Oklahoma
Oklahoma senator moves to reject controversial social studies standards
Ryan Walters, OSBE dispute on swapped social studies standards
Three members of the Oklahoma State Board of Education said they considered the swapped standards a “breach of trust” by Ryan Walters.
A prominent Republican in the state Senate is making moves to return controversial social studies standards back to the Oklahoma State Board of Education before they take effect.
Sen. Adam Pugh, R-Edmond, filed Senate Joint Resolution 20, which would declare the Legislature “hereby disapproves in whole the social studies and science subject matter standards approved by the State Board of Education on February 27, 2025.” Pugh chairs the Senate Education Committee.
Pugh’s resolution comes after weeks of speculation about whether GOP lawmakers would take action on the standards. The standards have been at the center of controversy since they were introduced in December with dozens of mentions of the Bible. State schools Superintendent Ryan Walters later circulated a new version of the standards, featuring one section that includes requires students to learn about 2020 election denialism.
Pugh filed the resolution April 24, hours after a debate during an Oklahoma State Board of Education meeting. Walters and three new board members accused each other of lying over the content of the previously approved social studies standards.
Oklahoma State Board of Education members say online version of standards different than what they received
Board members have said the version of the standards on which they voted during a February meeting didn’t match what was publicly available on the education department’s website. In response, Walters accused the board members and Gov. Kevin Stitt of spreading misinformation about the process.
“I can’t make you read,” Walters said during the meeting. “I can’t make you do the research before you vote. But here’s what I’m going to say, and my expectation is to not have board members lie about a process and create a fake controversy.”
A spokesperson for Walters and the education department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Pugh’s resolution notes “questions exist regarding the transparency of the subject matter standard adoption process.”
However, members of the Senate and House Democratic caucuses had also filed joint resolutions to reject the standards, calling the proposed subject matter “too advanced” for the agents of students and “politically charged and biased.”
Pugh’s resolution is more likely to gain traction since Republicans control both chambers. It represents the first step in the process of potentially returning the standards to the board. Two board members told The Oklahoman that this is their wish.
It is unclear if House leaders will sign on to the resolution. Hours before Pugh filed the resolution, House Speaker Kyle Hilbert, R-Bristow, seemed doubtful that his chamber would take action but said, “If we were to do anything, it would be in concert with the state Senate.”
On April 23, Stitt called on the Legislature to act on the standards and championed proposed legislation that would allow board members to add items to the meeting agenda.
That legislation, House Bill 1491, didn’t clear the Thursday deadline for House bills to be heard in a Senate committee. It was sponsored by Rep. Ronny Johns, R-Ada, and Senate President Pro Tempore Lonnie Paxton, R-Tuttle, and would have allowed an item to be placed on the agenda if requested in writing by at least two members of the board.
The Legislature has until May 1 to take action on the proposed standards. If they do nothing, the standards will automatically go into effect.
“The standards themselves, the Legislature, hopefully they’ll act on that,” Stitt said April 23. “I don’t know. They may punt it to me, so we’ll see.”
Contributing: Scott Carter and Murray Evans
Oklahoma
Oklahoma man charged with slew of animal abuse charges after bringing 4 dogs to St. Louis crematorium
ST. LOUIS, Mo. (First Alert 4) – An Oklahoma man is sitting in the St. Louis City jail Saturday after prosecutors charged him with over a dozen animal abuse charges, saying he showed up at a local crematorium with four dead dogs. Police say they found a total of 16 dogs in dire conditions in the man’s box truck.
St. Louis City prosecutors charged 38-year-old Robert Peters of Noble, Oklahoma, Friday with nine counts of animal abuse by torture, a class E felony, and seven counts of animal abuse, a class A misdemeanor. Peters is being held at the St. Louis City Justice Center without bond.
According to a police probable cause statement, officers received a call on Friday from a local crematorium saying a man had brought four dogs to be cremated. An employee of the crematorium told officers it wasn’t unusual for people to request their dogs be cremated, but it was unusual for someone to bring in four at once.
When officers arrived, they said they found Peters and his box truck at the scene. Police say Peters told them he owns an animal transportation business for animals that he runs out of their Oklahoma home.
Inside the box truck, police said they found 16 dogs in dire condition. Four of the dogs in the truck were dead. Seven other dogs were in what police said were “near death” and critical condition. The other five dogs were in stable condition.
Police said many of the dogs were covered in their own feces and urine, and that a “sawdust-like powder” covered the dogs and truck. Police said the dogs appeared lethargic due to the high temperatures in the back of the box truck.
Police, along with St. Louis Animal Control, took the dogs from the scene.
First Alert 4 is working to gather more information on the dogs’ condition after they were taken from Peters.
Copyright 2025 KMOV. All rights reserved.
Stay connected with The Oklahoman: How to subscribe online
Through our website, app, e-edition, newsletters, news alerts, social media and more, The Oklahoman is here for you. Here’s how to stay connected.
In addition to serving as mayor of Oklahoma City and as the dean of Oklahoma City University School of Law, David Holt added another hat to his wardrobe, now serving as the president of the United States Conference of Mayors.
His tenure as the organization’s 83rd president began the same day the Oklahoma City Thunder won its first NBA championship. He’s the second OKC mayor to serve in that capacity.
Holt’s term runs until June 2026, and he is believed to be the first Native American to serve in the role, according to a city news release. Former Mayor Mick Cornett served as the organization’s president in 2016-17 and hosted the annual meeting in Oklahoma City in 2010 when Holt served as Cornett’s chief of staff.
Beyond the logistics of running a nearly century old organization, it’s an opportunity to learn from other cities and have other cities learn from OKC, Holt told The Oklahoman. He said he has found a lot of value in the organization. Another benefit is friendship and camaraderie with other mayors.
“I think part of our story in the last 30 years has been mayors who are willing to market the city and represent the city and that ultimately is just part of the strategy,” he told The Oklahoman. “I often say that people don’t visit, live in or invest in cities they’ve never heard of, so there’s a lot of ways that we as a community get our name out there.”
MAPS projects have been an inspiration for other cities
Holt said cities are able to learn from each other and cited Oklahoma City’s MAPS projects. It’s now one of the most well-known initiatives in urban circles, Holt said.
He said cities have been inspired by different aspects of MAPS — Little Rock, Arkansas, and Louisville, Kentucky, have attempted to implement the program or something similar, but both efforts have failed. Holt said they didn’t really have the opportunity to try to implement it.
“The best ideas that work around the country are certainly those that we will try to emulate in Oklahoma City and it’s a perfect example of the old phrase that the cities and states are the laboratories of democracy,” Holt said. “Sometimes we’ll let others do the experimentation first, and then we’ll pick it up.”
Holt said an example of that is watching Indianapolis’ sports strategy. The city carved out a space for themselves as the amateur sports capital of the world and eventually they became home to the NCAA, Holt said.
“Just that idea that you could sort of define yourself around a certain category of sports and that that would elevate your whole city, I think was intriguing,” he said. “Obviously as it’s turned out with us, we’re sort of all over the place. We have used the NBA and used softball and now use paddle sports to elevate ourselves in so many different ways.”
Another benefit of watching other cities try something for the first time is not making the same mistakes as they did, Holt added. Between Cornett’s involvement with the Conference of Mayors and now Holt, that’s almost a quarter of a century of high-level engagement.
As president, Holt is responsible for several duties including weighing in on timely topics, such as releasing a statement about the floods in Texas. Other duties include convening and presiding over meetings, weighing in on local issues, attending meetings on a variety of topics such as housing and homelessness and other administrative responsibilities.
Formed in 1932, the conference is the official nonpartisan organization of cities with populations of 30,000 or more, according to a city news release.
Tom Cochran, CEO and executive director, said the conference is fortunate to lean on Holt’s leadership in a time of opportunity and need for America’s cities.
“He champions the value of local leadership, and he embraces the power this conference has to unite so many voices to improve the lives of the people of America’s cities. I know his colleagues are grateful to have him steering the ship,” Cochran said.
Nudists In Pittsburgh Shined Up Their Balls For Another Successful Evening Of Naked Bowling
GMC Augusta campus shifts to remote learning after lightning strike damages facility
‘We got to come out to vote as a people’: Early voting continues in special election in Ward 8 DC Council seat – WTOP News
Former Cavaliers Legend Gives High Praise to Former Team
Flash Flood Warnings issued in Central Texas, ground search operations suspended
Why Marjorie Taylor Greene was ‘kicked out’ of the Freedom Caucus according to Rep. Buck
Colorado Rockies game no. 116 thread: Zac Gallen vs José Ureña
See it: Tesla crashes into Columbus convention center at 70 mph
Fox News Politics: Georgia the whole day through
Death of missing Oregon girl found in stream ruled homicide
Kash Patel torches ‘conspiracy theories’ about Bondi feud amid MAGA furor over Epstein files
Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,235
Texas flood death toll rises as search continues for victims – UPI.com
Federal judge issues temporary restraining order curtailing Trump's immigration enforcement in California
US continues arms deliveries to Ukraine – for how long?
-
Business1 week agoSee How Trump’s Big Bill Could Affect Your Taxes, Health Care and Other Finances
-
Politics1 week agoVideo: Trump Signs the ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’ Into Law
-
Culture1 week ago16 Mayors on What It’s Like to Run a U.S. City Now Under Trump
-
News1 week agoVideo: Who Loses in the Republican Policy Bill?
-
Technology1 week agoMeet Soham Parekh, the engineer burning through tech by working at three to four startups simultaneously
-
Science1 week agoFederal contractors improperly dumped wildfire-related asbestos waste at L.A. area landfills
-
World1 week agoRussia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,227
-
Politics1 week agoCongressman's last day in office revealed after vote on Trump's 'Big, Beautiful Bill'