Oklahoma’s superintendent of public education can’t require schools to show students a video of him praying for Donald Trump and condemning teachers’ unions, the state attorney general’s office said.
The state superintendent, Ryan Walters, emailed the bizarre video to school district superintendents last week, saying his office was requiring the video be shown to students and shared with parents, as well. Talk about self-absorption.
In the video, Walters announces the formation of what his department is calling the Office of Religious Liberty and Patriotism and rambles off a smattering of right-wing talking points, including claiming that the “radical left” has attacked “individuals’ religious liberty in our schools.” Walters declares, “We will not tolerate that in Oklahoma. … Your religious liberties will be protected.”
Note: This is the guy whose office has required all schools to incorporate the Bible into their curricula. (His office is facing at least two lawsuits over that mandate.) What’s more, Walters solicited bids earlier this year to supply classrooms with what appeared to be Trump-branded Bibles. (The proposal was significantly changed after he faced an onslaught of backlash.)
In his video, Walters goes on to say we’ve seen “patriotism mocked and a hatred of this country pushed by woke teachers unions,” which, according to Walters, will also not be tolerated. (Walters has previously called the state teachers union a “terrorist” organization.”) And in the video, he says a prayer “in particular, for President Trump and his team as they continue to bring about change to the country.”
As Oklahoma Voice reported over the weekend, several school districts revealed they have no plans to show the video to students or share it with parents, and the state attorney general’s office said they don’t have to.
“Not only is this edict unenforceable, it is contrary to parents’ rights, local control and individual free-exercise rights,” Phil Bacharach, a spokesperson for the AG’s office, said Friday.
Nonetheless, this was one of the eeriest displays of political propaganda and pro-Trump sycophancy I can remember seeing. And one which, if we’re being honest, seems to make Walters a prime candidate to lead Trump’s Department of Education.