logo
Republican lawmakers mull proposal to reject new Oklahoma academic standards

Republican lawmakers mull proposal to reject new Oklahoma academic standards

Yahoo28-04-2025

State Superintendent Ryan Walters speaks with Sen. Dave Rader after a Senate Republican Caucus meeting at the state Capitol in Oklahoma City on Monday. (Photo by Nuria Martinez-Keel/Oklahoma Voice)
OKLAHOMA CITY — After a private meeting with state Superintendent Ryan Walters, Republican lawmakers made no promises that a leading state senator's resolution would succeed in rejecting new academic standards proposed for social studies and science education.
Senate Education Committee chairperson Adam Pugh, R-Edmond, filed the resolution Thursday afternoon after half of the Oklahoma State Board of Education said they weren't aware of changes made to the social studies standards before they approved them in February. Pugh declined to comment while exiting a closed-door Senate Republican Caucus meeting Monday.
Walters joined the caucus meeting midway through. Afterward, he declined to share details of what he discussed but said he had a 'great conversation' and 'appreciated the invite.'
Senate President Pro Tem Lonnie Paxton, R-Tuttle, said after the meeting the GOP majority is still discussing whether it will put Pugh's resolution up for a vote by the full Senate. In previous weeks, he said there hadn't been 'a whole lot of movement to reject those standards' among the caucus.
Both the Senate and the House must agree on a resolution by Thursday to take any action on the standards. State law gives lawmakers 30 legislative days after receiving academic standards to consider them and vote. If the Legislature doesn't pass a resolution, the standards will take effect as written.
Academic standards dictate the topics that public schools must teach to students. They are reviewed and updated every six years.
Five House members signed on as co-authors of Pugh's resolution on Monday, including the chamber's No. 2 Republican leader, Speaker Pro Tem Anthony Moore, R-Clinton.
The group of co-authors also includes Common Education Committee Chairperson Dick Lowe, R-Amber; the committee's Vice Chairperson Danny Sterling, R-Tecumseh; Rep. Tammy West, R-Oklahoma City; and Rep. Mike Osburn, R-Edmond, who is listed as the principal House author.
Lowe said lawmakers are troubled by the review and approval process that took place with the state Board of Education, rather than about the contents of the standards. Many of the constituents living in their House districts are concerned, as well, he said.
'We see the process was probably not as transparent as we'd like to see in state government,' Lowe said.
Pugh's resolution similarly notes that 'questions exist regarding the transparency of the subject matter standard adoption process.'
Whether the House has the chance to vote on the resolution depends on the Senate passing it first. Lowe said it then would be 'a leadership decision' whether the resolution would get a hearing in the House.
House Speaker Kyle Hilbert, R-Bristow, will comment on the resolution if it passes the Senate and comes over to his chamber, his spokesperson said.
Gov. Kevin Stitt and one of his recent state Board of Education appointees, Ryan Deatherage, said they would like the Legislature to send the social studies standards back to the board for another vote. Stitt raised doubts about whether Walters' administration handled the process with the proper integrity.
Walters denied the governor's claims that the Oklahoma State Department of Education emailed board members a different version of the proposed standards from what they ultimately approved.
The Education Department provided email records indicating board members received a copy of the final draft at 4 p.m. the day before they met the following morning of Feb. 27 to vote on the standards. The board voted 5-1 to approve the standards and send them to the Legislature for final review.
The only board member who voted against them, Deatherage, said he hadn't had enough time to read through the lengthy document.
He and two other board members, Chris Van Denhende and Mike Tinney, said Thursday they weren't aware at the time of the vote of changes made from the original draft of the standards, which were posted publicly in December.
Some of the changes include the addition of language stating there were 'discrepancies' in 2020 election results, including 'sudden halting of ballot-counting in select cities in key battleground states, sudden batch dumps, an unforeseen record number of voters and the unprecedented contradiction of 'bellwether county' trends.'
Walters said he made the final decision to add the new language after his administration received public comment and input from focus groups. National conservative media personalities and Republican policy advocates made up the leading committee that reviewed the social studies standards.
Pugh's resolution points out the short timeframe that the board had to review the updated version. It also noted that the governor and board members requested the standards be returned to the state Board of Education 'for proper review and consideration.'
Given 'the magnitude of the decision' and the $33 million cost to implement the new standards, the resolution proposes the Legislature reject them in full for both social studies and science.
House and Senate Democrats filed resolutions last month to reject the social studies standards. Last week, they again urged their Republican colleagues to take action before Walters' proposal becomes mandatory teaching in all public schools.
Senate Minority Leader Julia Kirt, D-Oklahoma City, thought of how the new language would mix with the social studies homework her eighth grader brings home from public school.
'This week we talked about Brown v. Board of Education,' Kirt said during a news conference Wednesday. 'We talked about Plessy v. Ferguson. We're talking about very important concepts in history and social studies, and thinking about teachers having to try to present some of these (new) standards and my children trying to analyze them and understand the angle of them and to have critical thinking around them really deeply concerns me.'
SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

White House breaks ground on Trump projects to pave over Rose Garden grass, add flagpoles to lawns

time32 minutes ago

White House breaks ground on Trump projects to pave over Rose Garden grass, add flagpoles to lawns

WASHINGTON -- The White House broke ground Monday on construction projects ordered by President Donald Trump to pave over the grass in the Rose Garden and install flagpoles on the north and south lawns. The projects are part of a series of personal touches that Trump, a real estate developer turned politician, has added or is adding to the Executive Mansion and its grounds since he opened his second term in January. The projects also include new artwork of himself on walls and gold-toned flourishes in the Oval Office. He also wants to add a ballroom. Reporters on Monday noticed that work had begun in the Rose Garden, just off the Oval Office on the south grounds, when they were taken out to the South Lawn to wait for Trump to return on the Marine One helicopter from an overnight at the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland. Photos showed that a limestone border that first lady Melania Trump had added during a Rose Garden renovation project in her husband's first term had been removed in some places and the grass had been dug up in others spots. Employees of the National Park Service, which maintains the White House grounds, started the work on Monday, according to a White House official. The project is set to be completed in about two months, or the first half of August, said the official, who was not authorized to comment publicly on intended changes to the Executive Mansion and spoke on the condition of anonymity. After stepping off the helicopter, Trump walked over to a bulldozer that was on the South Lawn to start digging a foundation for one of two flagpoles he promised in April. One flagpole will be added to the South Lawn, and the second will be installed on the North Lawn, he said. Trump said he was installing two 'beautiful' flagpoles 'paid for by Trump' on the grounds because 'they've needed flagpoles for 200 years.' The American and POW/MIA flags fly on the roof of the White House every day. The Republican president said months ago that he would pave over the Rose Garden because the grass there is always wet and an inconvenience for women in high heels. It was unclear if he planned to pay for this project. Last week, Trump posted on his social media site about the ballroom he promised, 'compliments of a man known as Donald J. Trump.' He wrote on Friday that he had inspected the site for the ballroom, saying it will be a 'wonderful addition' and is an example of the ''fun' projects I do while thinking about the World Economy, the United States, China, Russia, and lots of other Countries, places, and events.'

White House breaks ground on Trump projects to pave over Rose Garden grass, add flagpoles to lawns
White House breaks ground on Trump projects to pave over Rose Garden grass, add flagpoles to lawns

Hamilton Spectator

time34 minutes ago

  • Hamilton Spectator

White House breaks ground on Trump projects to pave over Rose Garden grass, add flagpoles to lawns

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House broke ground Monday on construction projects ordered by President Donald Trump to pave over the grass in the Rose Garden and install flagpoles on the north and south lawns. The projects are part of a series of personal touches that Trump, a real estate developer turned politician, has added or is adding to the Executive Mansion and its grounds since he opened his second term in January. The projects also include new artwork of himself on walls and gold-toned flourishes in the Oval Office. He also wants to add a ballroom. Reporters on Monday noticed that work had begun in the Rose Garden, just off the Oval Office on the south grounds, when they were taken out to the South Lawn to wait for Trump to return on the Marine One helicopter from an overnight at the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland. Photos showed that a limestone border that first lady Melania Trump had added during a Rose Garden renovation project in her husband's first term had been removed in some places and the grass had been dug up in others spots. Employees of the National Park Service, which maintains the White House grounds, started the work on Monday, according to a White House official. The project is set to be completed in about two months, or the first half of August, said the official, who was not authorized to comment publicly on intended changes to the Executive Mansion and spoke on the condition of anonymity. After stepping off the helicopter, Trump walked over to a bulldozer that was on the South Lawn to start digging a foundation for one of two flagpoles he promised in April. One flagpole will be added to the South Lawn, and the second will be installed on the North Lawn, he said. Trump said he was installing two 'beautiful' flagpoles 'paid for by Trump' on the grounds because 'they've needed flagpoles for 200 years.' The American and POW/MIA flags fly on the roof of the White House every day. The Republican president said months ago that he would pave over the Rose Garden because the grass there is always wet and an inconvenience for women in high heels. It was unclear if he planned to pay for this project. Last week, Trump posted on his social media site about the ballroom he promised, 'compliments of a man known as Donald J. Trump.' He wrote on Friday that he had inspected the site for the ballroom, saying it will be a 'wonderful addition' and is an example of the ''fun' projects I do while thinking about the World Economy, the United States, China, Russia, and lots of other Countries, places, and events.' ___ Follow the AP's coverage of President Donald Trump at . Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .

Trump vs. California is the fight the White House wants
Trump vs. California is the fight the White House wants

Yahoo

timean hour ago

  • Yahoo

Trump vs. California is the fight the White House wants

President Trump is getting the fight with California he wants as Democrats in the state criticize his decision to send the National Guard to Los Angeles without local approval to deal with protests surrounding raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The unfolding events hit at the heart of key issues that Trump basks in: immigration and fighting liberal California Democrats. You can also add in law and order, as Trump and his team accuse California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) and other local officials of being too soft on demonstrators destroying property and setting cars on fire. White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller on Sunday reposted several images meant to convey the chaos in LA, including one showing huge plumes of smoke billowing from a burning vehicle as demonstrators watched, with one with holding Mexican flag. The post read, 'Let's check in on how LAPD's management of the 'protests' is going,' and criticized Newsom's slamming of Trump's decision to send the guard. A second Miller repost was from his White House colleague Taylor Budowich, who sent out a similar video of a masked protestor on a car surrounded by other burning cars and demonstrators in the streets. 'Democrat management,' the post said. Newsom has said California will sue the Trump administration over its deployment of the National Guard, while the White House maintains Trump intervened at the right time to restore law and order and that the violent attacks had already escalated before he stepped in. 'Donald Trump has created the conditions you see on your TV tonight. He's exacerbated the conditions. He's, you know, lit the proverbial match. He's putting fuel on this fire, ever since he announced he was taking over the National Guard — an illegal act, an immoral act, an unconstitutional act,' Newsom said on MSNBC. Just a few days ago, Trump was battling negative coverage of his public feud with erstwhile ally Elon Musk. The violence in LA allowed him to rapidly shift gears and put much of the focus on immigration even as his team pushed Congress to pass his signature legislation — which had triggered the battle with Musk. 'The riots in Los Angeles prove that we desperately need more immigration enforcement personnel and resources. America must reverse the invasion unleashed by Joe Biden of millions of unvetted illegal aliens into our country,' White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on the social platform X, calling for Senate passage of the House-passed 'one, big beautiful bill' with its funding measures for border security. The story even served to bring Musk back into the fold, with the tech mogul sending a number of supportive messages of the president that criticized Newsom and demonstrators. Trump ran on a platform of mass deportations. Since then, ICE raids, arrests of migrants at immigration courts and lawsuits over deportations have been a major part of his first few months in office. His administration has blamed Democrats, especially Biden, for allowing what they call an 'invasion' of migrants coming in at the nation's southern border, and White House briefings have often begun with spotlighting a deported migrant who committed a crime in the U.S. The images of masked demonstrators with Mexican flags falls right into this argument. That the protests are in California is also good for Trump. Trump has flirted with the idea of fining or nixing federal funding for the state, lashing out earlier this month after a transgender athlete was allowed to compete and win at a high school track and field meet. He also blamed Newsom, who is widely considered to be eying a presidential bid, for the wildfires that raged in the Los Angeles area in January and made his first trip as president to California to meet with him and survey damage. Newsom then visited Trump at the White House in February about aid for wildfire victims. The White House is now blaming Newsom for the protests in Los Angeles, bashing him for suing the administration instead of focusing on solutions. 'Gavin Newsom's feckless leadership is directly responsible for the lawless riots and violent attacks on law enforcement in Los Angeles. Instead of filing baseless lawsuits meant to score political points with his left-wing base, Newsom should focus on protecting Americans by restoring law and order to his state,' White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said. Trump on Sunday didn't rule out using the Insurrection Act, which allows the president to deploy the military and federalize the National Guard in the event of an insurrection. He considered invoking the law in his first term during the 2020 protests over police brutality, but officials like former Defense Secretary Mark Esper pushed back at the time. 'We're going to have troops everywhere. We're not going to let this happen to our country. We're not going to let our country be torn apart like it was under Biden and his auto pen,' Trump said Sunday. The president also said that if California officials stand in the way of federal officials deporting migrants, they will face federal charges. 'We're just going to see what happens. If we think there's a serious insurrection … we're going to have law and order,' he said. California Democrats are responding to Trump by calling on residents to not turn to violence while protesting, arguing that the president's move to bring in the National Guard was meant to provoke the chaos. 'Angelenos — don't engage in violence and chaos. Don't give the administration what they want,' Mayor Karen Bass said on X. Similarly, Newsom warned other states about Trump federalizing the National Guard and accused him of escalating the situation. 'This is exactly what Donald Trump wanted,' Newsom said on X. 'He flamed the fires and illegally acted to federalize the National Guard. The order he signed doesn't just apply to CA. It will allow him to go into ANY STATE and do the same thing. We're suing him.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store