Pronouns and gender identity were back in the spotlight at the Oklahoma Department of Education. The department wants to permanently block gender changes on school records from previous years. Public comment on Monday ended for a rule that may get voted on this week.Officials were on hand for what was supposed to be public comment on a rule regarding sex or gender designations. After 20 minutes, the meeting concluded with no one giving public comment.| MORE | Public commenters show support for districts' request to change gender designation on student recordsAccording to department documents, the rule would bar districts from making changes to those designations without authorization from the state Board of Education. It makes permanent a rule that temporarily went into effect back in October.Superintendent Ryan Walters argued the people who want to change the records want to "rewrite history." "These rules are common sense. Oklahomans are tired of the left-wing nonsense being pushed on our schools. Let radical extremists promote pronoun confusion. In Oklahoma, we’ll focus on reading and math," Walters said.Just in October, the board denied two requests from Moore and Cushing public schools. Walters argued he was protecting children."We don't want this issue being thrust upon kids. We don't want it in the curriculum. We don't want it in the text. We don't want it in the novels," Walters said in October.LGBTQ+ advocates have said the rule does just the opposite.| MORE | Oklahoma State Board of Education denies 2 districts' request to change gender designation on student records"Superintendent Walters made it clear that it didn't matter that they had parental support. It did not matter to him if there was a judge's order involved," said Nicole McAfee, the executive director of Freedom Oklahoma.The expectation is for the rule to be voted on this Thursday at this month's Board of Education meeting.With how empty public comment was on Monday, KOCO 5 looked to see if all was done to make sure the time and location were properly announced. All KOCO 5 could find was a single line on a page on the department's website and that was sufficient because the attorney general's office said since it is the work of the Department of Education, not the board, the department doesn't have to follow requirements laid out by the Open Meetings Act. Top HeadlinesInvestigation underway after woman stabbed in head in northwest Oklahoma CityFlorida zoo giving special care to Romeo and Juliet, '2 of the oldest living manatees'Viewer video shows semitrailer catching fire on Turner Turnpike in Creek CountyPerson dead, others injured after crash in Oklahoma City18-month-old injured in crash in Oklahoma County