What's Ryan Walters really want, because all he's doing now is getting ignored?
List of districts in open defiance of state superintendent just keeps getting longer
What’s Ryan Walters’ play?
Is it money and fame?
Is it actually changing the educational infrastructure and curriculum in Oklahoma and beyond?
Is it to be wined and dined by the conservative elite in this country, because if there’s one thing his June 27 directive that Oklahoma school districts make the Bible part of their curriculum beginning in the fifth grade has done is get him booked on conservative media where they fall all over him for attempting to put Jesus and the Ten Commandments into every classroom.
I can’t figure it out because all our state superintendent of public instruction is really doing is managing to embarrass himself at every turn.
If you read my stuff often you may recall some advice I offered state school districts following Walters’ directive.
It went something like this:
Tell him “No.”
Maybe tell him “Hell no.”
Tell him it’s not happening.
That is, school districts across the state should band together, attorneys in tow, media in the room, local and national, and throw down the gauntlet, announcing they have no plans to accede to Walters’ directives, explaining the attorney general says they don’t have to, ditto for the constitutions, state and U.S., and, furthermore, they’re tired of the state superintendent standing in the way of education rather than advocating for it, and if the state legislature doesn’t have the cojones to rein in Walters and his indoctrination team, they certainly do, because they’re the schools, the last line of defense, and defend their students they will. They could even announce, in the face of accreditation threats, they’d like to see him try.
Well, two things about that.
I probably can’t take a whole lot of credit for what’s happened since because the first district to take my advice, Norman Public Schools, did it so fast I’m not sure superintendent Nick Migliorino had the opportunity to see my words before responding to the directive.
And, if I’m honest, the districts do not appear to be banding together, have not organized press conferences and have not dared Walters to threaten their accreditation.
What they are clearly doing, however, is drawing strength from each other and saying no. They’re choosing different ways to say it, but they’re saying it.
Here was Migliorino’s money quote.
“I’m just going to cut to the chase on that. Norman Public Schools is not going to have Bibles in our classrooms and we’re not going to require our teachers to teach from the Bible. The standards are clear and our curriculum is very clear and we’re not going to deviate from that.”
Then he said it again.
“We’re going to follow the law, we’re going to provide a great opportunity for our students, we’re going to do right by our students and right by our teachers and we’re not going to have Bibles in the classroom.”
So take that.
Next, it was Moore and Stillwater’s turn to say no to Walters, even if they tried doing it more gently.
Stillwater Public Schools, through a spokesperson, said the following.
“Knowing that there is disagreement at the state level, we are waiting for that legal matter to be resolved. At this time, we have no plans to place Bibles in classrooms or incorporate Bible lessons into any curriculum.”
About the same time, Moore superintendent Robert Romines posted a letter to social media saying, among other things, this:
“MPS students have been and will continue to be allowed to bring their own religious texts, including the Bible, and additionally, are not prohibited from using their library access and/or district-provided technology devices to access religious texts.
“However, it is important to clarify that while students learn about religion's role in historical and cultural contexts, teaching any specific religious doctrine or practice is not a part of the current standards.
“Our goal is to continue providing a respectful environment that acknowledges various perspectives while adhering to the set and approved Oklahoma educational standards.”
That was just the beginning.
Now, Owasso’s out, Jenks is out, Bixby’s out, Deer Creek’s out and Yukon’s out, too.
Owasso Public Schools released a statement that said, in part, this:
“The curriculum currently used by Owasso Public Schools is fully aligned with the approved Oklahoma Academic Standards and we will continue to adhere to the curriculum and instructional materials previously adopted by the district. As a public school system, it is crucial that we maintain neutrality and objectivity in our curriculum and instructional practices.”
Jenks issued a statement that said, in part, this:
“Jenks Public Schools will continue to use our current curriculum and approved resources aligned to the Oklahoma Academic Standards approved by the Oklahoma State Legislature. Jenks Public Schools has no plans to change course from our current materials.”
In a weekly email to parents, Bixby superintendent Rob Miller offered this:
“In summary, the district agrees with Mr. Walters on the importance of studying the role of religion in historical and cultural contexts. However, we also maintain that teaching any specific religious doctrine or ideology is not part of the current state standards. Therefore, we affirm our decision to keep our current BPS curriculum unchanged, providing continuity and stability for our students and staff.”
In time for a story posted early Wednesday morning, Deer Creek superintendent Jason Perez told The Oklahoman, simply …
“There is not an expectation that teachers in Deer Creek will be teaching directly from the Bible in the foreseeable future.”
In that same story, under Murray Evans’ byline, part of a statement provided by the Yukon district read like this:
“As a district, we are committed to following our district approved curriculum. Schools are able to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of religion’s role in human history and culture while respecting the beliefs in our community.”
That may not sound like a rebuke, but it is, the district proclaiming its curriculum, not Walters’, will hold sway
Even if Oklahoma’s schools were eager to jump into the theocracy game and couldn’t wait to teach the Bible in every classroom fifth grade and up, they couldn’t possibly because Walters’ state department of education has yet to offer any guidance on incorporating the text into lesson plans.
Nonetheless, the department remains a broken record.
Dan Isett, entrusted with the department’s media relations, told The Oklahoman this:
“Every Oklahoma student will receive instruction in the Bible in its proper historical and cultural context. Some districts may not like it, but they will comply.”
According to who, no they won’t, and isn’t it funny when itinerant moronic radically impossible nut jobs like Walters and his crew think they can make something true just by saying it over and over again.
The offending and righteous districts are some of the state’s largest.
According to the average daily membership numbers used by the Oklahoma State Secondary School Activities Association for classification purposes during the 2023-2024 academic year, those districts encompass the fourth, fifth, sixth, ninth, 10th, 12th, 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th and 22nd largest high schools in the state.
That is, Jenks has about 3,500 students in grades nine through twelve, Owasso has about 3,000, Yukon about 2,800, Moore about 2,500, Westmoore about 2,500, Norman North about 2,300, Bixby about 2,100, Norman High about 2,100, Southmoore about 2,000, Deer Creek about 2,000 and Stillwater about 1,700.
Also, it should be noted, none of the above districts should be referred to as “blue” districts. Norman might be purple, but that’s it, and still they’re defying Walters and his education department, standing in the breach of a hostile takeover of Oklahoma’s public schools while the legislature sits on its hands.
What happens next?
Walters has already received his conservative media mileage and will likely be afforded more.
Perhaps it winds up in the courts, even the Supreme Court, yet that might mean Walters serving another term in his post which seems increasingly unlikely.
Maybe we’ll go on like nothing happened.
But in the very near future, perhaps before you read this, another district and another and another is bound to jump on board, making Walters looks even smaller, dumber, simpler and more ridiculous than he previously appeared, which is hard to do.
Undoubtedly, he’ll do it again.
Thank you for reporting the schools that are ignoring his “MANdates.”