Oklahoma
Oklahoma public school students could soon earn credit through ‘Satanic Temple Academy’
OKLAHOMA CITY (KSWO) – The Satanic Temple is once again announcing plans for the Sooner State after a bill was sent to the governor’s desk which could allow students to receive class credits for religious and moral instruction off school campuses.
House Bill 1425 would force school districts to adopt a policy which allows students to go off-campus to attend a religious or moral instruction course taught by an independent entity. The student would be allowed to miss up to three class periods per week to attend such a course.
Instructors of these courses would not need to be licensed or certified teachers.
The bill’s language also states students would not be able to miss classes at their school in which the subject matter is open to assessment requirements. The student’s parents or guardians would have to provide written consent in order for the student to take the outside course.
School district funds, other than administrative costs, would not be involved in the outside instruction, according to the bill.
In response to the bill being one step away from becoming the state’s newest law, The Satanic Temple is highlighting their own learning academy that Oklahoma students could use to possibly earn school credit.
In a post on social media, the religious group stated their Hellion Academy of Independent Learning (HAIL) could soon be available for Oklahoma students.
“The Satanic Temple believes that public schools should be free from religious influence,” the post said. “We are, however, prepared to ensure our members’ children receive the same opportunities as those participating in other religion’s programs. By not vetoing HB 1425, Governor Stitt will allow the state to grant elective credit for religious and morality classes taught by The Satanic Temple, making it possible for parents to invite TST’s HAIL program to their local public schools as soon as this fall.”
The post ended with the group asking if Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt will be the first to award school credit for courses taught by The Satanic Temple.
In order for the course to be considered for credit, the course would have to evaluated based on the following secular criteria:
- The amount of classroom instruction time;
- The course syllabus, which reflects the course requirements and any materials used in the course;
- Methods of assessment used in the course; and
- The qualifications of the course instructor.
While The Satanic Temple does not believe in the actual existence of Satan or even the supernatural, they do consider themselves a religion that is divorced from superstition. The group is even already a federally recognized religious organization.
Their seven fundamental tenets are the following:
| Tenet Number | Tenet Language |
|---|---|
| 1 | One should strive to act with compassion and empathy toward all creatures in accordance with reason. |
| 2 | The struggle for justice is an ongoing and necessary pursuit that should prevail over laws and institutions. |
| 3 | One’s body is inviolable, subject to one’s own will alone. |
| 4 | The freedoms of others should be respected, including the freedom to offend. To willfully and unjustly encroach upon the freedoms of another is to forgo one’s own. |
| 5 | Beliefs should conform to one’s best scientific understanding of the world. One should take care never to distort scientific facts to fit one’s beliefs. |
| 6 | People are fallible. If one makes a mistake, one should do one’s best to rectify it and resolve any harm that might have been caused. |
| 7 | Every tenet is a guiding principle designed to inspire nobility in action and thought. The spirit of compassion, wisdom, and justice should always prevail over the written or spoken word. |
This bill is aimed at public schools, and there is a provision within the it stating charter schools would not be affected by the measure.
Found out how your Southwest-based elected officials voted on this bill below:
| Elected Official | Vote |
|---|---|
| Rep. Boles (R-Marlow) | Against |
| Rep. Trey Caldwell (R-Lawton) | Against |
| Rep. Hasenbeck (R-Elgin) | For |
| Rep. Kendrix (R-Altus) | For |
| Rep. McEntire (R-Duncan) | Against |
| Rep. Pae (R-Lawton) | Against |
| Rep. Worthen (R-Lawton) | Against |
| Sen. Deevers (R-Elgin) | For |
| Sen. Garvin (R-Duncan) | For |
| Sen. Howard (R-Altus) | For |
| Sen. Jech (R-Kingfisher) | For |
| Sen. Kidd (R-Waurika) | For |
Copyright 2024 KSWO. All rights reserved.
OU fans hoping to make it to either diamond on Friday will need to get there earlier than expected.
Oklahoma announced on Thursday that its baseball and softball series openers will each begin at 5:30 p.m on Friday.
Game 1 of the No. 14 Sooners’ baseball series against Missouri was scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m., while the No. 1 softball team’s series opener against No. 8 Arkansas was slated for 7 p.m.
In a pair of releases on OU’s athletic website, the reason given for both time changes was “forecasted inclement weather.” According to the National Weather Service, severe weather is supposed to arrive in Norman and its surrounding areas around 8 p.m.
OU’s other baseball games against the Tigers on Saturday and Sunday will remain at their scheduled times (4 p.m. and 2 p.m., respectively). The softball games scheduled for Saturday and Sunday will remain at 7 p.m. and 1 p.m., respectively.
The baseball team’s three-game duel with Mizzou will be OU’s third home series of SEC play. Oklahoma opened conference play by taking two games of three against Texas A&M before dropping two of three to Alabama a few weeks later.
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OU has already played three SEC road series. The Sooners won two games of three at LSU in March before getting swept at Texas a week later. Most recently — last week — Oklahoma won two games against Vanderbilt in Nashville.
Oklahoma (24-12 overall, 7-8 SEC) sits in a five-way tie for ninth place in the SEC standings alongside Mississippi State, Kentucky, Tennessee and Vanderbilt.
Missouri, on the other hand, has played its way out of contention.
The Tigers come to Norman 20-17 and 3-12. They earned a road series win against Kentucky two weeks ago, but they followed that up with three losses in a row to fellow conference bottom feeder South Carolina last week. Mizzou has been swept three times — by Auburn, Texas A&M and the Gamecocks — since the start of SEC play.
On the softball side, Oklahoma is ranked No. 1 after taking two games of three against former top-ranked squad Texas. The Sooners, though, dropped their third game in Austin before falling to unranked Oklahoma State at Devon Park in Oklahoma City on Wednesday.
The Sooners are 40-5 overall and 13-2 in conference play. OU currently sits atop the SEC standings, one game ahead of second-place Alabama.
Arkansas comes into the series at Love’s Field on a heater. The Razorbacks (35-6, 10-5) have won six of their last seven contests. Their only series loss of conference play this year came against Alabama, which is ranked No. 3.
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TULSA, Okla. (KOKH) — One person has been arrested after allegedly trying to sell stolen property on Facebook.
On April 10, an officer with the Tulsa Police Department saw a post on Facebook Marketplace for a projector lens that was stolen from the condemned Promenade Mall.
The lens, which is worth $20,000, was listed for just $500.
The officer used a fake Facebook account to message the seller and arranged a trade for the lens in exchange for a minibike.
Earlier this week, 19-year-old Zachery Scrivner met with the officer and was arrested.
According to the police department, Scrivner said he knew the lens was stolen but decided to try to sell it anyway.
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He was arrested on a complaint of knowingly concealing stolen property.
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