superintendent Ryan Walters and his Education Department administration, which developed the now-defunct standards, failed to give the board members and the public sufficient advance notice of the new content. This violated the Oklahoma Open Meeting Act, the Court ruled.
The lawsuit that prompted the Court’s ruling also contended the new standards wrongfully injected Christian teachings into public education and would violate students’ religious freedoms. The justices declined to rule on that issue.
Former state Superintendent Ryan Walters, pictured May 16, developed academic standards that would require schools to teach Bible stories and contested claims about COVID-19 and the 2020 presidential election. (Photo by Nuria Martinez-Keel/Oklahoma Voice)
Walters called the Court ruling an “incredibly aggressive attack on Christianity, the Bible (and) on President Trump” in a video posted to social media.
Walters resigned from office Sept. 30 to lead an anti-teacher-union organization. State Superintendent Lindel Fields, who was appointed to finish Walters’ term, promised a rewrite of the social studies standards.
“I think we need to look at all of the things that were added to see if they’re germane to what kids need to learn,” Fields told news reporters after an Oct. 22 meeting.
The Education Department reconvened a team of educators to reevaluate the social studies standards, said Tara Thompson, a spokesperson for Fields’ administration. The committee made further revisions to prepare the latest draft for public input.
“The public comment portion is open from now until February 18 and every single comment submitted is read and considered,” Thompson said. “At the end of the review process, the board will have the opportunity to adopt or modify the drafted standards.”
State Board of Education member Chris Van Denhende said he is confident the Education Department is “committed to creating the best standards possible.” Van Denhende was one of the board members who said he voted for last year’s standards without knowing about Walters’ last-minute additions.
“The board is working closely with Superintendent Fields and the Department of Education to ensure all new standards are developed in an open and transparent way allowing the public full access and opportunity to comment prior to any action being taken by the board,” Van Denhende said.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include comments from Tara Thompson and Chris Van Denhende.
Oklahoma Voice is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Oklahoma Voice maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Janelle Stecklein for questions: info@oklahomavoice.com.
