Another Lawsuit Filed Against State Superintendent’s Classroom Bible Mandate
State Superintendent Ryan Walters is facing another lawsuit over his directive to schools to provide a Bible in every classroom.
This suit comes from more than 30 parents, teachers and faith leaders.
The lawsuit was filed in the State Supreme Court Thursday by Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the ACLU and ACLU of Oklahoma Foundation, the Freedom From Religion Foundation and the Oklahoma Appleseed Center for Law and Justice.
This summer, Walters announced all public schools must provide physical copies of the Bible in every classroom and issued guidance saying they should be used as instructional resources.
The suit argues the directive violates the state constitution by spending public money to support religion.
It also contends it violates the Administrative Procedures Act because the directive would constitute an administrative rule, which requires notice and a comment period.
Finally, plaintiffs say state law exclusively prescribes selection of instructional materials to districts.
Norman Residents Submit Over 11,000 Signatures for Entertainment District Petition
A petition to put the proposed Rock Creek Entertainment District in Norman to a public vote got nearly twice as many signatures than were needed.
Nonprofit organization Oklahomans for Responsible Economic Development announced it had gathered more than 11,600 signatures to create a referendum regarding the Rock Creek Entertainment District. 6,098 signatures were needed.
The entertainment district was already approved by the Norman City Council last month in a vote of 5-4. However, the nonprofit says Norman residents should be able to vote on such a large economic development in their city.
The plans for the development include using tax increment financing districts to build office, retail, and housing space as well as a new arena to replace the University of Oklahoma’s Lloyd Noble Center.
Moore Bond Proposal To Widen Busy Road
The city of Moore is proposing a $6.7 million bond to widen a busy section of Telephone Road.
The plan would expand the road from two lanes to four., improving traffic flow south of 34th Street.
City leaders say the project is necessary to accommodate growing traffic, but some residents are concerned about higher property taxes.
Moore City Manager Brooks Mitchell says the bond would take effect after previous ones expire to keep taxes stable.
Town halls are planned to address residents' questions later this month.
DOJ Officials Visit Tulsa to Investigate 1921 Race Massacre
Officials from the Department of Justice were in Tulsa Thursday visiting with people affected by the Tulsa Race Massacre.
DOJ employees surveyed the area where the massacre took place and met with the two known living survivors who are both more than 100 years old.
At a press conference, attorney Damario Solomon-Simmons said he appreciates the historic effort by the feds to look into the racist attack.
"Thanks to the DOJ review, our nation will have the opportunity for the first time to know the truth about the despicable plot to put an affluent Black community quote in its place," Solomon-Simmons said.
As many as 300 people were killed when a white mob razed the neighborhood known as Black Wall Street.
The DOJ’s investigation was launched under the Emmett Till Cold Case Act, an initiative that seeks to put resources toward solving racially motivated crimes.
Oklahoma ATC Scores Below National Average
Data released Wednesday shows Oklahoma’s ACT Scores are well below the national average. Oklahoma’s scores ranked second-to-last nationally.
Oklahoma’s class of 2024 averaged a composite score of 17.6 out of 36 on the ACT. National scores average at 19.4, putting Oklahoma second to last, just ahead of Nevada.
The Class of 2024 began highschool during the pandemic, but data shows test scores have been declining since before then, and that more than half of Oklahoma’s students don’t meet college readiness benchmarks in any test subject.
Oklahoma started requiring the exam in 2017, with an average score of 19.4, but two years later it dropped to 18.9.
Oklahoma and a dozen other states require all students to take the exam, free of cost. Because of this, ACT says it’s important to not compare scores as other states test different percentages of students.
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