The Oklahoma Supreme Court chamber is pictured Dec. 7, 2023. (Photo by Carmen Forman/Oklahoma Voice)
OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma’s new academic standards for social studies are poised to take effect for the coming school year, as the state Supreme Court this week declined to pause their implementation.
A group of 33 parents, faith leaders and teachers filed a lawsuit July 1 against state Superintendent Ryan Walters and the Oklahoma State Board of Education, asking the Court to block the new standards, which dictate what topics public schools must teach to students.
The plaintiffs contend the new pro-Bible standards will violate religious freedoms by imposing Christian beliefs on students and that the state Board of Education failed to uphold proper procedures when approving them.
The Court on Monday declined to apply a temporary pause to the new standards. The justices gave no explanation in doing so. This means the standards can take effect while the lawsuit is still pending.
Attorneys representing both sides of the case gave oral arguments last week to a Supreme Court referee, who asks questions and compiles a report for the justices to review.
The plaintiffs are represented by attorneys from the national organization Americans United for Separation of Church and State and a local advocacy group, the Oklahoma Appleseed Center for Law and Justice.
The Court’s decision is “disappointing” but not the resolution of the case, said Alex Luchenitser, associate vice president and associate legal director at Americans United.
“We have presented a strong case to the court that Walters’ new standards will violate students’ and families’ religious freedom by promoting one version of Christianity and advancing Christian Nationalist disinformation,” Luchenitser said in a statement. “We’re hopeful for a final ruling in favor of our clients that protects religious freedom, public education and church-state separation for all Oklahomans.”
In a statement Tuesday, Walters said the decision is a “huge win for hardworking Oklahoma families who hold American principals dear.”
“It’s no secret, Christianity is under attack by the Left,” he said. “Under my watch, their America-hating, Christian-hating agenda will never get near a single student in an Oklahoma classroom.”
Walters’ administration developed the new standards, which the state Board of Education approved and the Oklahoma Legislature permitted to take effect.
Under the new standards, students will begin learning in second grade about biblical stories and the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth “that influenced the American colonists, founders and culture.” Fifth and eighth graders will be taught the Judeo-Christian values of the American colonists.
High-school standards generated significant controversy over new language that suggests there were “discrepancies” in the results of the 2020 presidential election, such as “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.”
The standards also claim the origin of COVID-19 was a Chinese laboratory.
Both claims had been added to the standards without Walters and his staff acknowledging or drawing attention to it. Half of the sitting state Board of Education members said they weren’t aware the language had been added until after they voted to approve the standards.
The plaintiffs contend both the 2020 election and COVID-19 standards present inaccurate and politically motivated claims.
A similar but separate lawsuit is pending before the state Supreme Court. Another group of Oklahoma parents, grandparents and educators represented by former Attorney General Mike Hunter have asked the Court to overturn the new standards on procedural grounds.
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