Oklahoma's new \
www.usatoday.com
Oklahoma will require teachers from NY, CA to prove they back 'America First'
Oklahoma's new "America First" teacher certification test will require educators from California and New York to agree with conservative curriculum.
Kayla Jimenez
USA TODAY
Teachers from California and New York who want to work in Oklahoma public schools will be required to pass a certification test to prove they share the state's conservative political values.
Regardless of the subject or grade they teach, they'll have to show they know "the biological differences between females and males" and that they agree with the state's American history standards, which includes elements of a conspiracy theory that the Democratic Party stole the 2020 presidential election from President Donald Trump, which fact checkers have said are false.
The state Department of Education will implement the new certification test for teachers from the two largest Democrat-led states "who are teaching things that are antithetical to our standards" to ensure newcomers "are not coming into our classrooms and indoctrinating kids," Oklahoma schools Superintendent Ryan Walters, said in an interview with USA TODAY.
Oklahoma will require teachers from NY, CA to prove they back 'America First'
Oklahoma's new "America First" teacher certification test will require educators from California and New York to agree with conservative curriculum.
Teachers from California and New York who want to work in Oklahoma public schools will be required to pass a certification test to prove they share the state's conservative political values.
Regardless of the subject or grade they teach, they'll have to show they know "the biological differences between females and males" and that they agree with the state's American history standards, which includes elements of a conspiracy theory that the Democratic Party stole the 2020 presidential election from President Donald Trump, which fact checkers have said are false.
The state Department of Education will implement the new certification test for teachers from the two largest Democrat-led states "who are teaching things that are antithetical to our standards" to ensure newcomers "are not coming into our classrooms and indoctrinating kids," Oklahoma schools Superintendent Ryan Walters, said in an interview with USA TODAY.
Walters has dubbed the new requirement an "America First" certification, in reference to one of Trump's political slogans.
Oklahoma's Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt appointed Walters, a Republican, to the helm of the state's Department of Education in September 2020 and voters then elected him for a second term in November 2022.
Oklahoma is offering teaching bonuses that go up to $50,000 to attract teachers from across the nation and has seen "a dramatic increase in teachers wanting to come to Oklahoma," Walters said. The new test is meant to ensure they weed out teachers with opposing views from the state's standards. The state, like many others, has a persisting teacher shortage.
"A lot of the credit goes to Gavin Newsom," Walters said. He alleged California under the governor has implemented lessons on "gender theory," and that won't be allowed in Oklahoma schools. (The California Healthy Youth Act, passed in 2016, requires that public school lessons across the state "must be inclusive of LGBTQ students" and same-sex relationships and teach students about "gender, gender expression, gender identity, and explore the harm of negative gender stereotypes" and "about all sexual orientations and what being LGBTQ means.")
State schools Superintendent Ryan Walters speaks during a GOP watch party on election night in Oklahoma City, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024.
Oklahoma's 'America First' test
Nonprofit conservative media company Prager U is helping Oklahoma's state department of education develop the test.
The company previously helped develop the state's new high school history curriculum standards, which includes lessons on how to dissect the results of the 2020 election, including learning about alleged mail-in voter fraud, "an unforeseen record number of voters" and "security risks of mail-in balloting."
The new curriculum also teaches the contested theory that COVID-19 emerged from a lab leak and removed a prior proposal for lessons about George Floyd's murder and Black Lives Matter.
"These reforms will reset our classrooms back to educating our children without liberal indoctrination," Walters wrote in a post on X on April 29. "We’re proud to defend these standards, and we will continue to stand up for honest, pro-America education in every classroom."
The state superintendent said some of the history questions will about American government, how the nation came to be and its founding documents.
Walters' office shared five sample questions with USA TODAY:
What are the first three words of the Constitution?A. In God We TrustB. Life, Liberty, HappinessC. The United StatesD. We the People
Why is freedom of religion important to America’s identity?A. It makes Christianity the national religionB. It bans all forms of public worshipC. It limits religious teaching in public lifeD. It protects religious choice from government control
What are the two parts of the U.S. Congress?A. House of Lords and CommonsB. Courts and SenateC. Executive and LegislativeD. Senate and House of Representatives
How many U.S. Senators are there?A. 435B. 110C. 50D. 100
Why do some states have more Representatives than others?A. They cover a larger geographic area.B. They have held statehood for a longer period.C. The number is determined by military presence.D. Representation is determined by population size.
Walters said that the test would be finished by Aug. 15 and that it will be available to prospective teachers the week of Aug. 18.
"We're very close," he said.
Oklahoma schools have become more conservative after Walters took the helm of the state's Education Department in September 2020, and voters elected him for a second term in November 2022. Along with the changes to the state's history curriculum standards, Walters has ordered public schools to teach the Bible in June 2024. Bible lessons will not be on the new teacher certification exam, he said.
Teachers' union leaders: Test will be 'a huge turn off' to teachers amid 'serious teacher shortage crisis'
Teachers' union leaders decried the new certification test in interviews with USA TODAY.
Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, said Walters' new test is going to be a "huge turn off" to teachers and that it's not "going to solve a problem."
Continued..
apnews.com
