TRANSCRIPT
Dick Pryor: This is Capitol Insider - taking you inside politics, policy, and government in Oklahoma. I'm Dick Pryor with Quorum call publisher Shawn Ashley. The State Department of Education of Ryan Walters is moving quickly to crystallize policy initiatives that are expected to come from President-elect Donald Trump in his second term. Shawn, two days after the election, Walters sent a memo to school districts preparing them for the elimination of the U.S. Department of Education. Last Monday, Walters announced formation of a Trump education advisory committee to oversee anticipated federal education policy changes. And then on Tuesday, Walters announced that he is establishing the new Office of Religious Liberty and Patriotism at SDE. What is it going to do?
Shawn Ashley: According to Walters, the office will support teachers and students when their constitutional rights are threatened by certain groups. As an example, Walters pointed to a 2023 incident where he said a Skiatook school was bullied into removing Bible quotes from a classroom. Walters said the office will also oversee investigations of abuses of individual's religious freedom or displays of patriotism. And he said guidance to schools will be issued in coming days on steps to be taken to ensure that the right to pray in schools is safeguarded.
Dick Pryor: State Superintendent Walters also sent a video to superintendents that he is directing schools to show to students and send to parents. What is the video's message?
Shawn Ashley: Walters said, “the radical left has attacked religious liberty in schools and that will not be tolerated.” He said, “woke teachers unions have mocked and pushed hatred for the United States in classrooms that,” he said, “also will not be tolerated.” Now, approximately one half of the video is a prayer which Walters said students could join him in if they wish to do so. During that prayer, he prays for our nation's leaders, particularly Trump and his team, students and their parents. In the video, Walters is sitting at his desk at the State Department of Education with an American and an Oklahoma flag behind him. On his desk is a Bible and a coffee cup that reads in Latin, “If you want peace, prepare for war.”
Dick Pryor: And the Bible featured in the video is noteworthy, too.
Shawn Ashley: It is. It appears to be the same Bible he holds up in another video on X, formally Twitter, in which he announces that the State Department of Education has purchased 500 Bibles to be distributed to Advanced Placement government classrooms across the state. The video setup is the same as the one distributed to schools, except that his coffee cup moves from the right side of the desk to the left. The Bible appears to be the Lee Greenwood God Bless the USA Bible, which is also known as the Trump Bible. In addition to the biblical text, it includes the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the Pledge of Allegiance, as well as lyrics to the chorus of Greenwood's song, “God Bless the USA.”
Listeners may recall that Walters announced during the September 26th State Board of Education meeting that he would ask the legislature for $3 million in the State Department of Education's fiscal year 2026 budget to fund the purchase of Bibles. He told another media outlet that he already had $3 million in the agency's current budget that he would use to purchase Bibles. Soon after, the department issued a request for proposals or RFP for the purchase of 55,000 Bibles, but it canceled that RFP without explanation. Walters said Thursday that the purchase he announced is separate from a larger one that will be detailed in a new forthcoming RFP.
Dick Pryor: And there is some news out of the capitol not coming from the State Department of Education. Filmmaking in Oklahoma may be getting a boost. What is the Incentive Evaluation Commission recommending about the state's film tax rebate and credit programs?
Shawn Ashley: It recommends the programs be expanded beyond just the filming of movies, television shows, and commercials to include post-production work, such as editing and sound and special effects. That, the commission's consultant said, will help build a filmmaking infrastructure in the state that will then encourage companies to film here.
Dick Pryor: Thank you, Shawn.
Shawn Ashley: You're very welcome.
Dick Pryor: For more information, go to quorumcall.online. You can find audio and transcripts at kgou.org. And look for Capitol Insider where you get podcasts. Until next time, with Shawn Ashley, I'm Dick Pryor.
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