Oklahoma Threatens Public Schools' Accreditation Unless They Set Up Turning Point USA Chapters
State school superintendent Ryan Walters said public high schools across the state must partner with late activist Charlie Kirk's organization to counter "woke indoctrination."
Public high schools in Oklahoma are being ordered to partner with Turning Point USA, the right-wing group founded by activist Charlie Kirk—and threatened with being stripped of their accreditation if they don't comply.
Ryan Walters, the state's superintendent of public instruction, released a video address on Tuesday saying that "every Oklahoma high school will have a Turning Point USA chapter."
"For far too long we have seen radical leftists with the teachers unions dominate classrooms and push woke indoctrination on our kids," Walters said in the video posted to social media.
The state-mandated chapters of "Club America," Turning Point's high school program, will ensure students "understand American greatness" while enabling them to "engage in civic dialogue and have that open discussion," said Walters, who also announced on Thursday that he would resign to join the nonprofit anti-union group Teacher Freedom Alliance.
Turning Point has claimed that since Kirk was fatally shot earlier this month at a debate event the group was holding at Utah Valley University, it has received a “massive surge of inquiries to start new chapters” of Club America—but Walters has evidently seen fit to threaten schools if they don't partner with the organization despite the reports of organic interest.
He told reporter Paige Taylor of KOKH FOX 25, "We would go after their accreditation, we would go after their certificates, they would be in danger of not being a school district if they decided to reject a club that is here to promote civil engagement."
Since Kirk's killing, Walters has focused intently on rooting out teachers and school administrators who have not displayed mourning for the activist. On September 17, his office said it had received hundreds of reports of schools and educators displaying "vile rhetoric promoting the killing."
The press release listed 224 reports of "defamatory comments" as well as 30 reports of schools "not observing a moment of silence" and three of schools refusing to fly their flag at half staff.
Kirk mobilized young conservatives and engaged in debates on college campuses regarding abortion rights, immigration, and other political issues. At events and on his podcast, he promoted the white supremacist view that a "great replacement strategy" was underway via immigration policy and claimed "prowling Blacks" target white people with violence in cities.
Walters has spent much of his time as state superintendent pushing for Oklahoma's public schools to include Christian and right-wing beliefs in their teachings—calling on schools to display a video of him praying, procuring President Donald Trump-branded bibles after mandating biblical lessons, screening teachers for liberal viewpoints, and pushing for high school social studies teachers to include debunked conspiracy theories about "election fraud" in the 2020 election in their lesson plans.
After Walters announced his plan to mandate the establishment of Turning Point USA chapters at high schools, a number of observers noted that the superintendent has presided over a school system that is ranked 50th nationwide in terms of education quality.
"And now all high schools will have political propaganda clubs," said progressive organizer Melanie D'Arrigo, "while banning books like To Kill a Mockingbird because it's 'indoctrination.'"
Editor's note: This article has been updated to reflect the fact that Ryan Walters announced his resignation.
