Who’s afraid of state Superintendent Ryan Walters? Legislative leadership clearly is. Or perhaps it’s more accurate to say they’re afraid of Walters’ voters, who wield outsize influence in low-turnout Republican primaries.

That became abundantly clear last week when the Legislature’s GOP supermajority let stand Walters’ demagogic social studies standards without even a full airing or vote in either chamber. Oklahoma students now will be indoctrinated with MAGA revisionist history that includes election denialism – all because lawmakers prioritized their political careers over the interests of 700,000 students.

For this week’s Observercast – Academic Standards For The Pre-Modern Age – Senate Democratic Leader Julia Kirt helps unpack the Legislature’s unconscionable refusal to serve as a check-and-balance on Walters’ extremism – and what anti-public education measures remain alive entering the 2025 session’s final month.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS