Oklahoma

What is in Oklahoma’s ‘woke’ teacher test? New PragerU ad lists 34 questions

Published

4 months ago

August 31, 2025

What is in Oklahoma’s ‘woke’ teacher test? New PragerU ad lists 34 questions

A full-page advertisement in the New York Times shows what PragerU says is the entirety of Oklahoma’s so-called “woke” test for teachers from left-leaning states.

PragerU, a politically conservative nonprofit, also paid for a front page ad about the test. Both ads ran in the paper’s Sunday, Aug. 31, edition, touting the organization’s development of the test “for the State of Oklahoma at the request of its Superintendent of Public Instruction, Ryan Walters.”

The Oklahoma State Department of Education has repeatedly refused to release a copy of the test, which has brought national attention to Walters’ conservative schools agenda.

According to the PragerU ad, the test includes 34 multiple-choice questions written by the nonprofit. There are multiple questions about biology and gender identification, political viewpoints, civics, the Constitution, U.S. Supreme Court decisions, key U.S. historical figures and dates, presidents and patriotism.

One question asks: “Should teachers be allowed to express their own political viewpoints in the classroom in order to persuade the students to adopt their point of view?”

Another question asks: “Why is the distinction between male and female sports important in area like sports and privacy?”

Beneath the questions, the ad addresses PragerU’s support for the test:

“How would you assess a teacher who took this test and failed it? Would you want that person teaching your children? The answer for Oklahoma is no. We suspect (or, at least, hope) your answer would be the same. Oklahoma will require teachers from New York and California to pass this test before being hired. Oklahoma, it seems to us, has the right to expect its teacher to be both competent and consonant with its values.”

The ad also includes a QR code that directs readers to what it says is an online version of the test.

Since Walters became state superintendent in January 2023, he has often bypassed local and state media outlets to make major announcements concerning culture-war issues, opting instead to turn to national outlets such as Fox News and CNN. His agency has also amassed a poor record of responding to open records requests and has been publicly chastised by the Oklahoma attorney general’s office as a result.

The Oklahoman has made five requests of the Oklahoma State Department of Education for a copy of the test, including three formal open records requests. In each case, the agency said it did not have a copy of the test.

“In response to the above-mentioned ORR, please be advised that after conducting a thorough search, we have been unable to locate any documents responsive to your request,” the agency said in an email to The Oklahoman on Thursday following the newspaper’s most recent request for the test.

Publicly, Walters has only provided vague details about the test. “You’re not going to come in here and teach that there’s 27 genders. There’s boys and girls. That’s in our science standards,” Walters said as he explained the test during a July 24 Oklahoma State Board of Education meeting.

“You’re going to come in, and you’re not going to undermine American exceptionalism by teaching anti-American, anti-Semitic hate.”

Walters works with PragerU on standards, diploma seal

Walters routinely works with PragerU to inject conservative politics and values into the state’s school system. The California nonprofit has focused on creating education materials to counter what it calls “the dominant left-wing ideology in culture, media and education.”

In 2023, Walters posted links to PragerU materials on the state Education Department website, and in 2024, he announced that PragerU’s leadership would help review the state’s new social studies standards. Those standards have come under scrutiny for their multiple mentions of Christianity across grade levels.

Oklahoma public high school students can also gain credit toward a new state “civics seal” on their diploma if they join PragerForce, which is PragerU’s online network of “thousands of young patriots.”

Walters claimed his decision to implement the PragerU teachers’ test wouldn’t need the board’s approval, drawing pushback from other board members. Board member Ryan Deatherage asked Walters for legal documentation as to why that would be the case, but Deatherage said he hadn’t received that explanation as of mid-August.

Walters has named California and New York as two states that have adopted requirements for teachers that run “antithetical” to Oklahoma’s standards. California, Walters contended, now requires educators to teach students there is no difference between genders.

According to the California Department of Education’s website, students must be taught “about gender, gender expression, gender identity and explore the harm of negative gender stereotypes. Schools must also “teach about all sexual orientations and what being LGBTQ means.”

Oklahoma official asks whether ‘woke’ test is legal

The legality of Walters’ agency administering the test has been called into question. The Oklahoma Office of Educational Quality and Accountability oversees teacher assessments and its executive director, Megan Oftedal, sent an email to her agency’s commissioners last week noting that, according to a report from online news outlet Oklahoma Voice.

“This is not the first instance in which (the state Department of Education) has acted in ways that appear to exceed its legal authority, and the pattern raises ongoing concerns about governance and the proper exercise of statutory responsibility,” Oftedal wrote in the email.

According to state law, the Commission for Educational Quality and Accountability – and not the Oklahoma State Department of Education – has the responsibility for adopting competency tests for teachers to become certified in Oklahoma.

“CEQA is responsible for reviewing out-of-state certification assessments for comparability to Oklahoma’s testing standards,” Oftedal told The Oklahoman. “When a teacher applies for certification using an exam taken in another state – rather than Oklahoma’s required Subject Area Tests – CEQA evaluates whether the assessment aligns with our licensure requirements.”

Oftedahl said her agency didn’t have data on how many certified teachers with current valid teaching certification in other states have applied to teach in Oklahoma, which is who the PragerU assessment is targeting. But among uncertified teachers who completed certification tests in other states and now want to teach in Oklahoma, since 2020, out of 573 out-of-state applications, only 19 came from California or New York, Oftedal said. In 2025, she said, only one applicant came from California and none from New York.

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Oklahoma

Oklahoma AG & 21 other state attorneys general sue Uber over unfair subscription services

Published

5 hours ago

December 18, 2025

Press Room

Oklahoma AG & 21 other state attorneys general sue Uber over unfair subscription services

OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond is taking action against Uber Technologies LLC and Uber USA LLC after alleging the use of deceptive and unfair practices in selling subscription services.

According to the Drummond office, the lawsuit against Uber Technologies LLC and Uber USA LLC seeks to uncover an alleged variety of unfair operations in selling Uber One subscription services.

On Monday, Drummond, alongside a coalition of 21 other state attorneys general, joined the lawsuit filed initially by the Federal Trade Commission.

Drummond says the lawsuit alleges the following:

Uber is accused of improperly using negative option marketing tactics when it offered free trial subscriptions – a practice that automatically charges consumers if they do not cancel a free trial.
Uber allegedly misled consumers about the amounts they could save when subscribing to Uber One and made it extraordinarily difficult for consumers to cancel once enrolled.
Uber is also accused of charging consumers before their billing date, including users whose free trial had not yet ended.

“Oklahoma law prohibits deceptive trade practices and I will always fight to hold accountable any company who breaks the law,” Drummond said. “Unless Uber is stopped in court, they are likely to continue cheating and harming hardworking Oklahomans.”

The AG’s office says the lawsuit seeks restitution, penalties, costs, and an injunction against Uber for alleged violations of Oklahoma’s Consumer Protection Act and the U.S. Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act.

The lawsuit is currently scheduled for trial on February 2027, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

Here is the state coalition list; in addition to Oklahoma, it includes Maryland, Alabama, Arizona, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin, as well as the District Attorney for Alameda County in California.

Click complaint to read the lawsuit.

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Oklahoma

Oklahoma Running Back Upgraded on Second College Football Playoff Availability Report

Published

17 hours ago

December 18, 2025

Press Room

Oklahoma Running Back Upgraded on Second College Football Playoff Availability Report

Oklahoma running back Jovantae Barnes was upgraded on the second College Football Playoff availability report of the week.

Barnes appeared on Tuesday’s report as probable, but he was left off Wednesday’s report, meaning he will be available for Friday’s contest against Alabama.

Barnes appeared in four games during the regular season, carrying the ball 19 times for 45 yards and a touchdown. He also caught one pass for 16 yards.

The senior running back was able to redshirt by only playing in four games. Postseason games, including the College Football Playoff, do not count against eligibility, so Barnes will be able to maintain eligibility in 2026 and still be able to take the field for the Sooners in the CFP.

Oklahoma’s main injury concern, center Jake Maikkula, continues to linger.

Maikkula was listed as questionable on the report for the second straight day.

Maikkula missed OU’s regular-season finale against LSU due to what Brent Venables labeled as an “infection”. He was fully suited up during a brief 15-minute practice viewing window on Monday, but he was working off to the side instead of with Oklahoma’s starting offensive line group.

Six bridges damaged by semi truck hauling ‘illegally over-height’ load, Oklahoma Turnpike Authority says

Published

1 day ago

December 17, 2025

Press Room

Six bridges damaged by semi truck hauling ‘illegally over-height’ load, Oklahoma Turnpike Authority says

Oklahoma authorities are investigating multiple bridge strikes that occurred along the I-44/Will Rogers Turnpike on Tuesday afternoon.

On December 16, 2025, “an illegally over-height commercial motor vehicle drove this afternoon from Tulsa to near Miami,” causing damage to “multiple county bridges above the I-44/Will Rogers Turnpike,” according to the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority (OTA).

The OTA notes that “it is illegal for trucks taller than 14 feet to travel the state highway system without permits and approved routes. The bridges damaged today range from 14 feet and 11 inches to 15 feet and 4 inches in vertical clearance, well above the legal limit.”

OTA

“We are continuing to see damage to our state transportation infrastructure from illegal, over-height semi-trucks. This is a critical issue that puts the traveling public at risk and is unacceptable. We are extremely grateful no one was injured in this incident,” OTA Executive Director Joe Echelle said. “We implore truck drivers to follow all Oklahoma laws and work with the state’s Size and Weights permitting office to ensure that all travelers are safe on our roadways and that our infrastructure remains undamaged by these careless acts.”

Officials say that the following bridges were struck:

E. 530 Rd. – closed between S. 4130 Rd. and Lakeway Rd.
S. 4220 Rd. – closed between E. 460 Rd. and E. 470 Rd. east of Claremore
N. 429 Rd. – closed between E. 390 Rd. and SH-28
N. 4300 Rd. – closed between E. 380 Rd. and W. 390 Rd.
N. 4310 Rd. – open
W. 370 Rd. – open

The Will Rogers Turnpike is open, but drivers should expect temporary delays as crews continue to inspect the damaged bridges.

“OTA is working closely with officials from Rogers County, City of Claremore, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol and ODOT in response to this incident,” the agency said.

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