By Constitution Staff

From reading the media reports in Oklahoma, or from listening to their fellow “journalists” in radio or on television, one would think that State School Superintendent Ryan Walters has done nothing positive during his tenure.

Most of what Walters has done is simply lead the Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE) in fulfilling its assigned role of administering the laws of Oklahoma’s public schools. In February of 2023, the Education Department approved the Oklahoma Academic Standards for Computer Science, Fine Arts, Health, and Physical Education. The next month the OSDE passed new rules protecting the rights of parents without obstruction from government including Sex Education, and student disclosure to adults at school. In other words, the Walters-led department promulgated rules respecting the rights of parents to protect their children from what they consider morally-deficient sex ed and the right for parents to know what their children are doing at school. The alternative is that parents would be kept in the dark about their own children’s activities concerning sexual identity.

During the same month, the OSDE amended an existing rule to protect female students from having male students in their bathroom or changing areas. They also adopted rules protecting students from pornographic books in school libraries and classrooms, and they approved a process protecting students and teachers from unapproved sharing personal data.

Finally, the OSDE required that activities of schools in the areas of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) be reported.

In April, the OSDE opted to oppose the Biden administration’s executive order changing the intent of Title IX, from giving women more opportunities to participate in college sports to include “gender identity.” The Executive Order was intended to allow men to go into the women’s bathrooms and to compete in women’s sports.

During the regular April meeting the Board approved a memorandum to collaborate with the FAA on STEM aviation outreach. They also began focusing on teacher empowerment, pay raises, and signing bonuses. The OSDE approved dyslexia screeners for students in kindergarten through the third grade.

In addition, the OSDE formed new committee, including a Teacher Advisory Committee, a Library Advisory Committee, and a Prayer and Faith in Schools Committee.

Since April of 2023, OSDE has continued such activities, modifying DEI reporting because OSDE believed some school districts were being “coy with answers,” examined accreditation reports, and added three schools to the Lindsey Nicole Henry Scholarship program approved list.

For example, on September 28, 2023, an emergency rule was adopted which states schools cannot alter sex or gender designations in any prior years, and that schools must report any pending court order related to the altering of records within their district.

In short, the media has chosen to attack Ryan Walters and the state school board on almost a daily basis. The average person probably has little idea what Walters has or has not done, but only that he must be a bad guy. Most Oklahomans would almost certainly agree with the efforts of Ryan Walters and the state board (appointed by Governor Kevin Stitt) to protect the rights of parents and the rights of students from the DEI and CRT agenda, but the media is not reporting most of what is found in this article, or if they do to any degree, it is grossly distorted.