Oklahoma Supreme Court Blocks New Social Studies Standards Requiring Students To Learn About ‘Discrepancies’ in 2020 Election

Oklahoma’s supreme court has temporarily blocked the state’s new academic standards for social studies that would have required students to learn about “discrepancies” in the 2020 election.The Oklahoma supreme court blocked the standards from being taught in a 5-2 decision on Monday. The order said that “no further action shall be taken and no public funds shall be spent by respondents, the Oklahoma State Board of Education or the Oklahoma State Department of Education to enforce or implement” the standards while a pending legal challenge plays out.In July, a group of parents and faith leaders sued to block the standards, raising concerns that the curriculum would “coercively subject” public school students to Christian teachings.The new standards also would have required elementary students to learn about how stories from the Bible and Jesus’s teachings “influenced the American colonists, founders, and culture.” Students in fifth through eighth grade also would have had to learn about the Judeo-Christian values that influenced America’s Founders.The plaintiffs alleged that the state Board of Education did not follow the laws for approving the new standards. Half of the board members stated they did not know the approved version of the standards had been modified to include a provision that would have required students to identify “discrepancies” in the 2020 election.The groups are represented by Americans United for Separation of Church and State and the Oklahoma Appleseed Center for Law and Justice.In a statement after the Oklahoma supreme court’s ruling, the legal director of Oklahoma Appleseed, Brent Rowland, said, “This is a victory for transparency, fairness, and the constitutional rights of all Oklahomans.”“Public school classrooms may not be used to endorse religious doctrine — no matter what the religion is or how many people follow it,” Mr. Rowland said. “Blocking these standards means Oklahoma students can learn history and civics in a way that respects every family’s beliefs while inspiring them to think critically, ask questions, and engage as informed members of our democracy.”The state superintendent, Ryan Walters, said in a statement that the Oklahoma supreme court is “embarrassing” and “clearly” out of step with the residents of the state. A separate effort by Mr. Walters to put Bibles in public schools has been put on hold by the state’s high court.

Oklahoma Supreme Court Blocks New Social Studies Standards Requiring Students To Learn About ‘Discrepancies’ in 2020 Election

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