Oklahoma state senator files bill on history education, teaching of 'controversial issues'
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. (KOKH) — Oklahoma State Sen. George Burns (R-Pollard) has filed SB 20, a measure that would prevent public school history teachers from being required to talk about, "currently controversial issues of public policy or social affairs" in class.
Teachers could still include such issues in their lessons, but they would have to discuss various and contending viewpoints on the topics.
The measure would also prevent students from getting credit for lobbying for legislation, and prevent schools from using private dollars for both social studies courses and teacher training.
State Rep. John Waldron (D-Tulsa) is questioning the need for such legislation, and thinks the bill may also violate the single-subject-rule that stipulates that legislation filed in the state must focus on one main issue.
In his view, "I don't know that we need a big government solution here to look over the teacher's shoulder all the time and tell them, 'Do this, and don't do that.' It can have a chilling effect on our teachers."
The former public school teacher added that, "I think it's difficult to teach a subject like civics without encouraging kids to be civically engaged. But being civically engaged is not the same as being indoctrinated."
Waldron argued that the issues brought up in the bill aren't real problems affecting education in Oklahoma. "The first thing I would like to see is evidence that teachers are being required to discuss current events... in any particular manner."
According to the Democrat, the state has yet to consistently make significant investments into education since the 2018 teacher walkout. He argued that lawmakers should focus on funding and education development issues instead of bills like SB 20.
"It forbids outside organizations from providing curriculum, paying for materials in our classes. I suppose that would be okay if we as a state were willing to put resources into curriculum and materials," asserted Rep. Waldron.
In response to Fox 25's request for comment on the proposed legislation, Sen. Burns shared the following statement.
I filed SB 20 as Oklahoma children continue to be exposed to content that does not follow state standards. Lobbyists are infiltrating schools and offering teachers incentives to teach students based on a radical agenda. We cannot allow this to continue happening in our classrooms. Students should be learning about our government and history from teaching professionals, not through the lens of woke ideology.
We can’t learn from our history if it is erased. We fought to stop Critical Race Theory from being taught in schools, and now we must fight to stop controversial issues or current events from being discussed in a manner that is not educational or within state curriculum.
The Oklahoma Education Association and Professional Oklahoma Educators were unable to immediately provide comment on SB 20.
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