Readers weighed in on their concerns as the 2023-24 school year begins.

The Nation's Report Card ranks Oklahoma 49th for eighth-grade math scores and 48th for eighth-grade reading scores. Our state also ranks 46th for overall well-being and 49th in education, according to Kids Count's annual report.

We asked readers, including teachers, parents and students, what their concerns are as the 2023-24 school year begins.

Here are some of their responses:

No one has brought up the behaviors of our students. Once again instead of dealing with the entitlement of students and parents we will slap a band aide on it by giving private schools an open door (another option). We spend so much money on admin and outside solutions, we have forgotten the kids that really want to get an education and can, if politicians would back out. They have never given Oklahoma the money we needed before and all the sudden we have everything if we want to follow someone’s ideology.

— Jenny Root (Proud Retired Teacher), Enid

My biggest concern for this year is the political climate that public schools are facing. Ryan Walters as the state Superintendent of Public Instruction has done everything but help public education. Teachers are worried about a lack of federal dollars, book bans, being forced to only recognize one religion in our schools and alienate entire cultures of people, being called terrorists, the false narrative that we teach or promote pornography, and the worry of our funds being diverted to private schools.

On top of all of this, Oklahoma is still in the bottom for poverty and education. The reason: We don’t adequately fund education. You can’t compete with other states and countries if education isn’t a priority.

— Sunny Van Straten, Jenks

As the parent of incoming 10th- and 7th-graders, I am concerned that teachers will be too lax in the students reading and writing skills. That they will challenge viewpoints and comprehension. That they will require extensive reading and will also spend less time requiring laptop work and more time lecturing and challenging historical inaccuracies in textbooks.

I sincerely hope teachers will not be intimidated by small-thinking politicians and will be empowered to challenge students with banned books, independent study, and essay writing. I truly hope the kids who need extra attention will be given it, but not at the expense of those kids who can learn quickly.

I hope that there are multiple resources for gifted students in all public schools. I hope that kids feel challenged and hopeful and will be required to spend time talking to each other and be required to put away technology for most of the time in the classrooms. I hope that there are healthy, plentiful, plant-based options for cafeterias, and that school gardens will become commonplace.

Down with private schools. Power to the public school system. Power to the diversity and equity and inclusion that public schools represent. Power to the social studies and history teachers that challenge history written by the oppressors.

— Susan E., Oklahoma City

One concern is that Ryan Walters and his radical right agenda will run teachers out of Oklahoma and our schools will be left struggling more than ever. As the parent of a young person with special needs, I am also concerned about the mismanagement at the Department of Education and the need for Oklahoma to take advantage of federal funds that support these children. I worry that as a state we aren’t capitalizing on all financial opportunities designed to support marginalized kids with special needs or from low income brackets.

The state Department of Education is overly concerned with imposing a Christian nationalist agenda on our children instead of preparing them for college or the workforce. The “indoctrination” that Ryan Walters is concerned about is imaginary. The real threat to free thought is the theocracy that Walters and Stitt dream of.

— LL, Edmond

The overall need for Oklahoma schools can be summarized as freeing teachers to be able to use their care, creativity, and talent in their classrooms.  And there are several ways to achieve this.

1. Teachers are having to not only teach, but also to counsel students as Oklahoma is facing a critical shortage of school counselors and hasn’t increased state funding to help fix the problem.

2. Similarly, we are in dire need of additional special education teachers as well as motivated paraprofessionals.

3. A review and reduction in excessive high-stress testing would benefit not only teachers, but students and parents as well. And then there’s Ryan Walters' irrational attacks on the integrity of teachers, librarians, and entire school districts.

4. HB 1775 (2021) needs to be rescinded as it has resulted in teachers' fear of losing their licenses if they honestly teach history as well as calling for banning any book that refers to sex or gender identity as being pornography.  Walter’s marginalization and dismissal of the LGBTQ community encourages bullying, which all teachers recognize as a serious problem. Walters saying that teaching the Tulsa Race Massacre should be done without mentioning race, his crusade to strip Summer Boismier of her teaching certificate and forcing her out of the state for posting a QR code to a public library and holding in jeopardy Tulsa and Mustang’s public school districts’ accreditation status is irrational.

5. The OEA and AFT need to be respected for their support for teachers, students, and families instead of calling them terrorist organizations.

6.  Diversity, equity, and inclusion programs need to be funded and supported as racial, religious, and gender/sex identity discrimination is sadly still a reality.

— Larry Little, Oklahoma City

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Readers weighed in on their concerns for the 2023-24 school year.