OKLAHOMA CITY – In December 2024, The Wild Hunt reported on developments in Oklahoma, where State Superintendent Ryan Walters announced the creation of an Office of Religious Liberty and Patriotism within the State Department of Education. Walters cited a 2023 case in Skiatook, where Bible verses were removed from a classroom following a Freedom From Religion Foundation complaint, calling the removal “unacceptable.”
While the U.S. Supreme Court has affirmed that students and employees may pray privately at school, it prohibits staff from leading prayers or promoting religion in their official capacity. The Court’s 1962 ruling against school-led prayer remains a cornerstone of church-state separation. Walters, however, dismisses that separation as a “myth.” He has directed schools to include Bible teachings, proposed using taxpayer money to purchase Bibles, and endorsed the creation of a Catholic charter school. Linking academic decline to what he calls the erosion of “faith and family values,” Walters has pledged to pursue policies aligned with the incoming Trump administration.
Great Seal of Oklahoma [Public domain
Earlier this month, Walters announced plans to implement a new screening tool for incoming educators from states like California and New York.
On August 15, 2025, he wrote on X: “Proud to launch our America First Test with PragerU! We will make sure only the best and brightest are teaching in Oklahoma classrooms, not Marxist indoctrinators.” The test, administered by the conservative media platform PragerU, will be required for teacher certification in Oklahoma.
Proud to launch our America First Test with @prageru !
We will make sure only the best and brightest are teaching in Oklahoma classrooms , not Marxist indoctrinators.
Thank you @marissastreit and @prageru ! pic.twitter.com/ZDaUc5BsrN
— Ryan Walters (@RyanWalters_) August 15, 2025
“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. “Any teacher coming from these states will be required to pass our new PragerU assessment before receiving certification, because we refuse to let Gavin Newsom’s woke, Marxist agenda turn Oklahoma into the same dumpster fire California has become.”
Founded in 2009 by radio host Dennis Prager and producer Allen Estrin, PragerU is not an accredited university but a media organization producing videos, podcasts, and teaching materials that promote conservative interpretations of history, politics, economics, and religion. It presents itself as a corrective to what it sees as liberal dominance in education, but fact-checkers and critics say its content often oversimplifies complex issues and has been flagged for inaccuracies and ideological slant.
In recent years, PragerU curriculum has been approved for use in K–12 classrooms in states like Florida and Oklahoma, sparking sharp debate about propaganda, religious freedom, and the role of public education.
Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters speaking to the United States House Committee on Education and the Workforce in September 2023 [Public Domain
There is even a Pagan dimension to the story. Following the 2024 Paris Olympics, it released a video warning that cultural trends represented in the opening ceremony reflected a drift away from “Judeo-Christian” values toward a “pre-Biblical pagan world.”
What most communities were able to recognize as cultural references from Western art, PragerU framed as societal regression.
Walters has emphasized that the PragerU assessment will soon be mandatory. In July, he told reporters: “We’re not going to allow teachers in the classroom that don’t know the difference between boys and girls. That’s just absurd. We want good, traditional teachers that put academics first, not indoctrination.” While the full test has not been released, sample questions reported by The Hill ask about basic civics, such as the first three words of the Constitution and the importance of religious freedom. Other leaked questions, according to CNN, include naming the chambers of Congress, identifying U.S. senators, and describing chromosome pairs that determine sex.
The initiative follows other controversial moves by Walters, including attempting to require Bibles in every classroom and promoting lessons that echo former President Trump’s false claims of widespread election fraud in 2020. Walters has also pressed schools to broadcast a video of him praying for Trump while condemning liberals.
Educator groups have condemned the new exam. Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, told USA Today that the test will be a “huge turnoff” for prospective teachers:
“Ryan Walters appears to be trying out for MAGA in chief, not educator in chief, because everything that he’s doing is about the culture wars, not about the reading, writing and arithmetic. If he wants to be MAGA in chief then go be MAGA in chief. But let someone else be educator in chief and focus on what people deserve—reading, literacy, wraparound services, and actual teachers who want to be in Oklahoma.”
Despite Walters’ claims that his policies will “reverse negative trends,” Oklahoma’s education system faces deep challenges. A WalletHub study recently ranked the state’s K–12 system last in the nation, noting that Oklahoma continues to face a teacher shortage, leaving many classrooms understaffed.
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