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Walters announces history standards update to comply with Trump executive order, details unclear

State Superintendent Ryan Walters answers questions from reporters after the Nov. 30 State Board of Education meeting.
Beth Wallis
/
StateImpact Oklahoma
State Superintendent Ryan Walters answers questions from reporters after the Nov. 30 State Board of Education meeting.

State Superintendent Ryan Walters announced in a Thursday press release his agency has updated history standards, “effective immediately,” to comply with President Donald Trump’s executive order renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America and Mount Denali to Mount McKinley.

In the release, Walters claims Oklahoma is the first state to implement Trump’s order.

“Our nation’s proud history and heritage is accurately reflected in these updates, and President Trump is correct in making them,” Walters said in the release. “I look forward to continuing to work with the Trump administration and make our schools, and America, great again.”

But, the two-paragraph release is short on details, and it is unclear which standards have gotten the update. The current standards from the Oklahoma State Department of Education’s website remain the 2019 version, which does not mention the Gulf or Denali. Updating those standards would presumably mean creating new standards.

The announcement could refer to the proposed social studies standards up for revision this year, though it is unclear what would be “effective immediately,” as the proposed standards have yet to be passed by the State Board of Education or the legislature.

The department did not return a request to clarify the announcement.

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Beth reports on education topics for StateImpact Oklahoma.
StateImpact Oklahoma reports on education, health, environment, and the intersection of government and everyday Oklahomans. It's a reporting project and collaboration of KGOU, KOSU, KWGS and KCCU, with broadcasts heard on NPR Member stations.
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