Curriculum standards to be implemented in Oklahoma public schools next academic year include a change to how the 2020 election is taught, working in allegations central to President Trump’s baseless claims of widespread voter fraud.<\/p>\n
The revised standards call for classrooms to 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 \u2018bellwether county\u2019 trends.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The guidance represents a dramatic shift from previous direction for educators to examine “issues related to the election of 2020 and its outcome.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The standards were controversial even among Republicans as state Superintendent Ryan Walters (R) pushed for quick changes hours before the vote, The Associated Press reported Saturday<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe standards do not instruct students on what to believe; rather, they encourage critical thinking by inviting students to examine real events, review publicly available information, and come to their own conclusions,\u201d Walters, a vocal Trump supporter, said in a statement to the AP.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Walters has previously praised the president’s education reforms, including shutting down the federal Education Department and getting rid of diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. \u00a0<\/p>\n The Hill has reached out to Walters\u2019s office for comment.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Trump has repeatedly insisted the 2020 election was stolen from him, despite a lack of supporting evidence and the results of multiple investigations \u2014 including by his first administration \u2014 showing the vote was free and fair.<\/p>\n Some Republican lawmakers in the state Legislature looked to pause the new revision but could not gather the support.\u00a0<\/p>\n A group of parents has sued in an attempt to halt the teachings in state classrooms.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n