Thursday, May. 29, 2025

Are Oklahoma schools including misinformation about the 2020 election in new standards?

yes

Starting next school year, Oklahoma high school U.S. history standards revised by Superintendent Ryan Walters will include conspiracy theories regarding the 2020 election.

As a part of the objective of “Analyzing significant events during the first Donald J. Trump Administration,” students will “Identify discrepancies in 2020 elections results by looking at graphs and other information, including the sudden halting of ballot-counting in select cities in key battleground states, the security risks of mail-in balloting, sudden batch dumps, an unforeseen record number of voters, and the unprecedented contradiction of ‘bellwether county’ trends.”

A review by the Associated Press of every potential case of voter fraud in 2021 found decidedly too few instances to have made a difference in the 2020 election.

The new standards, which also require teaching the Bible and that COVID-19 originated in a Chinese lab, are being challenged in a lawsuit filed May 7, 2025.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

Associated Press New standards for Oklahoma high school students promote misinformation about the 2020 election
Oklahoma State Department of Education Oklahoma Academic Standards - SOCIAL STUDIES
Associated Press Far too little vote fraud to tip election to Trump, AP finds
Oklahoma Watch Board of Education Approves Controversial Social Studies Standards
Oklahoma Watch Education Watch: Lawsuit Seeks to Nullify Social Studies Standards

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Are Oklahoma schools including misinformation about the 2020 election in new standards?

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