Education Superintendent Ryan Walters said Oklahoma will no longer tolerate what he characterized as leftist attacks on religious liberty and the ridicule of American patriotism.
The Office of Religious Liberty and Patriotism will support the constitutional rights of teachers and students in cases when those rights are threatened.
Walters specifically cited a previous incident when an advocacy group pushed a northeastern Oklahoma school into removing Bible passages from the classroom.
The Office of Religious Liberty and Patriotism will conduct investigations into abuse claims of religious liberty or patriotic sentiments. The department added that it would soon release instructions ensuring the right to pray in school is protected and that the education principles outlined in President-elect Donald Trump’s agenda are implemented.
Walters described his plans in a video as an introduction to the new office and ended it with a prayer. He requested that districts distribute the video to parents and make it mandatory viewing for all students.
But not school administrators are honoring the request. Oklahoma City Public Schools released a message to teachers and staff saying they would not be showing the Walter’s video. And the American Civil Liberties Union of Oklahoma is threatening legal action.