Despite social studies standards controversy, OSBE meeting a stark contrast to past tense months

Yahoo

22-05-2025

Tensions rose for a second time — albeit mildly — over the official record of an Oklahoma State Board of Education vote to approve controversial social studies standards.
But after that back-and-forth on Wednesday, May 21, four new board members and Republican state schools Superintendent Ryan Walters appeared to be trying their hardest to be respectful toward each other during the board's monthly meeting. It was a stark contrast to the board's most recent meeting in April, when allegations of deceit on the part of Walters and lying by the board members about how the standards were passed set the tone for the meeting.
The standards, which require high school students to learn about debunked claims of voting irregularities in the 2020 presidential election, have pushed Oklahoma into the national spotlight. The board voted to send the standards to the Legislature in February, and the standards eventually took affect after lawmakers opted not to do anything to change them.
The circumstances surrounding how the standards were passed have turned the board's meeting minutes into a subject of controversy. Minutes are usually a routine item on most board agendas.
Three new board members appointed by Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt – Chris Van Denhende, Ryan Deatherage and Michael Tinney – sparred with Walters during the February meeting when the board considered the standards. Eventually, they were approved after Walters falsely told board members they had to approved that day for the agency to meet legislative deadlines.
But Deatherage was shown in the meeting minutes as having made a motion to approve the standards, when he was the lone vote against them. A motion by Deatherage to table the standards, and a subsequent vote, weren't reflected in the minutes. The new board members raised the issue in April and voted to table the minutes, pending changes.
Deatherage noted Wednesday the copy of the February board meeting minutes included in his informational packet – which is provided to board members – didn't reflect the changes. The board's executive secretary, Amy London, said that she was trying to save paper and thus didn't update the packets with the new version of the minutes, but that the new minutes could be found online.
Ultimately, the board voted 5-1 – with Walters in opposition – to again table approval of the February meeting minutes.
'It's all about the process,' Tinney said in making his motion to table.
After that, though, the new board members – including Becky Carson, named last month to the board – and Walters interacted mostly without conflict. Carson, a former teacher from Edmond, spoke about her concern of the number of Oklahoma teachers who are receiving emergency certifications, noting the high total – more than 4,000 during the 2024-25 school year – shocked her. She noted that number represented about 10% of teachers in the state.
She called emergency certifications 'a necessary evil at this point,' given Oklahoma's shortage of traditionally certified teachers.
Deatherage, who also serves as Kingfisher County's 911 director, spoke about mobile alert panic systems for Oklahoma schools and voted to approve a motion concerning them, after leading a motion last month to table a vote on the same agenda item.
The board quickly approved a request for Mannford Public Schools to not have to meet the 165-day instructional minimum for the 2024-25 school year, citing wildfires that ravaged that Creek County community in March.
After an executive session that lasted almost two hours, as the board prepared to vote on an action regarding the teacher's license of former Ringling High School football coach Phil Koons, a man in the audience in the tiny board meeting room stood up and said he was an attorney representing Koons, demanding to speak, saying he had spoken with the agency's attorneys about doing so.
Walters said he was OK with allowing the man – who never identified himself and whose identity wasn't known by the board's attorney, Chad Kutmas – to speak. The man said Koons wasn't given notice either of Wednesday's planned board action, or of an administrative hearing in his case.
Multiple other people who have had licenses revoked during Walters' tenure as superintendent also have complained about receiving no notice from the board, which is required. The subject of allowing due process to educators whose licenses might be suspended or revoked came up during a Senate confirmation hearing for Tinney on Tuesday.
Ultimately, the board tabled action regarding Koons' license until its June meeting, and the man quickly exited the room.
Board member Zachary Archer of Hammon did not attend the meeting. In 2025, he has attended only one board meeting, in February. He previously missed meetings in January and April. The March board meeting was canceled on the morning the meeting had been scheduled, with Walters citing a concern over a possible violation of the Oklahoma Open Meeting Act because the deadline to post the agenda online had been missed by 20 minutes.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Ryan Walters, OSBE members still disagree on social studies standards