The Oklahoma Supreme Court has declined to temporarily block the state’s new social studies standards from going into effect.
The court denied a request for a stay from the group Americans United for Separation of Church and State, which had filed a lawsuit asking the court to decide if the standards violate the state constitution and to keep them from taking effect until a decision was made.
RELATED: Oklahoma social studies standards challenged by group over religious content
The lawsuit claims Walters, the Department of Education and the Board of Education violated the Open Meeting Act, also saying the agenda provided in February had no notice to the public that the Board would be considering a different version than what was originally posted last December.
The suit declares the 2025 Standard provides false information on the 2020 presidential election, the origin of the 2019 Coronavirus, and is unconstitutional for promoting religious teachings in schools.
Additionally, the suit claims at least three of the six people who were members on Feb. 27, when the 2025 Standards were approved, did not realize they were voting on a different Social Study Standard version.
SEE ALSO: Oklahoma State Supt. Ryan Walters’ social studies standards targeted in new lawsuit
The Supreme Court denied the stay on Monday.
In a social media post, State Superintendent Ryan Walters said this is a win for Oklahoma parents.
“Our history standards will go into effect,” Walters said. “We are unapologetic about these history standards; our kids will receive an education that centers around American exceptionalism. We are going to make sure that our kids are patriotic, we want them to love this country.”
The ruling means the new standards will be implemented for the upcoming school year.
In a joint statement, Americans United for Separation of Church and State and Oklahoma Appleseed, who are also plaintiffs in the case, said,
“While it’s disappointing that the court has not taken immediate action to block implementation of Superintendent Ryan Walters’ religiously coercive new social studies standards, today’s ruling is not a final resolution of this case. We have presented a strong case to the court that Walters’ new standards will violate students’ and families’ religious freedom by promoting one version of Christianity and advancing Christian Nationalist disinformation. We’re hopeful for a final ruling in favor of our clients that protects religious freedom, public education and church-state separation for all Oklahomans.”
The original lawsuit can be found below.