The Oklahoma Supreme Court ordered the State Department of Education to pause the rollout of the new social studies standards, requiring all public schools to revert to the 2019 standards. The 2025 social studies standards were adopted by the State Board of Education on Feb. 27 and have since faced scrutiny by Oklahoma citizens, resulting in a lawsuit led by 33 Oklahoma residents.
Oklahoma State Superintendent Ryan Walters announced his plan to introduce the new standards for the 2025-2026 school year during a board meeting on July 9, 2024. This new curriculum includes the use of the Bible as an instructional resource and places focus on American exceptionalism. Additionally, language in the new standards requires teachers to instruct students on claims regarding “discrepencies” in the 2020 election, as well as “identify the source of the COVID-19 pandemic from a Chinese lab.” The plaintiffs of the lawsuit challenge the accuracy of these standards.
Walters wanted the new standards to keep out what he calls “radical leftist ideology,” with the intention to protect students in the classroom. Walters planned to improve education through these standards, but many parents and educators feel that he has done the opposite.
In the lawsuit, the plaintiffs claimed that the 2025 standards “interfere with the parents’ ability to direct the religious and moral upbringing of their children,” because of the biblical references and an alleged bias towards Christianity that they feel should not be present in an educational setting. Many parents, teachers and children stated that they are not comfortable with all that Walters is pushing in the standards.
The lawsuit also claims that the Oklahoma State Board of Education violated the Open Meeting Act, which requires the public to be informed about meetings, because the standards released to the public differed from what was discussed in the meeting. As a consequence, the votes taken on the standards at the February meeting should be rendered void.
On Sept. 30, Walters resigned from his position as State Superintendent to become CEO of Teacher Freedom Alliance. With Walters stepping down, the future of the new social studies standards is unclear.
Contact Paisley Edgin or Kaylee Byrd at [email protected]
