Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters – CBS Evening News screenshot
The Oklahoma State Department of Education, led by Superintendent Ryan Walters, will require teachers moving to the state to pass an ideological assessment — including a refusal to recognize transgender identity as valid — in order to be certified, despite a statewide teacher shortage.
The test, being developed with the right-wing media group PragerU, will evaluate applicants’ knowledge of the U.S. Constitution, “American exceptionalism,” and “the fundamental biological differences between boys and girls.”
“We’re sending a clear message: Oklahoma’s schools will not be a haven for woke agendas pushed in places like California and New York,” Walters said in a statement. “If you want to teach here, you’d better know the Constitution, respect what makes America great, and understand basic biology. We’re raising a generation of patriots, not activists, and I’ll fight tooth and nail to keep leftist propaganda out of our classrooms.”
Walters did not specify which states, beyond California and New York, would trigger the testing requirement for incoming teachers.
Walters said the assessment will be implemented this fall, ahead of the 2025-2026 school year. But with classes starting next month and most staff already hired, the timing could disrupt schools’ staffing plans.
Teachers who fail the assessment will lose certification, forcing schools and districts to find replacements or rely on substitutes as a short-term solution — potentially creating more classroom disruptions.
Walters previously appointed PragerU co-founder Dennis Prager and other conservative activists, including Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts, to an executive review committee tasked with overhauling the state’s social studies curriculum. A March draft of the new guidelines required high school students to be taught the debunked conspiracy theory that Democrats “stole” the 2020 presidential election.
Walters also appointed Chaya Raichik, creator of the right-wing Libs of TikTok account, to an advisory committee that decides which books will be banned or allowed in school libraries.
After the death of 16-year-old trans Oklahoman Nex Benedict, Walters blasted “radical leftists” who blamed his anti-LGBTQ policies for an altercation in a girls’ bathroom that left Benedict hospitalized. The incident was later cited as a possible factor in Benedict’s suicide. Walters accused his critics of pushing a “political agenda” and trying to “exploit” the tragedy for political gain.
In June, Walters ordered all Oklahoma school districts to add the Bible and the Ten Commandments to curricula for grades five through 12. His office reportedly spent $25,000 on 532 copies of a Trump-endorsed Bible and later sought $3 million to buy 55,000 more, arguing students should learn how Christian values shaped the nation. The Republican-led legislature ultimately denied the funding request.
Eric and Sara Smith, owners of Born Again Used Books -- a 21-year-old Christian bookstore in Colorado Springs -- are suing state officials over a new law that prohibits discrimination against transgender and gender-nonconforming people based on how they choose to be addressed.
The lawsuit challenges the Kelly Loving Act, named for a transgender woman killed in the 2022 Club Q shooting, which expands the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act and was signed in May by Democratic Gov. Jared Polis.
The law expands the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act to prohibit discrimination in employment, housing, public accommodations, and advertising based on "gender expression," which includes a person’s appearance, manner of dress, behavior, chosen name, and how they choose to be addressed.
After removing all references to transgender people from the Stonewall National Monument website earlier this year, the National Park Service has now scrubbed mentions of bisexual people as well.
As first reported by transgender journalist Erin Reed on her Erin in the Morning Substack, the change occurred on July 10, when the homepage was updated to read, "Before the 1960s, almost everything about living authentically as a gay or lesbian person was illegal."
Subsequent pages, including the site's "History and Culture" section, were also altered to remove broader LGBTQ references. One now reads: "Stonewall was a milestone for gay and lesbian civil rights," whereas it previously noted that living "openly as a member of the Stonewall comunity was a violation of law."
The U.S. Department of Education has warned the school districts of Arlington, Alexandria, Fairfax, Loudoun, and Prince William that they could lose federal funding or face legal action if they do not roll back policies allowing transgender students to use bathrooms matching their gender identity.
The investigations, launched in February after a complaint from America First Legal -- a group founded by former Trump adviser Stephen Miller -- alleges the policies give transgender students more rights than cisgender students under Title IX.
The Education Department has recently stepped up challenges to pro-transgender school policies nationwide, even declaring June, traditionally recognized as Pride Month, as "Title IX Month" and pledging to roll back policies affirming transgender students.
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