Latest news with #OSDE
USA Today
21-05-2025
- Politics
- USA Today
Oklahoma schools superintendent: Bibles will be in classes despite no money to buy them
Oklahoma schools superintendent: Bibles will be in classes despite no money to buy them Show Caption Hide Caption Ryan Walters announces $3M request to purchase Bibles for Oklahoma schools Ryan Walters announces a $3 million request to purchase Bibles for Oklahoma schools during OSDE board meeting on Thursday. OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma's top education official is insisting classrooms will all have Bibles by fall, even though the state's Republican-controlled Legislature has no plans to give him the $3 million he requested to buy the books. Whether that — or state schools Superintendent Ryan Walters' broader attempts to require schools to teach from the Bible — will come to fruition could depend on the outcome of multiple lawsuits pending in Oklahoma courts, one of which will soon have an important hearing. Without providing specifics, Walters said during a May 16 news conference that his agency has "already been exhausting multiple avenues" to acquire copies of the Bible. His remarks came days after legislative leaders and Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt announced a deal for the fiscal year 2026 budget, dismissing Walters' $3 million request to buy more Bibles despite slightly increasing funding for the Oklahoma State Department of Education. 'The Legislature can put the money there or not," Walters said. "We're going to have a Bible in every classroom this fall. So that's going to happen. So we're doing that. We've been very straightforward on how we're doing that.' Conservative lawmakers across the country have been leading an effort to spread religious teachings to public school classrooms, including introducing the Bible into reading lessons and requiring classrooms to display the Ten Commandments. In Louisiana, Republican Gov. Jeff Landry signed a law in June 2024 directing every public classroom to post the Ten Commandments. The law was later blocked by a federal judge who declared it unconstitutional, and was also challenged by parents and several civil rights groups. In November 2024, Texas officials proposed a curriculum incorporating teachings from the Bible in schools. It's not the first time. GOP leaders are calling for religion in public schools. How Oklahoma school districts responded to Bible mandate Walters announced his Bible-teaching mandate for public schools in June 2024. Most large Oklahoma school districts have largely ignored the directive during the 2024-25 school year. Since then, Walters made multiple attempts to spend up to $3 million in taxpayer money from the 2025 fiscal year's budget to purchase so-called "Trump Bibles," endorsed by President Donald Trump, who has received fees for his endorsement. While Walters' attempts to spend millions of dollars on Bibles have met pushback, Walters' agency purchased 532 Trump Bibles for less than $25,000. Walters said on May 16 that he's had Oklahomans tell him they believe students need to learn how Christian values forged the country's history. "That is absolutely something that I will continue to fight, till every kid understands that the history of America includes the Bible, includes biblical principles," he said. "I mean, my goodness, you would have to walk around with a blindfold throughout American history to not see that." A lawsuit over the mandate and the attempt to purchase Bibles is pending in the Oklahoma Supreme Court. As part of that lawsuit, the state's highest civil court paused Walters' most recent effort to buy Bibles. After the court order, Walters partnered with country music artist Lee Greenwood on a nationwide campaign to encourage donations of Bibles to Oklahoma classrooms. Asked how successful that effort has been, Walters did not offer specifics, saying only "quite a few" Bibles have been donated to the agency. "This is what's amazing about our state and our country," Walters said. "Once we started to say, 'We want to make sure that our kids understand the role the Bible played in American history,' once we started to get this out, once I started to go and talk to folks, and again, it's Oklahoma parents. It's Oklahoma teachers that say: 'Look, we want this.' We have continued to see the generosity of individuals say, 'Hey, if they're not going to fund it, we'll pony up.'" Who is Ryan Walters? What to know about Oklahoma's controversial top educator Oklahoma's new academic standards include religious references Walters also has infused new Oklahoma social studies academic standards with dozens of references to the Bible and the Christian faith. Those standards took effect earlier this month, when the state Senate and House declined to take action on resolutions that would have disapproved them and sent them back to the state Board of Education. Those standards, which include 2020 election-denial language slipped in by Walters, are the subject of a lawsuit filed by a group of Oklahoma taxpayers represented by former state Attorney General Mike Hunter. The lawsuit focuses on the methods used by Walters to push the standards through during a February board meeting. The lawsuit also addresses public concerns voiced by three new board members who said they felt Walters deceived them by making last-minute additions to the standards without notifying them or the public. It contends that board members were not provided enough time to review the revised standards. They were urged against tabling a vote on the standards after Walters falsely told them a vote had to be taken that day to meet legislative deadlines, when the board had two more months to submit the standards to the Legislature for approval. Oklahoma County District Judge Brent Dishman has set a hearing on May 22 to consider a request for a temporary restraining order by the plaintiffs, which, if granted, would halt the implementation of the standards. The timing of that hearing resulted in the monthly state Board of Education meeting, which had been set for May 22, to be moved to May 21. The agenda for that meeting must be posted at least 24 hours in advance of the meeting. Contributing: Thao Nguyen, USA TODAY
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Supt. Walters upset after lawmakers reject several of OSDE's budget requests
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) — Superintendent Ryan Walters called the media late Thursday for a Friday morning press conference after lawmakers rejected several of his budget requests. The agreed-upon budget from lawmakers this week had the Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE) realize they wouldn't get $3 million for 'Bibles in every classroom' and $500,000 for concealed carry training, among other requests. Walters' media gathering had him calling out the proposed income tax cut, but when asked how he would cut it, he didn't have much of an answer. He also called for cutting property taxes, but when asked how he would cut them, he didn't have a direct answer. Walters also didn't answer News 4's questions regarding the status of Oklahoma Education rankings compared to the rest of the nation. Why would people listen to you when, over the years, we've continued to be one of the lowest in the nation when it comes to education? You blame other people, but aren't you to blame? 'So let's take a look at that question, KFOR gets it fundamentally wrong. You are consistent at being wrong. So we are not at the bottom of education. We continue to see dramatic increases in Oklahoma City and Tulsa. I know y'all don't care to report facts,' said Supt. Walters. The latest numbers from the Nation's Report Card, which takes schools' results from around the nation and shows the statistics, show Walters is incorrect. While it isn't an exact metric on how Oklahoma schools are doing, it gives a relative basis to start from for educators. | READ MORE HERE > Oklahoma ranks near bottom of Nation's Report Card > Tulsa World was the first to report the latest state-by-state comparison when it comes to per-pupil spending. Oklahoma was found to be dead last as of their recent data, and that comes as teacher compensation slips. Supt. Walters, while voicing his concerns regarding lawmakers not coming out with a full state income tax cut, mentioned that he wanted a decrease in funding for education. 'I told the legislature, don't give all the money you gave me last time. And they said we're going to give it to you anyway,' said Supt. Walters. One of the items they agreed to 'give' him was $250,000 for school inhalers. You might recall, last year, OSDE was given the money to purchase inhalers for all school districts, and that they were meant to work with the foundation to get them in schools. Supt. Walters, according to lawmakers, is still sitting on that money, so they agreed to take it out of next year's OSDE appropriations. 'We wanted OSDE to administer them. For whatever reason, it was not accepted, or it wasn't a successful administration of it. So the money is still there. We are taking it from OSDE and putting it in a hospital trust,' said Senate Appropriations Chair Chuck Hall (R-Perry) on Thursday. According to the most recent budget portal numbers, it showed that the money would end up going to the University Hospitals Authority (UHA). Senator Hall said they would know what to do with it. Why did you sit on $250,000 for school inhalers? The lawmakers are now taking it from you. 'KFOR, KFOR, thank you though,' was all Supt. Walters answered. At several points during Supt. Walters media gathering he boasted about his Teacher Signing Bonus initiative. Essentially, OSDE offered thousands of dollars to get teachers to work in Oklahoma schools. However, as Oklahoma Watch first reported, OSDE had to claw back $290,000 because OSDE mistakenly sent it out to teachers who weren't meant to receive the money. Why did it go out to begin with? 'KFOR, take your fake news somewhere else today. Thank you for your time. Any real questions from the media?' is what Supt. Walters said when asked why. There were several other changes made to OSDE's original ask from lawmakers for next year's budget. OSDE asked to remove millions from Imagine Math and Imagine Reading, but lawmakers rejected that. He also, according to the budget transparency portal, asked to reduce $750,000 in funding to the OK School Safety Initiative. That was rejected, too. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Long-time special education instructors won't make the cut for teacher signing bonuses
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) — Career special education teachers are frustrated after learning they won't qualify for OSDE's newest round of signing bonuses. 'If those teachers had an incentive to stay, then there wouldn't be the shortage,' said Kathy, a special education teacher. The newest program offers a $20,000 bonus for teachers who taught special education out-of-state in 2024-2025 and are hired to teach special education in Oklahoma. RELATED: OSDE offers up to $20K signing bonus for special education teachers $10,000 bonuses are offered to newly-certified special education teachers entering their first year at an Oklahoma public school. In addition to the signing bonuses, OSDE is offering $5,000 for out-of-state special education and $2,500 for new teachers in retention bonuses to those who stay to teach for a second year. 'They get the higher pay, but we're training them, and it's very frustrating. They're not getting to the root of the issue because once this incentive money is gone, they only have to dedicate five years,' said Carla, another special education teacher. Carla has been a special education teacher for more than 30 years. She believes veteran instructors like herself should qualify because of their experience. Seminar reminds Oklahomans to be mindful of scams 'They don't know how to do all the stuff that we've been trained to do, especially the paperwork. And so therefore, we're putting in more hours and more of our time to help them, and yet there's no incentive for us,' Carla said. Kathy just finished her second year teaching special education and received last year's signing bonus. 'I can say that without the career teachers that I had my first year of teaching, I would not have made it. It's just a wealth of information that you cannot get in a boot camp, and you can't get it in a college class. It comes from people that have 20 and 30 years of being in the classroom,' Kathy said. Former Republican House Representative Mark McBride also weighed in on the conversation, saying, 'I think that's problematic.' The former lawmaker expressed concerns about teachers coming from other states for the pay and not wanting the role long-term. 'You're going to get a small number of out-of-state people wanting to move to Oklahoma, and are they going to stay after their bonus is gone?' asked McBride. News 4 reached out to State Superintendent Ryan Walters to ask why career teachers aren't being included in the bonuses. We are still waiting to hear back. Applications for the 2025-2026 signing bonus program are expected to launch this month and remain open until September 1. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
03-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Civil rights groups promise litigation in response to social studies standards
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – Two civil rights groups have now promised 'action' after lawmakers did not act on the new social studies standards, meaning they will eventually be implemented. The two groups include Americans United for Separation of Church and State and the Oklahoma Appleseed Center for Law. Oklahoma families, not politicians or public schools, should decide if, when, and how children engage with religion. If implemented, these new social studies standards will violate students' and families' religious freedom by promoting Christianity and advancing Christian Nationalist disinformation. Not on our watch. We are preparing to take the steps necessary to protect the religious freedom of all Oklahoma public school students and prevent these standards from undermining public education in Oklahoma. Americans United for Separation of Church and State and the Oklahoma Appleseed Center for Law They were also a part of a lawsuit which eventually led to a temporary halt to Supt. Walter's Bible buying for Oklahoma classrooms. Senate and House republicans are asked why they didn't act on school standards It was in March when the Oklahoma Supreme Court temporarily blocked State Superintendent Ryan Walters and the State Department of Education from purchasing Bibles and Bible-based lessons for Oklahoma schools. The court barred OSDE from issuing any new requests for the purchase of Bibles. The ruling also places a temporary hold on a request for proposals seeking a supplier for Bible-based curriculum. The ruling came after the Oklahoma Office of Management and Enterprise Services, the state agency that oversees RFPs, asked the court to issue a stay because of the concerns about ongoing lawsuits and the possibility of new legal challenges. There is no litigation filed just yet regarding the standards, but the two groups said it is more than likely would come when the standards go into effect. The standards won't officially be applied to schools until the 2026/2027 school year. Contracts to find textbook suppliers begin later this year and last until next year. Meanwhile, lawmakers have continued to push for some accountability when it comes to Supt. Walters and him using tax dollars for legal fees/legal counsel. 'He's communicating to the Republican caucuses that's making them feel comfortable about these standards, because our continued concern about those standards at their age is inappropriate, politically charged. And there are so many religious undertones,' said Rep. Cyndi Munson. News 4 reached out to OSDE for a response to the potential for this litigation, but didn't hear back. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Poteau coach accused of ‘sexual deals' has teaching license restored
POTEAU, Okla. (KNWA/KFTA) — The former Poteau High School head football coach accused of 'sexual deals' with mothers of players has had his teaching license reinstated after a 5-0 vote by the Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE). Oklahoma Coaches Hall of Fame inductee Greg Werner suddenly resigned just before the 2024 season after allegations of inappropriate behavior with players' mothers. KNWA/FOX24 has reached out to OSDE for the reasoning behind the board's vote on Thursday but is awaiting a response. Tulsa attorney Ashley Vinson represents Werner, and said comments made about Werner were 'defamatory' and several people, including accusers, have been sent cease and desist letters. When asked why someone would make such accusations if they weren't true, Vinson responded, 'I can't speculate on why people say what they say.' Vinson confirmed Werner is actively searching for a new opportunity to coach again. Werner won a 4A state title at Poteau in 2019 and was inducted into the OK Coaches Hall of Fame in 2022. His coaching resume includes stints in Van Buren, Arkansas; Broken Bow, Oklahoma; and previously at Poteau. Howe residents sentenced to life for child sexual abuse August 12, 2024 Public records show the Oklahoma State Board of Education began seeking disciplinary and employment records on Greg Werner. August 20, 2024 Law firm representing Poteau Schools replies to the board of education, stating the district intends to comply with records requests but needs Werner's release or a subpoena. August 26, 2024 Greg Werner submits his resignation, effective immediately, just four days before the season opener. August 28, 2024 Poteau High School publicly announces Werner's resignation. Mike Odom is named the interim head football coach. Eric Hackler becomes athletic director. Dean of Students Casey Hemphill takes on part-time assistant principal duties. September 18, 2024 The . Superintendent Kempenich does not explain the sudden resignation. November 25, 2024Allegations include inappropriate messages via GroupMe and reported sexual activity on school property. Poteau Schools released limited employment documents, including Werner's resignation letter. December 19, 2024 The OSDE votes unanimously to move forward with revoking Greg Werner's teaching license. Werner is prohibited from teaching while the investigation is ongoing. April 25, 2025 Werner's teaching license is reinstated following a 5-0 vote from OSDE. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
