Oklahoma City - Oklahoma high school students learn about the Industrial Revolution, women’s suffrage, and the expanding role of the United States in international affairs.
Starting with the next school year, they will add conspiracy theories about the 2020 presidential election.
Oklahoma's new social research standards for K-12 public school students have been infused with biblical and national pride and have been revised in the direction of state school principal Ryan Walters. Republican officials spent most of their time in offices, praising President Donald Trump, having a fight with teachers' unions and local school deans and trying to end what he described as "bad" in public schools.
"The left has been pushing the left indoctrination in the classroom," Walters said. "We are moving it back to actually understand history... I'm not sorry for it."
The previous study of the 2020 election criteria says only: "Study issues related to the 2020 election and its results." The new version is more broad: "Determine the differences in the 2020 election results by looking at graphics and other information, including a sudden stop to vote counts in a critical battlefield, security risks of mail-in voting, sudden batch dumps, sudden batch voting, unforeseen voters, and no premise
The new standard even among Walters Republicans, including the governor and legislative leaders, raised red flags. They are concerned about last-minute changes, including language about the 2020 election and a rule that states that the source of the Kuvid virus is a Chinese laboratory, which increased just hours before the National School Board voted.
A group of parents and educators filed a lawsuit asking judges to reject these criteria, argue that they were not properly scrutinized and “represents a distorted view of social research that intends to favor outdated and blatantly biased views.”
While many Oklahoma teachers are angry at the changes in standards, others say they leave enough room for effective teachers to guide students in the outcome of the 2020 election without misunderstanding them.
Aaron Baker, who has taught us government for more than a decade at high school in Oklahoma City, said he cares most about teachers in rural, conservative areas of the state, who may encourage them to impose their beliefs on students.
“If someone welcomes the influence of these far-right organizations by our standards and is interested in inserting more Christianity into our practice as teachers, they will become bolder,” Baker said. “For me, that’s the main problem.”
Leaders of the Republican-led Oklahoma Legislature proposed a resolution to reject the standard, but the Republicans did not have enough support to pass.
Part of this hesitation is likely to stem from a series of last-minute opposition groups organized by pro-Trump conservative groups such as Free Mom, which has a huge presence in Oklahoma and threatens to reject the standard legislators with the main rivals.
"In the past few election cycles, grassroots conservative groups have seated in Oklahoma," the group wrote in a letter signed by several other conservative groups and Republican activists. "If you choose to align with the liberal media and have a fall-out deal with Democrats to stop conservative reforms, you'll be next."
After a group of parents, educators and other Oklahoma school officials worked to develop new social research standards, Walters formed an executive committee that consists primarily of conservative think tanks from outside the state to modify them. He said he wanted to focus more on American exceptionalism and incorporate the Bible into teaching resources.
Among the Walters appointed by the review committee are Heritage Foundation Chairman Kevin Roberts, who is also a key figure in the project for his 2025 project, as well as a blueprint for 2025 for conservative governments, and Dennis Prager, the radio show host who founded Prager U, Prager U, a conservative nonprofit that provides “Pro-American” educational materials to provide “Pro-American” educational materials that are incorrect or objective.
In a statement to the Associated Press, Walters defended the "unprecedented and historically significant" elements of the 2020 presidential election.
“These standards do not guide students what to believe; instead encourage critical thinking by inviting students to check real events, review public information and draw their own conclusions,” he said.
In the battlefield narrative, commentary and audit, Trump questioned his losses all confirm the victory of Democrat Joe Biden, while Trump lost dozens of court cases to question the results.
Critics say Walters’ new standard is full of misleading wording that aims to guide the discussion into a specific direction.
Democrats describe it as another political strategy by Walters, widely regarded as a potential candidate for governor in 2026, at the expense of school children.
"Our children don't need to be subjected to harmful gestures and political theaters," said Sen. Mark Mann, a Democrat in Oklahoma City.
National Education Standards Experts also expressed surprise, noting that Oklahoma has historically ranked high among states by its standards.
Brendan Gillis, director of teaching and learning at the American Historical Association, oversees a research project that analyses standards across all 50 states, said Oklahoma’s social research standards “pretty good” until the latest version.
In addition to worrying about election misinformation, Gillis added: “All the entire existing standards, there is a lot of biblical content that involves shoes.”
He said many references to Christianity and the Bible misunderstand the history of the founding of the country and the lack of historical nuances.
David Griffith, director of research at the conservative educational think tank Thomas B. Fordham Institute, said he was not aware of any other state that tried to promote election misinformation in its curriculum standards.
He called the new standard “Unfortunate” different from the traditionally powerful social research standard in Oklahoma.
"It is inappropriate to promote conspiracy theories about standard elections," he said.