WAYS, HE’S FOLLOWING THE GOVERNOR’S LEAD HERE. YEAH. EVAN WALTERS PRAISED GOVERNOR STITT FOR HIS EXECUTIVE ORDER LAST WEEK THAT BANNED PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES AND COLLEGES FROM MAINTAINING THEIR OFFICES AND PROGRAMS OF DEI AT THOSE INSTITUTIONS. SO HERE’S WHAT WALTERS HAD TO SAY ABOUT HIS OWN RULE DURING TODAY’S MONTHLY BOARD MEETING. D I SHOULD RIGHTLY BE CALLED DISCRIMINATION. EXCLUDE ASIAN AND INDOCTRINATION. WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR SCHOOLS ARE FOCUSED ON GETTING BACK TO THE BASICS, NOT JUST FOCUSED ON RESOURCES AND PROGRAMS THAT DIVIDE US. THE RULE PROPOSED BY WALTERS AND HIS DEPARTMENT HAS NOT BEEN FILED YET, BUT HAS A FRIDAY DEADLINE ALSO INCLUDED AN UPDATE TO TEACHER CODE OF CONDUCT THAT WOULD BAN EDUCATORS FROM PERFORMING IN DRAG. ONCE THAT FILING IS DONE, THERE NEEDS TO BE PUBLIC COMMENT BEFORE THE BOARD CAN VOTE ON THIS NEW RULE FROM WHAT WALTERS TOLD US THIS MORNING, THIS AFTERNOON, THAT IS, WE KNOW THAT IT WILL CLOSELY MIRROR THE EXECUTIVE ORDER. THE GOVERNOR ISSUED FOR HIGHER ED INSTITUTIONS LAST WEEK. THAT INCLUDES REMOVING DEI PROGRAMING FROM K TO 12 SCHOOLS, INCLUDING THE ELIMINATION OF DEI POSITIONS OR ANY CURRICULUM THAT WAS PREVIOUSLY GIVEN TO STUDENTS. AND WITH THIS RULE JUST BEING ANNOUNCED, THERE’S NO TIMELINE FOR WHEN PUBLIC COMMENT WILL HAPPEN OR WHEN THE BOARD WILL VOTE ON THIS RULE. GUYS, BACK TO YOU, ANDY. THANKS SO MUCH. AND THERE WAS ALSO A VOTE TODAY ON A RULE DEALING WITH GENDER DESIGNATIONS IN STUDENT RECORDS. WHERE DID THAT LAND? YEAH, THAT WAS A TEMPORARY EMERGENCY RULE THAT WAS PASSED A FEW MONTHS AGO. THE GOAL WAS TO MAKE THAT RULE PERMANENT. THAT PREVENTED SCHOOL DISTRICTS FROM CHANGING THOSE DESIGNATIONS ON OLD SCHOOL RECORDS. BUT THAT VOTE WAS DELAYED UNTIL NEXT MONTH, SO THE BOARD WILL VOTE ON THAT DURING THEIR JANUARY MEETING. WALTERS CALLS THAT RULE COMMON SENSE, WHILE CRITICS ARG
Ryan Walters announces rule to block Oklahoma school districts from directing resources to DEI programs
This comes after Gov. Kevin Stitt's executive order blocking public colleges and universities from operating or funding DEI officers.
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Updated: 5:22 PM CST Dec 21, 2023
State Superintendent Ryan Walters announced a new rule on Thursday that would block all school districts in Oklahoma from directing resources to diversity, equity and inclusion programs or officers. During the Oklahoma State Board of Education's monthly meeting, Walters praised Gov. Kevin Stitt for his executive order that would block public colleges and universities from operating or funding DEI officers. | MORE | Lawsuit claims State Superintendent Ryan Walters, State Board of Education violated student's civil rights"DEI should rightly be called 'discrimination, exclusion and indoctrination.' We need to make sure that our schools are focused on getting back to the basics, not focused on resources and programs that divide us," said Walters. The rule proposed by Walters and his department has not been filed yet, but it has a Friday deadline. Once that filing is done, there needs to be public comment before the board can vote on the new rule. From what Walters said in the meeting, the rule will closely mirror the executive order signed by Stitt. It would include removing DEO programs from K-12 schools, including the elimination of DEI positions or any curriculum given to students. There is no timeline on when it will go up for public comment or be presented to the board for a vote. The board also discussed a rule that deals with gender designation in student records. A vote in favor of the rule would make a temporary rule that blocked districts from changing gender designations on old school records permanent. However, the board pushed it off until next month's meeting. Walters called the rule "common sense," but LGBTQ+ groups said the rule does nothing more than harm already vulnerable students. Top Headlines· Hundreds of Oklahoma County families could be evicted just days before Christmas· Snow depth map shows if Oklahoma could see a white Christmas· A lone gunman opens fire in a Prague university, killing 14 people and injuring 25· Oklahoma Department of Corrections searching for inmate who walked away from OKC prison· Giant snowmen line front yards of homes in Nichols Hills neighborhood
OKLAHOMA CITY — State Superintendent Ryan Walters announced a new rule on Thursday that would block all school districts in Oklahoma from directing resources to diversity, equity and inclusion programs or officers.
During the Oklahoma State Board of Education's monthly meeting, Walters praised Gov. Kevin Stitt for his executive order that would block public colleges and universities from operating or funding DEI officers.
| MORE | Lawsuit claims State Superintendent Ryan Walters, State Board of Education violated student's civil rights
"DEI should rightly be called 'discrimination, exclusion and indoctrination.' We need to make sure that our schools are focused on getting back to the basics, not focused on resources and programs that divide us," said Walters.
The rule proposed by Walters and his department has not been filed yet, but it has a Friday deadline. Once that filing is done, there needs to be public comment before the board can vote on the new rule.
From what Walters said in the meeting, the rule will closely mirror the executive order signed by Stitt. It would include removing DEO programs from K-12 schools, including the elimination of DEI positions or any curriculum given to students.
There is no timeline on when it will go up for public comment or be presented to the board for a vote.
The board also discussed a rule that deals with gender designation in student records.
A vote in favor of the rule would make a temporary rule that blocked districts from changing gender designations on old school records permanent. However, the board pushed it off until next month's meeting.
Walters called the rule "common sense," but LGBTQ+ groups said the rule does nothing more than harm already vulnerable students.
Top Headlines
· Hundreds of Oklahoma County families could be evicted just days before Christmas
· Snow depth map shows if Oklahoma could see a white Christmas
· A lone gunman opens fire in a Prague university, killing 14 people and injuring 25
· Oklahoma Department of Corrections searching for inmate who walked away from OKC prison
· Giant snowmen line front yards of homes in Nichols Hills neighborhood
