Walters Bans DEI, “Drag Queen”-Related Activities, Affirms Uncompromising Support for Religious Liberty

Oklahoma City, Okla – At today’s Oklahoma State Board of Education meeting, State Superintendent Ryan Walters spearheaded action to enforce Gov. Kevin Stitt’s Executive Order banning the use state of funds on “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion” (DEI) programs by public schools, eliminated “Drag Queen” and other sexually provocative behaviors by teachers and administrators, and affirmed his uncompromising support for religious liberty for teachers and students.

“DEI programs should rightfully be called ‘Discrimination, Exclusion, and Indoctrination,’” said Walters. We want our kids to know that they are each individually created by God, and they can do great things, not that they are bundled into political groups based on some arbitrary characteristics that are favored or not by woke ideologues. Our goal is to make sure each student has the resources they need to achieve their own amazing goals.”

“We have seen radical gender theory activists use our schools as laboratories to force sexually explicit and other content onto our students both in school and after hours. School leaders should be guiding our kids toward a better future, not subverting parents and introducing kids to sexually inappropriate material. To protect our students, we are ensuring appropriate community standards are maintained by our school officials. In Oklahoma, we are leading the way in making sure our teachers and administrators are the best in the nation, both in the classroom and with their consistent example in the community.”

“We have seen out-of-state, atheist activists bully small Oklahoma school districts into abandoning their own students’ and teachers’ right to the free expression of their religion. We are protecting those rights, ensuring each school district has a policy to permit voluntary prayer and a moment of silence for students to reflect or pray on their own. I will make all resources available to protect teachers' and students' constitutional and moral rights.”