OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. – It’s no secret that State Superintendent Ryan Walters is a fan of conservative organizations such as Moms For Liberty. Consequently, one group may have more of a hold on state education policy than Oklahomans were aware of. A Fox 25 Open Records Request revealed that an external organization wields significant influence over education policy in Oklahoma.
The Heritage Foundation is a conservative research and educational institution responsible for designing the 900-page initiative titled Project 2025. While the project was created to serve as a guidebook for President-elect Donald Trump’s second term, some initiatives are already well underway in the Sooner State.
Uncovered by Fox 25 reporter Wendy Suares, over 2,500 documents display correspondence between the Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE) and The Heritage Foundation. Some include introductions between Walters and Jeremy Tate, the founder of the Classic Learning Test, a replacement for the traditional ACT or SAT. Documents also suggest that Walters was a key player in the creation of a legislation summary to help steer lawmakers.
In April, Walters appeared on the Kevin Roberts show. Throughout the episode, the pair discuss shared values such as school choice and eliminating “leftist indoctrination.”
Roberts is the current President of The Heritage Foundation. His professional history includes an assistant professor position at New Mexico State University. It was during this time that Roberts, a white man, published several journals on the topic of Black Americans. One in particular is titled African American Issues (Contemporary American Ethnic Issues Series).
Roberts has also come under fire for comments he has made regarding gender equality. In July, Roberts claimed that the majority of political violence in recent years is due to left-wing groups. However, one study shows that right-wing groups are more likely to perform violence.
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OSDE legislative liaison Tucker Cross communicated with Heritage leaders about creating in-house training for school boards.
“OSDE is trying to create a one-stop shop for school board training where our school board members can go through us to attain all their statutorily required trainings,” said Cross. “The Heritage Foundation appears to have some videos which might serve to meet parts of those criteria.”
The topic of school choice has repeatedly circulated throughout Oklahoma politics in recent years. School choice refers to the practice of allowing children to go to the school of their family’s choosing regardless of zip code. One way school choice has been propelled in the state is through a new voucher program. This program provides private school tax credits of up to $7500 for eligible families. The initiative has sparked controversy as some believe it will further displace funding that could be used to better Oklahoma’s public school system.
Communication between Heritage and OSDE shows that the push to increase school choice is a defense mechanism against “wokeism.”
All information obtained by Fox 25 was made possible by the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The act allows the public to access documents, including emails and meeting details. In an email from Heritage to OSDE, the foundation mentions protecting the department from FOIA requests.
In September, local Oklahoma City NBC affiliate KFOR took legal action against OSDE. Filed in federal district court, KFOR claims that the state department has prevented the station from attending monthly board meetings. The meetings are notoriously difficult to attend in person with many reserving their spot in line the night before.
Oklahoma Attorney Gentner Drummond has publicly criticized the department’s inability to respond to open records requests promptly.
Future of Oklahoma Schools
After Donald Trump won the 2024 presidential election, Walters has been fast at work promoting Heritage values publicly. On November 15, Walters announced a new OSDE office called the Office of Religious Liberties and Patriotism. In a video he shared to X (formerly Twitter), Walters invited teachers and students to join him in a prayer for Trump.
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OSDE shared the video with school districts state-wide and promptly received pushback from several large districts. Edmond and Mustang Public Schools responded saying that they will not be airing the message to their students. Only one district, Freedom Public Schools, with only 32 students in total, publicly reshared the video. Additionally, districts say that within hours of receiving the video, the email was recalled.
With a national education ranking that varies between 49th and 45th depending on the source, it’s unclear how The Heritage Foundation influences will impact the state’s national standing.
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