OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. — There’s a last-minute push at the state capitol to stop Superintendent Ryan Walters’ controversial new social studies standards from getting approved.
With a deadline of May 1, Republican Senator Adam Pugh filed Senate Joint Resolution 20, which would return the proposal to the State Board of Education for changes.
That’s what several on the board want, anyway, because they feel Walters snuck in changes without telling them.
As 2 News reported Thursday, in the monthly board meeting, Walters admitted he altered the social studies standards after the public comment version was published. Critics are concerned about his emphasis on religion and how to teach the 2020 election.
He appeared to find nothing wrong with giving the board his updated version to review at 4:01 p.m. the day before the vote, while also not alerting them of the changes he made. The email simply states to “please note updates.”
“I’m not a speed reader,” said Ryan Deatherage, a board member.
“Listen, I can’t make you read, I can’t make you do research before you vote,” Walters told Michael Tinney, another board member.
SJR20 states it is being filed “because questions exist regarding transparency.” There are also concerns that the new standards would cost $33 million in new textbooks and curriculum.
Representative Mickey Dollens says some of Walters’ added material also isn’t age-appropriate.
“This [the resolution] is a testament to the people of Oklahoma who have made their voices heard against these new proposed social studies standards,” he said. “This is unfortunately full of Superintendent Walters’ beliefs, such as the 2020 election denying.”
2 News compared the originally published standards with Walters’ revised version. Some sections are merely tweaked. The section on proposed education about President Donald Trump is a rewrite.
Walters eliminated proposed education about George Floyd and Black Lives Matter.
The language about COVID was altered, too. The original stated “evaluate” COVID response. Walters’ version states, “identify the source of the COVID-19 pandemic from a Chinese lab,” which is not totally founded.
“Examine issues” related to the election of 2020 is changed to “identify discrepancies,” including “sudden batch dumps.”
2 News asked Walters for a Zoom interview about the resolution, but did not hear back.
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