Ryan Walters proposes changes to what he calls Oklahoma's 'woke' information literacy standards
State schools Superintendent Ryan Walters proposed Wednesday new "Information Literacy Standards" that he said would "more closely reflect Oklahoma Values" and get rid of the current guidelines that were developed using concepts from the American Library Association (ALA).
Walters said following the association's guidelines constituted "taxpayer-funded, woke indoctrination of our children in Oklahoma.”
While he went on to criticize the association for fighting against "filtering of internet pornography in libraries" and attacking "parents who just want libraries to protect children and reflect their communities," his announcement provided little clarity in how the existing guidelines were implemented in the state's schools and how the new ones would be better.
The current standards are based on the association's “Standards for the 21st Century Learner” and are commonly used throughout the U.S. According to the association, that publication discusses “underlying common beliefs, as well as standards and indicators for essential skills, dispositions, responsibilities, and self‑assessment strategies for all learners.”
According to the association, “the student who is information literate manages information skillfully and effectively in a variety of contexts” and “organizes and integrates information from a range of sources and formats in order to apply it to decision making, problem solving, critical thinking and creative expression.”
The new proposed rules changes were posted Wednesday on the Oklahoma State Department of Education website. The standards last were revised in 2007. Before the proposed new rules could take effect, they would have to go through a public-comment period (which runs through Jan. 17) and then receive approval by the state Board of Education, state Legislature and governor.
Ryan Walters' history of disagreeing with the American Library Association
Walters has a history of disagreement with the association. In April, Walters sent state lawmakers a list of 190 books focused on LGBTQ+ themes that he found offensive — books that appeared on the association’s Rainbow Book List, which promotes stories that represent experiences of LGBTQ+ youths.
The press release from Walters on Wednesday referred to his rules proposal as “the first such rejection of ALA’s activist, left-wing standards to be adopted by a public education system.” It said they take a “tiered approach, aligning skills with appropriate grade levels.”
The news release also said “the focus of the new standards would be solely on skills, which encompass the inquiry process while incorporating modern elements like artificial intelligence.” The release did not elaborate on what Walters considered to be Oklahoma values.
The proposed rules include sections covering prekindergarten through second grade, third grade through fifth grades, sixth through eighth grades and ninth through 12th grades. Each section has four topics — “Question and Plan,” “Research and Explore,” “Collect and Organize” and “Share and Reflect,” with multiple objectives under each topic.
More: Group calls for Ryan Walters to resign over video on prayer at Prague Elementary
According to the draft document, the proposed new rules were developed using “Ohio’s Library Guidelines for Learners” from the Ohio Department of Education and “Oklahoma Academic Standards for English Language Arts,” developed in 2021.
Walters said the new standards he was proposing "will help ensure our kids have the tools they need to make sound decisions in the ever-evolving information age. Oklahoma will be a leader in preparing our students for the digital future.”
After sending out the release, Walters later posted it on X (formerly known as Twitter), saying, "The ALA is an advocacy organization run by a self-proclaimed Marxist. I will not allow woke indoctrination of our kids in Oklahoma schools."
Group criticizes Ryan Walters library plan, says he issues 'AI-written, inflammatory press releases'
The association didn’t immediately return a message left seeing comment on Walters’ proposal. But Bailee Tyler, the Oklahoma chair of the grassroots group Defense of Democracy, said Walters “doesn’t understand the words that come out of his mouth and he has no intentions of improving Oklahoma public education. This is just another one of his imaginary boogeymen.”
“We implore Oklahomans to shake off the apathy and find an organization to take action with to fight back against the culture war being waged by Walters via AI-written, inflammatory press releases,” Tyler said. “Defense of Democracy will continue to do what we do best: inform the masses and make Oklahoma’s true majority voice heard.”
The state Education Department also is planning on revising Oklahoma Academic Standards for Personal Financial Literacy, which are due for revision this year, but those proposed new standards aren’t yet posted on the agency’s website.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Ryan Walters aiming to change Oklahoma's 'woke' literacy standards
