2 days Ago By Adria Goins/KFOR
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – Oklahoma Senate Pro Tem Lonnie Paxton (R-Tuttle) said the Senate would not consider a joint resolution against the new social studies guidelines by the May 1st deadline.Paxton, along with Senate Education Committee Chair Sen. Adam Pugh (R-Edmond), filed SJR 20 last week.
It asked lawmakers to take a second look at social studies standards, approved by the Oklahoma State Board of Education. It also questioned the $33 million price tag for taxpayers for new textbooks and the lack of transparency on the approval process of the new guidelines.Last week, three State Department of Education board members said they had “no idea” about last-minute changes to the standard.
They called it a “bait and switch,” which Walters denied."That's simply not true,” said Walters during last week’s board meeting. “That is a lie.
”Board clashes with Supt. Walters over social studies standardsPaxton sent News 4 a statement Tuesday about why his resolution was not heard.Following a lengthy conversation Monday, the caucus was not on board with rejecting the standards based on the process which they were presented to the board of education.
Oklahoma Senate Pro Tem Lonnie Paxton (R-Tuttle)KFOR has learned that Walters was present during Monday’s Senate Republican Caucus meeting.The resolution was one of three filed concerning the curriculum; two in the Senate and one in the House.In order for lawmakers to meet Thursday’s deadline, a resolution would have had to be heard and voted on in both chambers.
"If we're not concerned enough to put that on the agenda and take a vote on it, that deeply disturbs me about the business of the Senate," said Senate Minority Leader Julia Kirt (D-Oklahoma City).Some lawmakers have questioned the contents of the social studies standards. They have said the proposed curriculum was factually inaccurate on several topics, including the 2020 election and the COVID pandemic.
Legislators have also said the standards contain subjects that were not age-appropriate for each grade level. On Tuesday, Senate Democrats used every avenue possible on the floor to stall, hoping to convince the other side of the aisle to hear the resolution."We're seeing Republicans unwilling to stand up to Superintendent Walters, even when the evidence is there, even when people across the state are asking us to take another look and make sure these are correct for what we teach kids across the state," said Kirt.
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