Oklahoma
What is in Oklahoma’s ‘woke’ teacher test? New PragerU ad lists 34 questions
Oklahoma to start ‘woke’ test for teachers: What you need to know
Oklahoma’s new “America First” teacher certification test will require educators from California and New York to agree with conservative curriculum.
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.
OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLA. (KOKH) — An investigative audit into the Oklahoma County Criminal Justice Authority; it’s something the Oklahoma County Board of Commissioners is considering.
Fox 25 has been covering issues with the Oklahoma County Detention Center for years, from failed inspections to staffing issues and missed paychecks.
The issues had members of the Jail Trust recommending last June they undergo a performance review. Now, in a letter recently issued, county commissioners are asking State Auditor Cindy Byrd to look into the county Criminal Justice Authority, also known as the jail trust. But whether it’s tied to those ongoing issues remains unclear.
“I really wouldn’t know. I wouldn’t know where to begin with that. I just wouldn’t even want to speculate, honestly,” said Commissioner Myles Davidson.
Commissioner Davidson told FOX 25 if the audit were to happen, it wouldn’t be cheap.
“To go into a budget that we’re extremely tight on, and start adding hundreds of thousands of dollars, and time, these audits don’t happen overnight. I don’t know that we would have an answer to any question we could possibly ask before the budgetary cycle is over,” said Davidson.
Davidson said that cycle ends June 1. Instead, he’s suggesting they look into existing audits to see if there’s any useful information there first.
“I would simply say that we need to look at the audits that have been submitted already to the state auditor that the jail trust has already paid for, and then if we have questions about those, we need to bring in that auditing agency and question them. We do have the authority to do that,” Davidsons said.
However, Davidson isn’t sure they have the authority to request this audit.
“When it comes to statute, we have to have it lined out, expressly in statute that we have this authority, and every county commissioner across the state has to abide by that,” he said.
Davidson said they’ll be meeting Monday to find out whether or not they do have the authority to request this audit. He told FOX 25 the Oklahoma County District Attorney’s office reached out to folks with Cindy Byrd’s office and was told the audit would cost $100,000, adding that she’s so swamped that she can’t do it this calendar year.
FOX 25 also reached out to Jason Lowe’s office but they said they have no comment.
OKLAHOMA CITY (KSWO) — Oklahoma lawmakers have voted to honor country music artist and Oklahoma native Toby Keith.
House Concurrent Resolution 1019 recognizes Keith’s lasting impact on music and proposes renaming a planned turnpike in his memory.
The concurrent resolution was authored by Rep. Jason Blair, R-Morgan, and Sen. Lisa Standridge, R-Norman.
The planned route will extend from Interstate 44 east to Interstate 35, then continue east and north to I-40 at the Kickapoo Turnpike.
Copyright 2026 KSWO. All rights reserved.
Governor Kevin Stitt has said he wants the State Superintendent of Education to be a governor-elected position instead of an elected one. Political analyst Scott Mitchell examines what this would mean for the state.
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt is urging lawmakers to send a state question to voters that would make the state superintendent an appointed position, as he named Lindel Fields of Tulsa to the role and announced a turnaround team to help implement his education agenda.
Is the State Superintendent an elected role?
Yes, the State Superintendent of Education is still an elected role. Elections are scheduled for Nov. 3, 2026.
Cons of making the superintendent an appointed position
Mitchell said making this position appointed could cause distrust among some Oklahomans
“Over the years, we’ve seen that capture of regulatory sort of is easy to do when you have term limits, then lobbies become more powerful, and they have all the history. It’s very complicated.
He also said if the position were to be elected, they would likely have the same agenda as the governor.
“Yes, and I think the governor would be absolutely saying, ‘Yes, they’re going to do what I want them to do.’”
Changing how the superintendent is chosen changes what the founding fathers set.
“Voters are going to have to say yay or nay if it gets to them, is whether or not we want to change the way that the founding fathers set up the way that we make sure that power is not concentrated in Oklahoma,” he said.
Is Ryan Walters’ term the reason Stitt wants to make this position appointed?
Mitchell said he believes the former State Superintendent played a role in the government wanting to appoint this position.
During his time as superintendent, Walters was known to have multiple controversies. He resigned in 2025, allowing Stitt to appoint Lindel Fields.
“His impact on this, even though he’s gone, is certainly evident,” said Mitchell. “Walters left midstream, right? And so the governor had a chance to appoint someone. Well, it wasn’t just an appointment; it was chaos before and relative calm and competency after. And that has given the governor an opening for people to see with their own eyes. Yeah, you can put somebody in, we’re talking about Lindel Fields, that appears to get up every day, not trying to find some, get a click on social media, but rather to do his job. And across the board, for the most part, this guy’s getting thumbs up.
Stitt said electing Fields has already given him some leverage since he has been well perceived so far.
“That allows a governor to say, Look, I’ve got some standing, some leverage to go to the voters and say, let’s put expertise as the main reason that a person’s there, not because they were able to win an election because they had some sort of populist or dramatic ideas.”
Who is running for Oklahoma State Superintendent?
Republican Ballot
- Sen. Adam Pugh
- John Cox
- Rep. Toni Hasenbeck
- Ana Landsaw
Democrat Ballot
- Craig Mcvay
- Jennettie Marshall
Independent
To learn more about each candidate, click here.
A full breakdown of candidates in the 2026 Oklahoma State Superintendent race, including party affiliation, background and key education priorities.
Quakertown police chief on leave after clash with student protesters
Frostbitten lizard found in Rhode Island is healing
Men’s Golf Visits South Carolina for Colleton River Collegiate
Where to watch SDSU at South Dakota men’s basketball today, time, TV
Tennessee officials react to strikes, operations in Iran on Feb. 28
Florida High School Football Rankings: Top 25 teams – Oct. 21
Cleary's 21 help Le Moyne down Central Connecticut State 69-64 in OT
How old is Bo Nix? What to know about Oregon quarterback ahead of 2024 NFL Draft
99th annual Pony Swim held in Virginia
Indiana Members Credit Union announced as new anchor tenant at Bottleworks District
2 Survivors Describe the Terror and Tragedy of the Tahoe Avalanche
Iran fires missiles at US bases across Middle East after American strikes on nuclear, IRGC sites
Israel strikes two schools in Iran, killing more than 50 people
Anthropic CEO says he’s sticking to AI “red lines” despite clash with Pentagon
ICE blasts Washington mayor over directive restricting immigration enforcement
-
World3 days agoExclusive: DeepSeek withholds latest AI model from US chipmakers including Nvidia, sources say
-
Massachusetts3 days agoMother and daughter injured in Taunton house explosion
-
Montana1 week ago2026 MHSA Montana Wrestling State Championship Brackets And Results – FloWrestling
-
Louisiana5 days agoWildfire near Gum Swamp Road in Livingston Parish now under control; more than 200 acres burned
-
Denver, CO3 days ago10 acres charred, 5 injured in Thornton grass fire, evacuation orders lifted
-
Technology1 week agoYouTube TV billing scam emails are hitting inboxes
-
Technology1 week agoStellantis is in a crisis of its own making
-
Politics1 week agoOpenAI didn’t contact police despite employees flagging mass shooter’s concerning chatbot interactions: REPORT