Oklahoma is Giving Teachers Tests to Make Sure They Aren’t “Woke”

ALSO INSIDE: Federal Judges continue to hand the Trump Administration losses.

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Since day one of Trump’s political career, people have desperately attempted to normalize his absurd abuses of power and blatant corruption – and 10 years later, much of corporate media remains a victim of their own attempts to return to a sense of normalcy.

It’s time to stop sane-washing the insanity.

What Happened

Oklahoma will begin requiring teachers coming from California and New York to pass a new certification exam designed by the controversial conservative media group PragerU—a political loyalty test for out-of-state educators.

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters announced that the new “America First” exam will be mandatory for any teacher moving to Oklahoma from the two blue states. The exam is intended, Walters says, to guard against “radical leftist ideology” and ensure that educators in his state align with what he calls “accurate” teaching of U.S. history and values.

“As long as I am superintendent, Oklahoma classrooms will be safeguarded from the radical leftist ideology fostered in places like California and New York,” Walters said in a statement earlier this week.

The test was developed in coordination with PragerU, a conservative outlet that produces videos on topics such as American history, economics, and gender identity. It’s important to note that PragerU is not an accredited educational institution.

A spokesperson for the Oklahoma Department of Education confirmed that the test has been finalized and will be implemented “very soon.” While the full 50-question exam has not been released, sample questions provided to reporters include: “Which chromosome pair indicates a woman?”

Walters has said the test is necessary to weed out educators who might promote what he refers to as “radical woke gender theory” and to ensure teachers understand Christianity’s influence on the founding of the United States– defying the notion of the separation of church and state. The move has drawn swift criticism from major teachers’ unions and education researchers.

Tina M. Ellsworth, president of the nonprofit National Council for the Social Studies, said the test undermines the nonpartisan role of educators.

“State boards of education should stay true to the values and principles of the U.S. Constitution,” Ellsworth said. “Imposing an ideology test to become a teacher in our great democracy is antithetical to those principles.”

According to data from the Oklahoma State Department of Education, the state has seen a sustained teacher shortfall for several years. Some districts have resorted to emergency certifications or shortened school weeks due to staffing constraints.

The rollout in Oklahoma coincides with reports that the Trump administration is considering a federal partnership with PragerU to replace public educational content, such as PBS programming, with ideologically aligned alternatives.

Oklahoma is the first state to formally tie teacher certification to PragerU materials and to selectively apply ideological testing based on the applicant’s state of origin. This is a very concerning step in the continued pressure from the Republican party for a partisan impacted public education curriculum.

Attempts to Sanewash

• Oklahoma will test some incoming teachers with ‘America-first’ exam

• Oklahoma adds 'America first' teacher test for some new applicants

Far-Right Spin

• CNN Is Outraged that Oklahoma Wants Leftist Teachers to Pass PragerU's Common Sense Assessment to Get a Job

• Oklahoma To Weed Out ‘Marxist’ Teachers From California and New York With ‘America First’ Test

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Judge orders RFK Jr.’s health department to stop sharing Medicaid data with deportation officials

“A federal judge ordered the nation’s health department to stop giving deportation officials access to the personal information — including home addresses — of all 79 million Medicaid enrollees.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services first handed over the personal data on millions of Medicaid enrollees in a handful of states in June. After an Associated Press report identified the new policy, 20 states filed a lawsuit to stop its implementation.”

Read more from The Copper Courier here.

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Upset about the state of this nation? Fed up with the Texas legislature passing racist, gerrymandered maps?

Our Texas newsroom reported that there were over 10,000 open offices in last year’s general election with no candidates running.

Texas had 1,246 open seats with ZERO candidates on the ballot, the second most in the nation behind California, for positions including city council members, school board members, and judges In many cases, those elections were canceled and the seats went unfilled.

Your local officials have an outsized impact on the issues that impact you and your community. You can check your Secretary of State’s website to find out how to become a candidate.

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