Education in Oklahoma

[patric]

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, "     We can stop right there.

The first sentence of the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States is pretty clear that government shouldn't be in the business of hawking a religious belief, no matter what that belief is.

When the Secretary of Public Education for the State of Oklahoma, Ryan Walters, stood in front of the Tulsa Public Schools administration building defending the actions of a school board member who parents complained leads prayer and promotes religious views at school-sponsored events, he complained that it was the board member who's First Amendment rights are being violated.

Never mind the 1962 Supreme Court ruling that school-sponsored prayer is a violation of the establishment clause of the First Amendment.
Never mind that "Walters told reporters after the event that he would have taken the same action had (board member E’Lena) Ashley offered a prayer representing any faith background. However, requests from the crowd to allow an imam and a rabbi to offer a prayer at the top of the press conference were ignored."

Having once taught a history class, Ryan Walters is no doubt familiar with Mirror Politics where one charges an opponent with an exact mirror of the perpetrator's own intentions. This is the same superintendent that insists the Tulsa Race Massacre wasn't about race, and only one step behind his peers in Florida who insist that slavery benefited black people.

https://tulsaworld.com/news/local/education/walters-in-tulsa-after-what-he-calls-assault-on-religious-liberty-implies-threat-to-school/article_9c3114f0-27d9-11ee-afbc-a3e22b3a1528.html


Tulsa school board member tells 9/12 Project her goal is to disrupt administration's agenda
https://tulsaworld.com/news/local/education/tulsa-school-board-member-tells-9-12-project-her-goal-is-to-disrupt-administrations-agenda/article_72e7796a-4b1e-11ed-94f1-f3173de5a951.html

[patric]

CHURCH V. STATE — Oklahoma’s attorney general is preparing to buck some fellow Republicans and challenge the nation’s first public religious charter school. But the rancher and Gulf War combat pilot thinks the public will support his looming constitutional fight.

— “I think its genesis is in Christian nationalism,” Drummond told Weekly Education. “There are believers that are confusing true religion — and religious liberty, and faith in God — with political power.

https://www.politico.com/newsletters/weekly-education

[swake]

CHURCH V. STATE — Oklahoma’s attorney general is preparing to buck some fellow Republicans and challenge the nation’s first public religious charter school. But the rancher and Gulf War combat pilot thinks the public will support his looming constitutional fight.

— “I think its genesis is in Christian nationalism,” Drummond told Weekly Education. “There are believers that are confusing true religion — and religious liberty, and faith in God — with political power.

https://www.politico.com/newsletters/weekly-education

The Christian Taliban are here in Oklahoma and they are in charge.

[heironymouspasparagus]

Christianism at its worst.

[patric]

When the Secretary of Public Education for the State of Oklahoma, Ryan Walters, stood in front of the Tulsa Public Schools administration building defending the actions of a school board member who parents complained leads prayer and promotes religious views at school-sponsored events, he complained that it was the board member who's First Amendment rights are being violated.

As fate would have it, its not the words coming out of those peoples mouths at Ryan's impromptu press stunt that has captured the internet.

https://thelostogle.com/2023/07/24/elderly-enforcer-caught-spitting-on-protester-at-ryan-walters-press-conference

[patric]

Oklahoma’s Statewide Virtual Charter School Board on Monday voted 3-1 to hire a conservative Christian legal advocacy group to defend it against possible national litigation over the controversial move to sponsor the nation’s first religious charter school.

The ADF bills itself as the world’s largest legal organization that is “committed to protecting religious freedom, free speech, marriage and family, parental rights,
and the sanctity of life,” and it advertises that it does so at no cost to clients through the support of tax-deductible donations.

The Southern Poverty Law Center has branded it a “designated hate group” for, among other things, its support of the recriminalization of sexual acts between
consenting LGBTQ adults in the U.S. and abroad, its defense of state-sanctioned sterilization of transgender people abroad and its contention that LGBTQ people are more likely to engage in pedophilia.

https://tulsaworld.com/news/state-regional/education/catholic-charter-school-state-governing-board-hires-conservative-christian-legal-advocacy-firm-to-defend-against/article_86c39076-2a5d-11ee-a414-2ba5436e18de.html

[patric]

Oklahoma lawsuit seeks to block opening of first publicly funded religious charter school in the US

A lawsuit filed Monday in Oklahoma is seeking to block the state’s support for the nation’s first publicly funded religious charter school.
The lawsuit, filed by the Oklahoma Parent Legislative Action Committee, is asking a judge to stop the sponsorship, funding and opening of the St. Isidore of Seville Virtual Catholic Charter School.

It comes after the Oklahoma Statewide Virtual Charter School Board in June voted 3-2 to approve the application of the school, an online public school that would be administered by the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City and the Diocese of Tulsa.

Oklahoma Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt applauded the board’s decision at the time, calling it “a win for religious liberty and education freedom in our great state.”
But Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond and other opponents said the decision was unconstitutional and warned that legal action would likely follow.

“The defining feature of America’s public schools is that they must welcome and serve all students, regardless of a student’s background, beliefs, or abilities,” the lawsuit states. “Schools that do not adhere to this principle have long existed and are entitled to operate, but they cannot be part of the public-education system. Permitting otherwise would upend the legal framework Oklahoma has constructed to govern public schools and protect students.”

St. Isidore would not be open to all students, in violation of the Oklahoma Constitution, the Oklahoma Charter Schools Act and the Oklahoma Statewide Virtual Charter School Board regulations, the lawsuit claims.

It further alleges that St. Isidore “refused to agree to comply with all legal requirements applicable to Oklahoma charter schools, including prohibitions against discrimination.”

“In violation of the Oklahoma Constitution and the Charter Schools Act, St. Isidore in fact will discriminate in admissions, discipline, and employment based on religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, and other protected characteristics,” the lawsuit states.

https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/01/us/oklahoma-religious-charter-school-opening-lawsuit/index.html

[patric]

In a video posted to Twitter on Wednesday evening, State Superintendent Ryan Walters said Tulsa Public Schools is receiving money from the Chinese government.

“You have Communist China that is giving money to Tulsa Public Schools in order to undermine our United States government, our country,” he said. “It is unbelievable.

https://tulsaworld.com/news/local/education/tulsa-public-schools-denies-ryan-walters-chinese-funding-claims/article_3c563a10-3233-11ee-ba62-23d31ca63b50.html

[swake]

In a video posted to Twitter on Wednesday evening, State Superintendent Ryan Walters said Tulsa Public Schools is receiving money from the Chinese government.

“You have Communist China that is giving money to Tulsa Public Schools in order to undermine our United States government, our country,” he said. “It is unbelievable.

https://tulsaworld.com/news/local/education/tulsa-public-schools-denies-ryan-walters-chinese-funding-claims/article_3c563a10-3233-11ee-ba62-23d31ca63b50.html

Booker T has been teaching Chinese for 40 years. You would think we would have been fully undermined by now.

Idiot.

[heironymouspasparagus]

Booker T has been teaching Chinese for 40 years. You would think we would have been fully undermined by now.

Idiot.

Walters.... Exactly what Okrahoma aspires to!   Idiocy.

[tulsabug]

Booker T has been teaching Chinese for 40 years. You would think we would have been fully undermined by now.

Idiot.

Well - Wal-Mart is pretty popular.

[patric]

Well - Wal-Mart is pretty popular.

OKLAHOMA CITY - Multiple lawsuits were filed against the state superintendent and his advisor for wrongful termination and violation of free speech.
“It's obvious that at some point something was going to happen. I saw this coming when I saw the emails coming,” said Rep. Mark McBride (R-Moore).

After those lawsuits were filed, some parents, teachers and lawmakers are calling for Walters to be terminated as state superintendent. Now we're looking at what the impeachment process looks like here in the state.
“Here we have the department of education saying we don't want people to know what we're doing or why we’re doing it, we want a gag order, we want complete silence- well that is so far against what the department is supposed to stand for,” said attorney Mark Hammons.

Hammons is representing both former Oklahoma State Department of Education employees in wrongful termination lawsuits. Both employees were allegedly fired from the department after leaking information to the press, which was caught during an email trap from Walters and Langston, attempting to pick whistleblowers out of the department.
“Impeachment is in the eyes of the body,” said Rep. Andy Fugate (D-OKC). “So ultimately it would be 51 members of the House that would make the decision whether or not they would be grounds for impeachment.”

The state statute reads that elective state officers are subject to impeachment for: “willful neglect of duty, corruption in office, incompetency, or any offense involving moral turpitude committed while in office.”
“So just like with the federal government, impeachment in Oklahoma begins with the House of Representatives,” said Rep. Fugate. “It does require us to be in session, the governor can bring us into session to do that, or the legislature itself can call a special session for that purpose.”

The House would only need a simple majority vote in their chamber, or at least 50 percent of the votes.
“If there's only 80 members who show up, then it would take 40 + 1,” said Rep. Fugate.

If the House received the simple majority vote in their chamber, they would take the case to the Senate.
“The Chief Justice of the state of Oklahoma would serve as the presiding judge, and members of the House would bring the articles of impeachment and serve as prosecution,” said Rep. Fugate.

Minority floor leader Andy Fugate said the email trap, lawsuits, and other problems at OSDE are grounds for impeachment in his eyes.
“If those folks are reaching out to the legislature, for instance, or if they were serving in a whistleblower capacity and they were prevented from doing that, I would think those would certainly pass the sniff test for impeachment,” said Rep. Fugate.

While some democrats think they have enough to impeach Walters, many republicans say Walters isn’t to the level of impeachment at this point.
“I don't think it's a good fit for the state to impeach anybody if we can keep from it. Yeah, some things have been done wrong and there are some problems, but I don't think we're at that point yet,” said Rep. Mark McBride.

Representative McBride says he hopes that Walters can turn things around.
“I want the best for him. I would like to see him change his ways and maybe we could move forward,” said Rep. McBride.

https://www.news9.com/story/6477cf7608a04107df9eb314/impeachment-on-the-mind:-lawsuits-pile-up-against-ryan-walters

[patric]

When it comes to China, Walters’ information apparently originates from such right-wing outfits as Parents Defending Education, which released a report late last
month titled “Little Red Classroom: China’s Infiltration of American K-12 Schools.” The report includes Tulsa among seven school districts supposedly with “Chinese
government backed programming,” adding to the paranoia by noting they are “near 20 U.S. military bases.”

The Parents Defending Education report prompted a July 30 Daily Mail story headlined “Now China is Funding America’s Public Schools.” The article included a map of
the “School District with ‘Little Little Red Classrooms' Still in Operation.” They prominently include Tulsa Public Schools.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/oklahoma-schools-boss-ryan-walters-goes-around-the-bend-with-new-conspiracy-theory

[patric]

The FBI is investigating the misspending of federal funds meant to help Oklahoma children learn at home during the pandemic, law enforcement sources confirmed
Thursday.
A scathing state audit in June blamed Ryan Walters, now state schools superintendent, for failures that resulted in the misspending of Bridge the Gap funds.
Before taking office in January, Walters was executive director of that nonprofit. He also was Gov. Kevin Stitt's secretary of education.
https://www.oklahoman.com/story/news/2023/08/10/fbi-investigation-misspent-education-covid-money-ryan-walters-nonprofit/70570734007/

[patric]

This appears to be the game plan:


The decision to fire librarians and effectively close libraries in some of the city’s poorest schools has been the most contentious yet made by a new set of Houston public school leaders who were imposed on the district and its 187,000 mostly Black and Hispanic students this year by the administration of Gov. Greg Abbott.

The state of Texas this spring took over the Houston Independent School District, one of the nation’s largest school systems, and replaced its elected school board and the superintendent. The move had been years in the making, following chronic poor performance at some schools, past allegations of misconduct by school trustees and changes in state law — backed by a moderate Black Democrat from Houston — that made it easier for the state to take over school districts.

Since then, the new superintendent — a former Army Ranger, State Department diplomat and founder of a charter school network who has no official certification for the Houston job — has moved swiftly to adopt a new plan for educating the district’s children, focusing on rapidly improving reading and math scores in dozens of elementary and middle schools.

“The future is here, and we’re behind,” the superintendent, Mike Miles, said at a community meeting this month, describing persistent achievement gaps between Houston students and others around the state, and between the district’s Black and Hispanic students and their white classmates. “It means we have to do bold things now.”

State takeovers of troubled local school systems — a common occurrence around the country — have a mixed record of success, said Beth Schueler, a professor at the University of Virginia School of Education who has studied them. Those that succeeded were generally carried out in districts that were already among the nation’s lowest performing, she said, and on average they have had a neutral to negative effect.

“This is one of the largest takeovers we’ve had,” she said of Houston, and could provide a pathway for others to follow, or to avoid.

As the takeover began this year, many parents and teachers in Houston, a strongly Democratic city, complained about the loss of input into their schools, and worried that the ultimate goal of state Republican leaders was to undermine support for public education and drive Houston parents to charter or private schools.

But others, including parents and several of the replaced board members, said the district had not done enough to educate students in its struggling schools and urged patience with the new leadership.

The takeover started in the spring, as Mr. Abbott, a Republican and charter school supporter, was crisscrossing Texas to promote the use of state money for private school vouchers. The governor said his push for “parental empowerment” was separate from the Houston takeover, which he has called for since at least 2019. The Texas education commissioner, Mike Morath, has said the takeover was necessary to quickly address needed changes at the poorest-performing schools, despite improvements made even before the takeover. The district last year earned a “B” grade from the state.

With the first day of school approaching on Aug. 28, critics of the takeover have grown louder. This month, more than 200 people gathered in protest outside the district’s headquarters. “Houston Occupied School District,” read one sign. “Even prisons have libraries,” read another.

“It doesn’t feel right,” said Jessica Campos, 41, a parent at Pugh Elementary, a Spanish dual-language school slated for immediate changes. “I lose sleep over this.  It’s a serious thing. These are our children and we’re not having a say in our children’s education, and that is not OK.”

Under the plan, libraries in some schools would become “team rooms,” which may be a bit of a misnomer, a department spokesman acknowledged: Though some students could work in teams, those sent there for disrupting class would be expected to spend their time at individual desks, watching their classes on laptops.

Mr. Miles has said that given limited space and resources, the decision was a trade-off and that students in schools where libraries have been converted into team rooms would still be able to borrow books before or after school.

Still, Sylvester Turner, Houston’s mayor, said the effort risked creating two systems.
“He’s gone too far, and he’s dismantling the largest educational district in the state of Texas,” Mr. Turner said of Mr. Miles during a City Council hearing last month. “You cannot have a situation where you are closing libraries for some schools in certain neighborhoods, and there are other neighborhoods where there are libraries, fully equipped. What the hell are you doing?”

The political tensions come at a particularly raw moment in Texas as the Republican-dominated Legislature tries to constrain Democratic-led cities on a variety of fronts, limiting local power to create city-specific ordinances, curtailing efforts at criminal justice reform and, in Austin, dispatching state troopers to patrol streets.

The takeover also coincided with a national conservative movement to change the direction of public schools, promoting candidates to run for local school boards and pressing for limits on the teaching of race and gender, and the types of books held in school libraries.

That backdrop has convinced some parents and educators in Houston that the takeover is politically motivated.

The local school board has been firmly in Democratic control. But with the takeover, its members no longer have any power, replaced by a board of managers appointed by the Texas Education Agency. In one case, a school board member was replaced by the losing candidate in the last election.
“It’s devastating,” said that replaced member, Elizabeth Santos. “They tried to defeat me and failed. Then Greg Abbott and Mike Morath put her in.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/13/us/texas-houston-schools-libraries-takeover.html