Walters says state Department of Education won't work any more with 'woke' school advocacy groups

State schools Superintendent Ryan Walters said Wednesday the Oklahoma State Department of Education would end its association with three Oklahoma public-school advocacy and service organizations, saying they push a "woke" agenda, support indoctrination, oppose parental empowerment and provide duplicative services within the state’s education system.

The three organizations, which have wide membership throughout the state are the Oklahoma State School Boards Association (OSSBA), the Cooperative Council for Oklahoma School Administration (CCOSA) and the Oklahoma Public School Resource Center (OPSRC). In a news release, Walters said without providing examples that the three organizations "work in tandem with national extremist groups that seek to undermine parents, force failed policies into the schools, and work against a quality education in Oklahoma."

Walters issued the news release about an hour before appearing at a state House of Representatives education subcommittee on appropriations and budget to formally deliver the Education Department's budget request for the 2025 fiscal year.

“For years, these groups have pushed an anti-parent, woke agenda,” Walters said in a statement. “They have actively attacked parents and they seek to keep kids in failed situations. That ends now,” Walters said. “Districts and school boards should not have to purchase memberships to external organizations to receive the professional development and training they need to run successful schools.”

The three Oklahoma education groups had largely operated in the background until now

Walters’ announcement appeared to catch the three organizations — in which membership for school districts and officials is voluntary — off guard. The organizations usually work in the background and mostly have kept a low profile since Walters took office last January, but two of them have generated news in recent weeks that may have drawn Walters’ attention.

An anonymous survey of leaders of state school districts by the CCOSA in November indicated many were struggling to receive approval from the Education Department for what normally are routine applications for millions of dollars of federal reimbursement funds that flow through the state Education Department.

The survey was sent to determine the status of district applications and claims in so-called “Title Program Grants” and “ESSER III” programs. Title funds consist of federal money received annually that is meant to supplement state-provided education funding. ESSER (Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief) funds come from three federal stimulus bills passed in 2020 and 2021.

And earlier this month, the OPRSC announced it had hired April Grace as its executive director. Grace, the former superintendent of Shawnee Public Schools, lost to Walters in a runoff for the Republican nomination for the state superintendent’s office. Walters later defeated Democrat Jena Nelson in the November 2022 general election.

OPSRC says it is a nonprofit organization “whose mission is to drive transformation and increase academic achievement within Oklahoma's public education system.” Membership is open to all public schools in Oklahoma. It provides services in the areas of teaching and learning, school finance, education law, communications and instructional technology, as well as providing professional learning and leadership development.

Neither Grace nor a representative from the public-relations firm that sent out Grace’s hiring release responded to messages left Wednesday by The Oklahoman.

CCOSA, also a nonprofit, says it works to establish “close and continuous communication and cooperation between educators, taxpayers and legislators to improve the effectiveness of professional school administrators and to communicate the needs of the schools.”

CCOSA is an umbrella organization for a group of professional organizations, including the Oklahoma Association of School Administrators, the Oklahoma Association of Secondary School Principals, the Oklahoma Association of Elementary School Principals, the Oklahoma Middle Level Education Association and the Oklahoma Directors of Special Services.

"For the past five decades, the Cooperative Council of Oklahoma School Administration (CCOSA) — an individual membership organization — has served Oklahoma students by providing resources, professional development and public policy updates to superintendents, principals, special education directors and other school leaders throughout Oklahoma," the organization said in a statement. "Last year, over 5,400 educators attended CCOSA’s professional development events to serve those members, focusing on topics such as school finance, special education law and teacher evaluations.

"These resources have been made available to educators in coordination and collaboration with the State Department of Education for the benefit of Oklahoma's 700,000 public school students. CCOSA has desired for continued partnership with the new administration. As lifelong educators, we continue to encourage Superintendent Walters and leaders at all levels to move beyond politics and prioritize public education with impactful investments and other support for Oklahoma students to succeed."

Like CCOSA and OPRSC, OSSBA is a nonprofit association. It is governed by a 32-member board of directors composed of local school board members, who are elected by taxpayers of their respective districts. Among its services, it provides training for members of local school boards that’s required by state law. That training then is accepted by the Education Department.

“OSSBA is governed by locally elected school board members, and we’re proud of the work we do to support students through the education and services we provide to the state’s 2,500 school board members and their school districts,” Shawn Hime, the organization’s executive director, said in a statement. “We strongly believe that students are best served when parents, families, communities, educators and education leaders partner together. We know that every day matters for students. They are counting on us all to work in their best interest, and we are committed to continuing to establish and strengthen collaborative relationships centered on student success.”

In the news release, Walters said the Education Department will review its formal relationship with OSSBA and the informal agreements with CCOSA and OPSRC and that the agreements are unlikely to be renewed. Walters said the organizations replicate services, like professional development and school support, that already are provided by the Education Department. His goal is to make the state agency a “one-stop shop” for training, development and services.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Ryan Walters says Oklahoma DOE won't work with three advocacy groups