LGBTQ2S+ activists try to circumvent Oklahoma law

Oklahoma's colleges of education and the state’s largest teachers union "are in the vanguard of promoting transgenderism to children, even in the lower grades," Steve Byas writes.

OEA advises teachers to hide information from parents

"In recent years, Oklahoma lawmakers have voted to restrict access to school bathrooms based on sex, and have voted to prevent males from competing in girls’ sports as transgender females," Ray Carter reports. 

But even with those laws on the books, a guidebook provided by the Oklahoma Education Association (OEA) to its members advises teachers to do the opposite. That same guidance also advises teachers on ways to keep parents in the dark if a child expresses interest in a transgender identity, apparently even in situations where the child is in pre-K and/or has intellectual disabilities.

'Why does the NEA want kids to learn butthole-licking?'

It's a good question Rod Dreher is asking.

Lankford denounces NEA as union touts its Oklahoma influence

"U.S. Sen. James Lankford has denounced a National Education Association (NEA) proposal to compile what he calls an 'enemies list' of groups that have opposed Critical Race Theory in schools and similar left-wing agendas," Ray Carter reports.

At teacher union conventions, indoctrination eclipses education

OEA members are pictured here in 2019 with NEA president Lily Eskelsen García.

"As a teacher, I attended the National Education Association convention last week, and my worst fears were confirmed," Brenda Lebsack writes this week. For example, Mike Antonucci adds, convention delegates committed the NEA "to take a number of specific actions in support of abortion rights."

Meanwhile, "proposed resolutions under consideration at the annual convention for the American Federation of Teachers this week include vows to support critical race theory, classroom discussions on gender identity and sexual orientation, and demands for student loan forgiveness," Jeremiah Poff reports. Or as our communist friends over at People's World report: "Impeach three Trump Justices, and kill filibuster, AFT resolutions demand."

OEA tacitly admits CRT is in Oklahoma schools

Ray Carter has the story.

NEA/OEA admits anti-CRT law does not ban teaching history

Ray Carter has the story.

OEA hides symposium videos

"The Oklahoma Education Association (OEA) has removed videos from its website that allowed the public to view content presented during the Oklahoma Aspiring Educators Association’s Racial and Social Justice Symposium," Ray Carter reports. "The OEA removed the videos following a series of articles published by the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs (OCPA) that highlighted presentations made during the symposium, and the removal of the videos has occurred even as presenters have publicly said the articles provided an accurate portrayal of the event."

Union panelists: Learning-loss concerns a form of white supremacy

You literally can't make this stuff up.

Teachers’ union officials denounce police at Oklahoma symposium

"Several speakers at the Oklahoma Aspiring Educators Association’s recent Racial and Social Justice Symposium encouraged the next generation of state teachers to view police and school-security officers as tools of white supremacy," Ray Carter reports.

‘Only white people can be racist’: Union officials call for purge of teacher workforce

"Would-be school teachers at the Oklahoma Aspiring Educators Association’s recent Racial and Social Justice Symposium were told that both public schools and many of the teachers within them are tools of white supremacy," Ray Carter reports. "But featured speakers at the online event offered a solution: Purge the teaching profession of many of its current members, who are majority white."

State-sanctioned racism in Oklahoma classrooms

[Guest post by Jonathan Small]

Throughout the debate over Critical Race Theory, or CRT, education officials have insisted CRT is not part of classroom instruction. Now the National Education Association (NEA), the parent organization of Oklahoma’s largest teachers’ union, has made clear that was a lie.

At the NEA’s recent annual meeting and representative assembly, delegates voted to promote and support CRT in the classroom. One business item explicitly called for “increasing the implementation” of Critical Race Theory and similar material in “curriculum in pre-K-12 and higher education.”

Another measure required the union to “identify, compile, and share” existing “decolonizing the curriculum” resources with “educators seeking to be anti-racist in their classrooms.” Another item called on the union to share and publicize “information already available on critical race theory” and have “a team of staffers” dedicated to helping union members “fight back against anti-CRT rhetoric.” That proposal also required the union to make clear the union’s members “oppose attempts to ban critical race theory and/or The 1619 Project.”

You don’t devote that much time, effort, and resources to defending and promoting something that doesn’t exist.

Fortunately, Oklahoma lawmakers have taken a stand against Critical Race Theory in public schools. A new state law, House Bill 1775, bans Oklahoma public schools from teaching concepts associated with CRT, including that “an individual, by virtue of his or her race or sex, is inherently racist, sexist or oppressive” and should therefore face discrimination.

The focus now shifts to effective enforcement, which requires swift action by the State Board of Education. The board must approve agency regulations that will guide how the State Department of Education addresses instances in which teachers ignore the law. As chair of the board, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Joy Hofmeister controls the state board’s agenda and should make certain this issue is addressed.

Critics continue to insist Critical Race Theory is not part of classroom instruction in Oklahoma schools. But some Oklahoma teachers and administrators have publicly signed petitions vowing they will ignore HB 1775’s prohibitions.

Again, if you’re not teaching students that they are “inherently racist, sexist, or oppressive” based on their skin color or gender, why would obeying HB 1775 be objectionable?

Given the NEA’s open embrace of Critical Race Theory and the insistence of some Oklahoma teachers that they will disregard a law saying children should not be taught that individuals “should be discriminated against or receive adverse treatment solely or partly because of his or her race or sex,” it is undeniable that the threat of government-sanctioned racism in the classroom is a reality.

Our nation has made great strides in race relations since its founding. To allow CRT in the classroom would surrender those gains and dishonor the memory of countless Americans of all races who led the way on civil rights.

Biden no excuse for inaction in Oklahoma

Joe Biden and OEA president Alicia Priest

[Guest post by Jonathan Small]

Joe Biden’s inauguration means Democrats now hold narrow control of Congress and the presidency. But it does not mean advocates for freedom have no way to impact policy.

Even when the far-left holds power in Washington, the states remain the place where innovative policy advances are most likely to occur. That should prompt advocates for freedom to redouble their efforts here in Oklahoma.

This would be true at the start of any presidential term, but it’s especially important this year as the disruption created by COVID-19 and the gaping flaws it exposed in our state systems have created public demand for change.

For example, the lack of consistent, quality, in-person instruction in public schools has fueled strong demand for parent choice in education. That will bolster Oklahomans’ influence in urging lawmakers to offer all parents a “ticket out.” Whether a parent wants a new option because their child’s geographically assigned school is little more than a supplier of ultra-“woke” indoctrination, isn’t sufficiently academically preparing kids, or because it will not reopen due to teacher union opposition, all parents deserve options.

The path to reclaiming power at the federal government lies in proving the superiority of your ideas at the levels of government you do control. That means advocates for freedom who are worried about what happens in Washington, D.C., need to be just as concerned about what’s happening “under the dome” in Oklahoma City.

Stitt addresses real need with education plan

Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt and Lt. Gov. Matt Pinnell are pictured here outside the state Capitol with students and staff from Crossover Preparatory Academy after the State of the State address on February 3, 2020.

[Guest post by Jonathan Small]

Governor Kevin Stitt’s background as a businessman is often apparent in his understanding of financial realities that traditional politicians ignore. Hence, the governor’s willingness to save, rather than spend, much of last year’s budget surplus.

But Stitt’s “Stay in School” initiative highlights another benefit of his private-sector expertise: the governor’s understanding that Oklahoma cannot afford to squander human capital.

Stitt’s plan uses $10 million in federal COVID funding to help low-income families served by private schools. More than 1,500 Oklahoma families will be able to access $6,500 apiece to attend private schools.

Contrary to teacher-union wailing, Stitt isn’t “starving” public schools in the process. The $10 million is a small share of the state’s overall $360 million in federal funding designated for education response to COVID-19.

But even if that wasn’t the case, there’s good reason to praise Stitt’s bold leadership. A longstanding problem in Oklahoma (and nationwide) is the existence of a huge academic achievement gap between low-income students in the urban core and their counterparts from higher-income households.

That gap is often a canyon. To cite just one brutal example, just 22 male African American senior students finished Tulsa Public Schools college-ready in 2015, based on ACT testing. Not 22 percent, mind you, but 22 young men—period.

That gap exists not because those children are somehow incapable of learning, but because the system fails them. And experts agree the COVID shutdown last spring made things worse. Across Oklahoma, many schools effectively stopped teaching in March. Higher-income families could afford to offset that loss with private tutoring or the purchase of quality online programing, but lower-income students were often left to fend for themselves.

Often—but not always.

Some of Oklahoma’s private schools had stepped up to the plate long before anyone had heard of COVID. Crossover Preparatory Academy serves mostly working-class minority male students in grades six through nine in north Tulsa. Those students continued to learn even after public schools effectively shut down. So did homeless children served by Positive Tomorrows in Oklahoma City and the low-income, predominantly minority students served by Cristo Rey OKC Catholic High School.

Students at all three of those schools are expected to benefit from Stitt’s “Stay in School” initiative.

In contrast, many of Oklahoma’s urban schools are expected to remain closed and offer only online learning for at least nine weeks of this school year. An analysis by consultants at McKinsey and Company estimated that if in-class instruction does not resume until January 2021, low-income students will lose more than a full year of learning because of poor quality or non-existent online instruction.

The “COVID slide” has been called the “summer slide on steroids.” Stitt’s plan provides real hope to needy families who would otherwise be dragged down by that academic avalanche.

The Bee can really sting

Not Satisfied With Just Having Summers Off, Teachers Push For Fall, Winter, Spring https://t.co/A0j71Rb6FI

— The Babylon Bee (@TheBabylonBee) July 20, 2020

Are teachers unions' reactions to coronavirus accidentally creating school choice?

"Paradoxically," writes Lindsey Burke, "the teachers unions may be enabling the free-market, parent-driven reform of K-12 education to unfold."

Teacher unions seek police ouster from schools

"Teacher unions are among those now seeking to have police evicted from public schools as activists decry those officers’ presence as a sign of 'systemic racism,'" Ray Carter reports.

Many Oklahoma teachers and union activists ❤ Breadline Bernie

"Bernie Sanders, the self-described 'democratic socialist' running for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination, has long courted Oklahoma teachers," Ray Carter reports. "Public records suggest that, for many teachers, the admiration is mutual."

Lawmakers prop up OEA/NEA despite radicalism

If transgender reading day occurs at your child’s school, don’t just blame the OEA/NEA. Ask the Oklahoma Republicans who control the state legislature why they continue to preserve the union’s grip on local schools.

Stark difference in views of children

Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt and Lt. Gov. Matt Pinnell are pictured here outside the state Capitol with students and staff from Crossover Preparatory Academy after the State of the State address on February 3, 2020.

[Guest post by Jonathan Small]

In education debates, some people see children whose lives can be immeasurably improved, while others see children only as tools to gain political power. This sad contrast became glaringly apparent during Gov. Kevin Stitt’s recent State of the State speech.

Stitt urged lawmakers to raise the cap on the Oklahoma Equal Opportunity Education Scholarship program in order to “provide additional incentives for donors, resulting in more public-school grants and private-school scholarships.”

In attendance were Alegra Williams and her sons, Sincere and Chaves. When Sincere attended a local public school, he struggled and officials told Williams he had learning disabilities. But when a tax-credit scholarship allowed Sincere to attend Crossover Preparatory Academy, an all-boys private school in north Tulsa, Sincere jumped two-and-a-half reading levels. Crossover officials found he has no learning disabilities. Similarly, Chaves jumped three reading grade levels. Tax-credit scholarships allowed both boys to attend Crossover.

In touting his support for raising the cap on the tax-credit scholarship program, Stitt called on lawmakers to “join me and their mom in applauding” Chaves and Sincere’s “hard work this year.” When he did, the official Twitter account of the Oklahoma Education Association complained that Stitt had “called for a standing ovation of a family that left public schools for a private.”

For the OEA and similar entities, the success of children like Chaves and Sincere cannot be cheered. They view such children’s success only as a loss of political power. The OEA’s action was reminiscent of congressional Democrats’ refusal to applaud record-low unemployment for racial minorities and blue-collar income gains during President Donald Trump’s recent State of the Union address.

Trump, by the way, echoed Stitt and endorsed a federal version of Oklahoma’s Equal Opportunity Education Scholarship Act in his speech, saying the “next step forward in building an inclusive society is making sure that every young American gets a great education and the opportunity to achieve the American dream. Yet, for too long, countless American children have been trapped in failing government schools.”

Supporting tax-credit scholarships and children like Sincere does not mean abandoning efforts to improve traditional public schools. Given that Oklahoma’s educational outcomes remain among the nation’s worst, we cannot afford to ignore those schools. But neither can we afford to squander children’s lives by telling them to expend their limited school years waiting for traditional schools to get their act together.

Like the Soviet Union’s old “five year plans,” the “turnaround” efforts of many local districts lead only to calls for more multi-year improvement programs. In the meantime, all 13 years of a child’s K-12 experience fly by and those youth are robbed of a quality education.

Even if the OEA doesn’t understand this, Governor Stitt and President Trump realize we are talking about children’s lives and Oklahoma’s future. For both to be brighter, Oklahoma lawmakers must side with Stitt and Trump, not the OEA.