Make Your Voice Heard
January 21 is the last day to comment on the new Oklahoma Public Schools social studies and science standards
I occasionally hear parents complain about not having a say in their child’s school. I fundamentally disagree with that complaint. Parents can opt out of almost anything; they can review the books their child is reading; they can share their concerns with teachers or administrators; they can express opinions at school board meetings or meet with the superintendent. They can be involved as volunteers in their children’s schools or classrooms.
Often, we don’t get everything we want, but we have the freedom to express our opinions.
Now, until Tuesday, you have a real opportunity to shape what your child will be learning. Public comments on the new social studies and science standards proposed by State Superintendent Ryan Walters are open now until Tues., Jan. 21, 2025, at sde.ok.gov/newstandards. Standards are reviewed every six years, so the standards that will be voted on by the Legislature this year will guide how your child is taught and which textbooks will be used for the next six years.
In the past, the committee to review standards and the group that develops them have been Oklahoma teachers and experts. For the new standards, Walters enlisted Dennis Prager, founder of PragerU, Heritage Foundation president and project 2025 leader Kevin Roberts, and Steve Deace, a conservative radio host. None are Oklahomans. State standards typically reflect the important history of each state and how that history fits into the larger context of the United States and the world, so committee members are typically part of the state community.
In August, the American Historical Association (AHA) sent a letter to Gov. Stitt, encouraging him to reject Walters’ new standards and “retain the current standards” for social studies, which they called “among the best in the nation.” The AHA states that a “comprehensive study of US history/social studies education…departs dramatically from Walters’s inflammatory caricature.”
Walters says the new standards strengthen his Bible initiatives with over 50 references to the Bible and Christianity. Teaching religion in public schools, especially a specific type of religion, takes away the religious freedom of all citizens.
In a press release, Walters says that the new standards reflect “a return to education curricula that upholds pro-family, pro-American values.” It goes on to state that “Oklahoma is putting the Bible and the historical impact of Christianity back in school.”
Parents should be responsible for teaching or not teaching their children the Bible, not teachers – especially not untrained teachers who may feel empowered to indoctrinate impressionable young children rather than teaching the Bible as a historical text along with other religious texts.
You may make public comments here: sde.ok.gov/newstandards
