The role of religion in schools took center stage at Thursday’s State Board of Education meeting.
In his opening remarks, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters disparaged Supreme Court precedents banning organized religious instruction in public schools. Walters quoted a Pew Research study from 2019 that found 8% of teens in public school have never seen a teacher lead the class in prayer or had a teacher read from the Bible as an example of literature.
Left unmentioned was another part of the same research article, which notes, “some forms of religious expression are relatively common in public schools.” According to Pew, about 40% of students say they routinely see other students praying before sporting events, and over half of teens say they “often or sometimes” see other students wearing jewelry or clothing with religious symbols.
Walters said the “prejudiced” Supreme Court cases have “undermin[ed] morality in the classroom.”
“Take a second and let that sink in,” Walters said. “A long history of Supreme Court positions have created, in fact, a state-sponsored religion: Atheism. … And it is indefensible in a place like Oklahoma that we would allow this to happen.”
In February, conservative religious and community leaders penned an open letter to Walters, calling for an advisory group to “study the issue of allowing corporate prayer and the acknowledgment of God in our classrooms” and make recommendations to the department.
Walters said after the meeting, the advisory committee resulting from the letter was appointed by the authors of the letter, and five of the six letter authors sit on that committee.
The committee recommended three points: that the department enforce existing law regarding the daily moment of silence schools take part in — saying it should be a full minute and include an explicit opportunity for prayer; require every public school classroom in the state to display a copy of the Ten Commandments; and require a “western civilization” course for graduation “to strengthen the heritage which was integral to the nation’s founding and its western culture, as well as to foster gratitude and informed citizenship.”
The committee’s recommendations aren’t binding, and it’s unclear how the latter two provisions could be realized. In a press conference following the meeting, Walters said the department was going to “look at all options” and at “any kind of possible solution.”
The meeting began after a contentious episode in the lobby, where crowds gathered well before the meeting room opened. Observers say some people handed out numbers, saying those numbers were their ticket to get into the meeting room. That is not an official system, nor was it done by a department official.
Observers say tempers flared and arguments became heated. A Tulsa Public Schools teacher, public commenters said, was grabbed aggressively by the arm. A state trooper ultimately escorted two men out of the lobby.
Also during the meeting, State and National Teacher of the Year Rebecka Peterson was recognized by the board for her achievement. In her remarks to the board, she highlighted innovative work her colleagues are doing in their classrooms, such as an educator offering a successful outdoor education class and compassionate care in handling students.
“I was not selected as Teacher of the Year because I’m the best teacher. There’s no such thing as the best teacher,” Peterson said. “I think there are an infinite number of ways to be highly effective, and the most important thing is to be true to ourselves. Furthermore, teaching isn’t a competition, right? It’s a collaboration.”
