Lawsuit seeks to nullify social studies standards

OKLAHOMA CITY — A group of Oklahoma parents, grandparents and teachers represented by a former Republican attorney general have asked a judge to nullify the state’s controversial new academic standards for social studies.

Former Attorney General Mike Hunter filed the group’s lawsuit Wednesday morning in Oklahoma County District Court, alleging the adoption process was so flawed that the standards might not have been legal by the time they came before the state Legislature. Lawmakers have since allowed the standards to take effect.

The plaintiffs allege the Oklahoma State Department of Education failed to follow its own rules for transparency when drafting the social studies standards and when presenting them to the state’s top school board for approval.

“The reason we have rules, particularly in a democratic legislative setting, is that at the end of the day, due process is followed (with) adequate notice and an opportunity to be heard,” Hunter said during a news conference Wednesday. “And I think that what happened failed that test.”

Hunter said he will ask a district judge to temporarily bar the standards from taking effect while the lawsuit is pending.

Academic standards mandate the topics that public schools must teach to students at each grade level. They are reviewed and updated every six years.

State Superintendent Ryan Walters led the process of developing the new version for social studies. After the lawsuit was filed Wednesday, Walters blamed criticism of the social studies standards on teacher unions, none of whom are a party to the case.

He said the new standards are “the most pro-American standards in the nation, rooted in the founding principles that built this country and shaped our state.”

“That’s exactly what Oklahoma parents want their kids to learn,” Walters said in a statement.

The seven plaintiffs — made up of three public school parents, two grandparents and two public school teachers — contend the standards present a “distorted view of social studies that intentionally favors an outdated and blatantly biased perspective.” The new standards also don’t align with best practices, Advanced Placement or college social studies courses, nor with current textbooks, their lawsuit states.

Half of the Oklahoma State Board of Education said they were unaware at the time they approved the standards on Feb. 27 that the final version had significant differences from the original draft posted publicly in December.

Only the December draft was accessible on the agency’s website at the time of the board vote, and one board member, Mike Tinney, said this was the version he studied before voting on the standards. The Education Department didn’t publicly post the final draft until weeks later.

Email records the agency provided indicate the board members received the updated draft of the standards at 4 p.m. the day before their Feb. 27 meeting began the next morning. Walters said he provided the final version but it was up to the board members to read it.

Walters and his staff didn’t acknowledge during the Feb. 27 meeting that new language had been added, including claims of “discrepancies” in 2020 election results.

Only one board member, Deatherage, voted against the standards, saying he didn’t have enough time to properly review the full document.

Members of the board and Gov. Kevin Stitt encouraged the Legislature to return the standards to the state Board of Education for another vote, but Republican majorities in the House and Senate opted not to take action, allowing the standards to take effect by default.

Hunter said the process that produced the new standards “should be examined from alpha to omega.” He said he intends to have Walters, state Board of Education members and others involved in developing the standards interviewed as witnesses.

The lawsuit notes that the agency hasn’t fully disclosed the names of all the individuals involved in the drafting committees and in focus groups that gave feedback, unlike in past years of standards revisions. Only an executive committee made up of mostly out-of-state conservative media personalities and far-right-wing policy advocates was identified.

“Our goal is to get to the truth of things,” Hunter said.

The lawsuit filed Wednesday might not be the only legal challenge against the standards.

The national law group Americans United for Separation of Church and State also might sue, said Alex Luchenitser, the organization’s associate vice president and associate legal director.

Americans United sees law violations both in the non-transparent way the standards were adopted and in their inclusion of Christian beliefs, Luchenitser said.

The new standards require elementary schools to teach biblical stories and the teachings of Jesus “that influenced the American colonists, founders and culture.” Instruction on Judeo-Christian values would continue in fifth and eighth grade.

“The standards attempt to promote Christianity in the classroom above all other religions,” Luchenitser said. “They attempt to promote Christianity to first and second graders, very young and impressionable children. Parents need to have control about how their children are brought up with respect to religion, and religion should be taught in the home and in the house of worship. It shouldn’t be taught in the classroom.”

Walters has called church-state separation a myth and repeatedly pushed for the Bible to have more of a presence in public schools. Understanding biblical teachings will give important context to key events and figures in American history, he has said.

Last year, he ordered all Oklahoma school districts to incorporate the Bible into their lesson plans and to keep a copy of it in every classroom — a mandate that Americans United has challenged in court. Walters later purchased over 500 copies of Lee Greenwood’s God Bless the USA Bible, an edition known for having President Donald Trump’s endorsement.

Walters said the new social studies standards will “teach students to be proud of America.”

“We’re proud of these standards, and we’ll keep fighting for an education system that puts students and our country first,” he said.

Oklahoma Voice (oklahomavoice.com) is an affiliate of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization, supported by grants and donations. Oklahoma Voice provides nonpartisan reporting, and retains full editorial independence.