Court blocks Ryan Walters’ Christian Nationalist social studies standards in Oklahoma

OKLAHOMA CITY – In a victory for religious freedom, church-state separation and public education, the Oklahoma Supreme Court today put on hold new K-12 social studies standards enacted by Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters and the Oklahoma State Board of Education (OSBE) that would unconstitutionally promote Christianity to public school students. The ruling came in the lawsuit Rev. Dr. Mitch Randall v. Ryan Walters, which was filed in July by 33 Oklahoma parents, children, public school teachers and faith leaders.

Oklahoma Supreme Court prohibits implementation of new social studies standards

The court prohibited Walters and the state from implementing the new social studies standards. State officials are also prohibited from spending any state funds on the standards. The court ordered the state to treat the prior version of the standards, which were enacted in 2019, as remaining in effect.   

The plaintiffs are represented by Americans United for Separation of Church and State and Oklahoma Appleseed Center for Law and Justice. The organizations issued the following statements:

Social studies standards would violate students’ and families’ religious freedom

“Today’s ruling will help ensure that Oklahoma families – not politicians – get to decide how and when their children engage with religion,” said Rachel Laser, president and CEO of Americans United. “These new social studies standards would violate students’ and families’ religious freedom by promoting one version of Christianity and advancing Christian Nationalist disinformation. Not on our watch. Public schools are not Sunday schools.”

Brent Rowland, legal director of Oklahoma Appleseed: “This is a victory for transparency, fairness, and the constitutional rights of all Oklahomans. The authority to govern comes with accountability for making decisions in the full view of the people the government serves. Public school classrooms may not be used to endorse religious doctrine – no matter what the religion is or how many people follow it. 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. This ruling moves us toward the open, rigorous, and inclusive public education our students deserve.”

New social studies standards contain dozens of references to the Bible, Christianity

The court’s ruling today puts on hold Walters’ new standards, which are replete with several dozen references to the Bible and Christianity while containing few mentions of other faiths; inaccurately present Bible stories as literal, historical facts; inaccurately proclaim the Bible’s and Christianity’s influence on the founding of America and the country’s laws; and require other inaccurate teachings, including presenting disproven contentions about the legitimacy of the 2020 election and conveying as unquestioned truth the controversial theory that the COVID-19 pandemic originated in a Chinese laboratory. 

The lawsuit explains that the approval of the standards violated the Oklahoma Open Meeting Act and other procedural requirements because Oklahoma officials gave no notice to the public – or even to members of the State Board of Education themselves – that the version of the standards submitted to the Board for a vote was substantially different from the version that had been publicly released. The standards also run afoul of a statutory requirement that Oklahoma’s academic standards be accurate and age appropriate. And the new standards violate the Oklahoma Constitution’s religious-freedom protections by promoting and favoring one religion over others and over nonreligion in public schools, including to especially impressionable first and second graders.

Attorneys representing the plaintiffs include Alex Luchenitser and Luke Anderson at Americans United and Colleen McCarty and Brent Rowland at Oklahoma Appleseed. The organizations and many of the plaintiffs also are involved in a separate lawsuit challenging Walters’ Bible-education mandate; that case, Rev. Lori Walke v. Ryan Walters, is pending before the Oklahoma Supreme Court.