from the mideducation dept
We’ve talked a lot about Ryan Walters recently, mostly because he keeps forgetting that the United States Constitution applies to him and his state. Between his attempt to inject Christian theocracy into the public school system while enriching Dear Leader Trump or his fight with his own board members in the wake of some mild porn showing up on a screen in a boardroom, this is a man who seems to enjoy making waves.
And lawsuits, too, it seems. Tim Cushing wrote about how Walters snuck some language last minute into a mandate that was voted on and approved by the Board of Education, requiring teachers in OK public schools to teach children about conspiracy theories around the 2020 election and to teach that COVID-19 came from a Chinese laboratory. Between that and the injection of religion into secular classrooms, this of course resulted in a lawsuit and the latest in that litigation is that the OK Supreme Court has ordered that Walters’ mandate be put on hold.
The state’s high court issued a temporary stay on Monday while a lawsuit filed by a group of parents and educators challenging the new standards is being litigated. The court’s order directs the State Department of Education to keep the previous social studies standards in place while the case is being decided.
“This is a victory for transparency, fairness, and the constitutional rights of all Oklahomans,” said Brent Rowland, legal director of Oklahoma Appleseed, which is helping to represent the plaintiffs. “The authority to govern comes with accountability for making decisions in the full view of the people the government serves.”
Now you would think that Walters’ reaction to all of this would be to claim that the court got it wrong. That he wasn’t trying to inject Christian theocracy into secular schools. That this wasn’t a partisan matter. That this was all some misreading of his curriculum mandate.
Instead, well…
In a statement Tuesday, Walters said the Supreme Court was “embarrassing” and out of step with most Oklahomans.
“Christianity, American exceptionalism, and conservative values are under attack and the Oklahoma Supreme Court is leading the assault,” Walters said of the nine-member court, six of whom were appointed by Republican governors.
Yes, yes, the conservative court of a conservative state is part of an attack on conservative values. Makes all the sense in the world. And it is Christianity that is on offer in the classroom, if that is what the court is “attacking.” Every accusation, as it goes, is an admission.
At some point Walters’ No True Scotsman routine is going to piss off enough people that he’s going to get himself booted from office. How that hasn’t happened yet, though, is beyond me.
Filed Under: board of education, conspiracies, curriculum, oklahoma, ryan walters
