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Oklahoma Inc., Part 2 – Republican OK Governor Kevin Stitt Channels Democrat Obama With His New Education “Turnaround Team”

Oklahoma Inc.

First, why do you suppose it’s important to use the word “Workforce” to describe people who are – or will be employed? Answer: so that people become accustomed to being widgets – not individuals. Who is the Constitution made for? Individuals. Who votes in elections in our Democratic Republic? Individuals.

What about the phrase “community”? Answer: it’s a group of individuals. Groups are much more easily led and studies show this to be true. This is where we get the tongue-in-cheek term, “Sheeple”. So why move to this use of the word “community” to describe multiple groups of individuals? Because

What about the phrase “data-driven”? Answer: Data is science. Science has become the God of many today (COVID anyone?) Therefore, science knows better about people than people can know about people. There’s no argument about a child’s trajectory in life, then, if the “data” lines out that trajectory. No muss, no fuss, no messy, “but mom and dad, I’d like to be a firefighter when I grow up”. If the data says “aerospace engineer” (because the state is giving the industry millions in tax credits), then Johnny gets to be an aerospace engineer.

In 2008, Barack Obama became our 49th president. Let us never forget that under the one-word campaign slogan – CHANGE – Obama set about creating a socialist paradise in this country which dismantled nearly every LOCALIZED state institution – including education – almost thoroughly.

In the place of localized educational standards, Obama worked with the National Governor’s Association (of which Governor (King) Stitt just become Chair – please review his Igniting The Dream initiative below) and of which Mary Fallin was Chair during her term, 2013-14) and the Counsel of Chief State School Officers (all state superintendents) to create top down (national) educational standards to make sure every student in America was learning like every other student in America, which they called the Common Core State Standards. Unbelievably, (wink, wink) The CCSS have been found to be a failure in every state that adopted them (please internet search the term “Common Core failure” for more studies describing this boondoggle).

He also ramped up the State Longitudinal Database System. Working with the The National Center for Education Statistics, the Common Education Data Standards Initiative was created where thousands of data points were developed so that every school around the country could collect information on every student enrolled in public school in the United States to help them ‘learn’ better. (To find more information on Common Core and the SLDS, see our former blogspot.) This initiative has not failed, and in fact, has gained more steam the more tyrannical governments at every level realize how easy it is to control a populace on which they have millions of datapoints of information.

Besides an initiative to grade teachers (which has created part of the mess we now see in public education) – the Teacher Effectiveness system – the last of Obama’s four pillars was to create a TURNAROUND MODEL for ‘turning around failing schools, funded by School Improvement Grants. This roundly debunked initiative has been an absolute failure, yet it cost US taxpayers BILLIONS of dollars.

And so, this last week, Governor (King) Stitt, took full advantage of ELECTED Ryan Walters’ decision to quit his job instead of upholding his compact with his VOTERS to finish his term and made SWEEPING changes to Oklahoma’s upper education infrastructure – which he called Oklahoma’s “turnaround”. Hopefully, you’ll understand from the brief synopsis above, why I’m not in the least inspired by this turn of events.

Now, let’s review all that has happened since Ryan Walters quit:

  • Governor King-Stitt tells the public he’s going to ask the legislature to make the State Superintendent position appointed because there isn’t enough alignment between the Governor’s office and the state superintendent if the position is not appointed. (NO. JUST NO. This is at minimum a CHECK AND BALANCE. Number 2, I’ve had enough of Governor Stitt’s failed appointments and number 3, we are a Representative Government, not an oligarchy or a private business – things Governor King-Stitt forgets on a regular basis.)
  • Governor King-Stitt moves around his office staff – hiring what can only be called “swamp creatures” to help him finish out his term. This included trying to move long-time associate Donelle Harder into the Secretary of State position (don’t worry, after telling him to exit, I’m sure Stitt will find a cozy new deal for perennial government satellite Josh Cochroft) when she wasn’t eligible. How did no one in Stitt’s office seem to know the actual rules? If you’re King, or CEO, what do rules really matter?
  • Governor King-Stitt appoints a new Walters replacement – Lindel Fields – whose pronouns are “nice/kind”, who, in a very OPPOSITE RYAN WALTERS MOVE shed actual tears during the press conference, whose accreditations come from a place called Giant Worldwide (which includes a certification in “5 Voices“) – and include an SSGI/Baldrige Foundation Diversity and Inclusion Yellow Belt Certification from Six Sigma Global Institute. Very NOT GLOBAL! Don’t we have some law thingy against DEI?
  • Governor King Stitt appoints a new Secretary of Education, Daniel Hamlin, whose background includes University of Oklahoma professor, and who was educated both in Asia (MA Sejong University, Seoul, Asian Studies) and Canada where he received a Ph.D. from Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) Educational Leadership and Policy. So, advanced degrees from socialist countries. That’s comforting. Though he’s worked at OU the last 7 years, before that, he was at Oxford for 8 and University of Toronto for 4. Very Oklahoman! He is also Jeb Bush adjacent and seems to have an itch to control HOMESCHOOLING!
  • Governor King Stitt appoints his Obama-styled “turnaround team” at the Department of Education that includes (among others):
  • Current Okemah Chamber of Commerce President Connie Reilly, will now take over for Oftedal as the head of OEQA. She was a decades-long educator in Okemah schools, who was appointed to the Board of Regents of the Regional University System of Oklahoma by Brad Henry in 2007 – a post she has kept through 2 successive Republican governors now. Why a retired teacher would want to suddenly become president of the local chamber flummoxes me. And yet she will now be in a position where she can work with the Chamber and Dr. Oftedal, to hook all the databases in the state together so we can follow all children from birth to grave. Yay.
  • Governor King-Stitt then replaced two of his friends he had earlier appointed to the Oklahoma State Board of Education, but who haven’t been showing up much lately – Zach Archer and Sarah Lepak (who was Assistant General Counsel at Gateway Mortgage Group, from Apr 2012 – Mar 2017) – with Brian Bobek and Wes Nofire. Stitt has already appointed Bobek to the state board, where he served from 2019 to 2023. Bobek left BP Oil after 23 years to come to work for Governor Stitt, where, so far, he’s been his Deputy Chief of Staff, Chief Operating Officer (of something, I guess Governor Stitt?) and his Director of Faith Based Initiatives (another made up job not found in the Oklahoma Job Catalog so we have no idea what taxpayers pay for his salary). Nofire – like all the others – has been appointed by Stitt to something before: he’s a Commissioner on the Board of the State Athletic Commission and he’s also the Native American Liaison to the Office of the Governor since 2024.

Interestingly – neither our new, nice, State Superintendent, nor King-Stitt, notified our friend – and former Oklahoma State School Board member Kendra Wesson, that she had been fired as the Chair of the Oklahoma State Textbook Committee. She only found out when I read it in a ‘news’ media article and shared the information with her. Just another way we know that King-Stitt’s agenda is NOT about We The People.

I think it’s worth noting that in SEVERAL articles I read, the local “news” media have managed to quote Oklahoma Edvocates (a group for leftist teachers, not for parents or students), President, Jami Jackson Cole on King-Stitt’s Obama-like Turnaround, which she appears to be all for.

So, in closing, let all that sink in. Governor King-Stitt has now put into place all the “yes” men he’s previously appointed/worked with in some capacity as stewards of our Oklahoma Education funds and students. It is clear to me that this “turnaround” is one in which parents will be left behind. It has to be that way for the Jeb Bush/Chamber of Commerce-focused agenda of driving students into jobs so the elites can save money on job training can play out in real time.

Gone will be the effort to remove predators from schools and smutty, developmentally-inappropriate books from the library. Incoming will be the giant cookie cutter of big government, stamping children into widgets through collection of reams of unnecessary and invasive data for the benefit of private businesses. Watch.

__________________________________________

Governor Stitt’s Reigniting The Dream initiative as Chair of the National Governor’s Association, 2025:

The yearlong Reigniting the American Dream initiative will focus on three policy pillars:

  • Unlocking Economic Opportunity: Advancing the American Dream through entrepreneurship, creating a good jobs economy and economic mobility
  • Empowering Every Learner: Reimagining education and creating real on-the-jobs experiences for youth
  • Energizing the Future: Powering America’s next chapter by powering our AI future

Throughout the year, Governor Stitt will lead a series of convenings bringing together governors, private-sector leaders, and changemakers to explore policy and practice to forge a more hopeful, prosperous future for every American.

NGA also announced leadership for NGA’s three Governor-led task forces. The task forces foster a collaborative environment for Governors to focus on NGA’s top federal priorities. The task force co-chairs are:

  • Education, Workforce and Community Investment: Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers, Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon
  • Economic Development and Revitalization: Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, North Dakota Governor Kelly Armstrong
  • Public Health and Emergency Management: Missouri Governor Mike Kehoe, North Carolina Governor Josh Stein
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SB224 (re Student Data Collection) Passed By House On Fourth Vote After Failing In First Three

Retaliation Against Ryan Walters?

Tuesday, April 29th, SB224 – Creating the Oklahoma Education and Workforce Statewide Longitudinal Data System – was brought to the floor for a House vote following passage in the Senate 33 to 13. The bill failed in the House 35 to 56 with 7 absent.

At that time, author Representative Caldwell captured the bill to be reheard at a later time.

Thursday, May 1, the bill came to the House floor again, where it was voted down Ayes: 46 Nays: 37.

Then, a Motion to Rescind THAT vote was adopted Ayes: 51 Nays: 32.

The measure THEN passes Ayes: 51 Nays: 36 without the emergency clause.

Representative Tom Gann – who argued against the bill on the floor – wrote a Press Release concerning the unprecedented THREE votes the bill received on the 1st. That press release was read live on the air after it was sent, but Gann was advised that it would NOT be placed on the House website for publication. Please see below for a copy of that press release.

Rep.-Tom Gann, R-Inola Issues Statement on Bonus Vote of SB224 and Warns of the Dangers of Setting New Policy

Representative Tom Gann released the following statement on the unprecedented bonus vote taken by the house on Thursday on Senate Bill 224.

“On Thursday, May 1, 2025, Representative Kyle Hilbert, Speaker of the House, took actions regarding SB224 that did not align with the House Rules of the 60th Legislature. 

House rules dictate that once a bill is defeated it is not eligible for additional consideration. The House vote to defeat SB224 was considered final action under the rules.

However, Hilbert, while presiding over the house allowed an additional bonus vote to occur by which the bill was approved. This breaks with years of clearly established House precedent that prevents never ending bonus votes on failed legislation and opens up a Pandoras box of potential abuse. 

What other bills will be allowed a bonus vote?”

The relevant house rule and written precedent are attached to this release.

House Rule 6, Bills And Resolutions,

6.8 – Final Action

(a) The following action shall constitute final action on any bill or resolution:

1. committee recommendation, including any oversight committee recommendation or any policy committee recommendation of “Do Not Pass”;

2. if a motion to reconsider the vote on Third Reading or Fourth Reading fails to prevail or expires;

3. if a motion to table the motion to reconsider prevails; or

4. if a vote is taken on Third Reading or Fourth Reading and no notice is served to reconsider the vote.

(b) If final action is such as to defeat a bill or resolution, no other bill or resolution having the same effect and covering the same specific subject matter shall be considered by the House of Representatives during either session of the current Legislature.

Page 53

On page 209 of Precedents

6.8 – 4 (2010) Motion to Rescind May Not Be Used to Avoid Final Action

Rule – House Rule 6.8, paragraph (a) states in part:

(a) The following action shall constitute final action on any bill or resolution:

…a motion to reconsider the vote on Third Reading or Fourth Reading [that] fails to prevail…

History – Representative Nelson moved to reconsider the vote whereby Senate Bill 2207 failed, which motion failed of adoption. Representative Nelson moved to rescind the vote whereby the reconsideration motion failed.

Representative Reynolds raised a point of order stating that the motion to rescind was dilatory.

15 Okla. H. Jour., 1542, 1543, 52nd Leg., 1st Reg. Sess. (April 27, 2009).

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REAL ID – A liberty-destroying relic of the War on Terror

Is REAL ID a BIOMETRIC ID?

April 11th, the Department of Homeland Security released a short clip of its Trump-appointed head, Kristi Noem, commanding that all Americans must obtain a REAL ID before May 7th, in order to board domestic flights and enter federal buildings. These national ID cards, in her words, “prevent fraud and enhance security. Please do your part to protect our country.” To hear Noem speak like this, utilizing the mummified vernacular of Bush-era neoconservatives, two decades after the REAL ID Act was first passed, brings back a hideous nostalgia. How is anyone still taking this seriously?

REAL ID was passed into law in 2005 amid the hysteria of the War on Terror, a hysteria we’ve long ago emerged from. Despite this, DHS and the TSA are still hellbent on forcing a national ID card upon us. Why? Surely not to “prevent fraud and enhance security”. We’ve done just fine the past twenty years, so why do we need it now? The answer is we don’t. But they, our federal government do. They want all our information compiled in one tidy bundle, linking all state driver’s licenses together in one big database, for their ease in accessing all of our information immediately.

In response to Noem’s announcement and the coming deadline, Kentucky Congressman Thomas Massie posted on X:

“Real ID isn’t needed and won’t stop terrorists from hijacking planes. Most of the 9/11 hijackers held Saudi, UAE, Egyptian, or Lebanese passports. Real ID is a national standard and database of IDs that is primarily a tool for control of Americans. Trump shouldn’t enforce it.”

Resistance against REAL ID has been surprisingly vigorous over the past two decades. At one time, 25 states rejected the notion of a mandatory federal ID card, and announced their noncompliance. 15 states had laws on the books prohibiting compliance with the REAL ID Act. But as the years went on, non-compliant states began to lift their ban on REAL ID, including Oklahoma in 2017. It’s mind-boggling that agencies that should have been abolished years ago are bloated and thriving to this day, and wielding a vulgar and unchecked amount of power over the rights and privacy of American citizens.

Noem’s ridiculous announcement that the Trump administration would begin enforcing the REAL ID Act is very alarming. Is Trump’s “Golden Age” ushering in a return of domestic authoritarianism? The DHS and the TSA were products of War on Terror hysteria, and have long outstayed their welcome. The TSA famously has never captured a single terrorist, but has succeeded tremendously in humiliating travelers with strip-searches, while stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars in items from luggage from the moment of creation. A quick Google search produces endless news articles of TSA agents pilfering anything and everything from unwitting fliers. If you’re a frequent flier, you know first-hand that the TSA agents aren’t exactly the best and brightest among society. More often than not, they look and behave like thugs, drunk on the power trip they receive from barking commands all day. Despite this, the TSA is now acting as the DHS’ muscle, enforcing REAL ID at our airport gates for domestic flights.

Most Americans have no idea the scope of danger inherent in REAL ID, hence their nonchalant attitude. “Compliance” could mean anything, depending on the year, the political temperature, or whether or not we’ve found ourselves in another national emergency. Personal records required for a REAL ID could, in the future, contain information on gun ownership, vaccination and medical records, employment, wealth, and all manner of biometrics. The list of requirements for compliance will grow steadily each year. Just watch. The list of “checkpoints” throughout the country will only grow. For now, it’s federal buildings and airports. In the near future, it could (and probably will) be the doctor’s office, your job, your children’s school. If we awake to find ourselves in the midst of another pandemic panic, what will DHS do with its power over our ID cards? It doesn’t take much imagination to see that we’d exist at the mercy of the federal government at the merest hint of a national crisis.

REAL ID means the federal government has us by the throat. Failure to comply means a revocation of your Big Brother hall pass that you previously used to navigate Uncle Sam’s panopticon. You will no longer exist as a functioning member of society. In this sense, REAL ID makes an American social credit system much more a possibility than before. A central bank digital currency moves much closer to reality as well. The type of control that the federal government is striving for can’t have the loopholes or exit ramps that the cash economy provides.

Trump’s victory has lulled many conservatives into indifference over privacy-obliterating legislation like REAL ID. If Biden had been re-elected, their tune might be different, but because their team is in control, there’s no need to worry. Let’s hope that conservatives reawaken to these very real issues of privacy and freedom before its too late.

Ask yourself: does our government care more about protecting us, or controlling us? This is rhetorical. The sole reason for the REAL ID is to enhance our government’s ability to monitor and compel obedience from every American citizen. REAL ID makes us less safe, because it dramatically diminishes our freedom, exposing us to the whims and insane ideologies of anyone who gains power in the future. The Constitution exists to prevent this sort of thing, do you think Kristi Noem’s heard of it?

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Weekly News Headlines And Commentary – Week of March 10, 2025

ROPE Report news headlines

ROPE2.org

SB224 And SB141 Are Unnecessary; The WAVE (SLDS) Captures Student Data On Education And The Workforce – AND WAY MORE – Already

I have absolutely no idea why this legislation was proposed. I need to make an appointment and go talk to the author and ask, but this makes no sense. Since 2013 we’ve had a State Longitudinal Database System (SLDS) and it’s still working because I went out to the OSDE website and found all the new fields they’re adding to the School Interoperative Framework (SIF) to collect new data. This article describes the SLDS and why we don’t need a bill for something we already have.

Parent Who Posted Now-Viral State-Approved Waurika Psychology Assignment To Her Facebook Page Speaks Out

Last week I interviewed Ashlyn Jade, the mother who posted the now-viral AP Psychology worksheet given to 11th graders at Waurika Public Schools. She had no intention of running down the coach that produced the worksheet and handed it out, she was simply posting the worksheet to let parents know what was going on. Instead of parents being concerned and wanting to know what was going on, they essentially turned on Ashlyn and dogged her on social media for getting the coach ‘fired’. As our friend V1SUT has pointed out, for some reason, parents in small towns seem to circle the wagons around the school and throw whistleblowers under the bus. This seems to be happening here.

A Discussion About Oklahoma Homeschool And Other Education Legislation

Michael and I talked to Jana Belcher and Robert Scott about some legislation being floated this year. At the end, Robert talked about the tax credits being offered to homeschoolers. The state keeps all the data on all the many tax credits they hand out – and that includes the homeschooling credit and the tax credit for the Parental Choice educational credit – where your name is publicly listed in the Oklahoma Tax Commission data report. Robert essentially makes the point that, if you’re homeschooling, it’s likely that you don’t want your child to be tracked by the government. However, if you take the tax credit, the government not only tracks you, they release your name as well.

Citizen Lobbying 101 – Learning How To Work With Legislators On Important Issues

Our discussion with Carolyn McLarty of Eagle Forum (and former Oklahoma State Republican Committee Woman for 12 years) was a lot of fun. We talked about how citizens should go about dealing with their elected representatives and talked about how people who’d like to go to the Capitol could connect with her through Eagle Forum. It’s always a lot more effective to have more than one person lobby on an issue and Carolyn can help you with that.

Kaiser Partners With OK To Fund Birth To Three ‘Early Education’ Collecting Data On Babies For Tax Dollars To Justify Putting Them In Daycare

All the work I’ve been doing on the SLDS this week got me very concerned when I found that organizations are keeping data on babies at the taxpayer expense. Of course it all stems from money ‘gifted’ to the state in a public/private partnership to ‘help’ the underprivileged in our state. Unfortunately for babies and families, this money comes from the George Kaiser Family Foundation. This is truly a huge problem, taking babies and toddlers away from their parents to be raised by the state while the state collects data on them that they then use to justify getting more tax dollars to keep babies and toddlers away from their parents. Please read this and pass it on to others. It needs to stop.

LEGISLATION

Next week, all the bills must change houses – House bills that have been voted off the floor of the House must go to the Senate and vice-versa. At this point, we will look at the bills that have been passed and make a list of the ones that need to be stopped and the ones that need to be passed. We should have that for you by next week’s news wrap up.

OKLAHOMA SUBSTACK AUTHORS

V1SUT – This week, our friend Mary had two great articles, but the last one is definitely an issue everyone needs to know about. OK Speaker Hilbert Pulls Shady Bill Flip in Gov Stitt’s Ongoing War Against Supt Walters’ Board of Ed tells the tale of gutting one bill and dropping new language into that bill. From the substack: “After 5:00 pm on Wednesday, March 4th, that amended bill was gutted and replaced with language giving Stitt’s new appointees control over the State Board of Education agenda, a right and responsibility historically reserved for the State Superintendent as the only member of that board elected by We the People.” Read the rest of her article to find out why this is bad.

The Sooner Sentinel – Author Marvin Goodman writes multiple times a week so it’s hard to put all his substacks in each week, but PLEASE check out the one he wrote yesterday. It. Is. Scary. The Invisible Eye in the Sky: Dirtbox and the Silent Expansion of Surveillance in 2025. Americans are being heavily surveilled to the point that it’s out of control. We need legislators who have the guts to protect WE THE PEOPLE from these constant invasions of our 4th and 1st and 5th Amendment rights. Please read. I had no idea about any of the things he wrote about here and I’m imagining maybe you might not either and knowledge is power.

Restore Liberty Oklahoma – Wendi Montgomery Dial writes often about election issues. Her latest, is an audio note posted the 7th where she discusses the Make Elections Secure Act (MESA) and what Oklahoma can do to get rid of it.

The Oklahoma State Capitol – Author Jason Murphy’s last post was about the passing of Governor David Boren. Did you know that during his time as Governor he was a staunch advocate of transparency? I didn’t. Check out his substack on Boren for more information.

David Arnett – David is the publisher of Tulsa Today and also writes on his personal substack. Check it out.

Shooting The Oklahoma Breeze – Oklahoman Ryan Kester is sick of the ‘green agenda’. As he has time, he writes about it. Check out his latest post, Another Mirage.

Critical Thinking Still Matters – Okie Author J Ossenkopf writes about various subjects pointing to the lack of critical thinking we humans seem to display currently as a general rule. Her latest is, “The Golden Age of Common Education Funding and Union Influence (Not Academics, Students, Families) in Oklahoma” and it’s a really great summation of all the educational BS that’s been going on and why it is meaningless to outcomes of students. Lots of great data here to mine!

LOCAL MEDIA

Governor calls for audit of Oklahoma mental health agency, says it may need additional funding

Oklahoma Voice: In a shocking turn of events, we find that government misuses the money that is stolen from taxpayers. Worse, we’ll have to pay even more out of the treasury to keep open a government office that has no business being a government office in the first place. Once, long ago now, churches and other private organizations took care of the mentally and physically infirm and little ones. Now, Big Brother does it for us and we’re shocked when we find out they not only don’t do the jobs they were appropriated to do, they misspend they money stolen from us for the cause.

Regent says employee tip led to internal OSU audit that showed alleged misspending

The Oklahoman: Rinse and repeat from above. Government money means little to people using it who often like to believe it’s ‘their’ money.

Governor’s DOGE-OK initiative takes shape ahead of reporting deadline

The Frontier: So, Oklahoma’s very own DOGE is up and running. Here’s a quote from the article: “Stitt appointed Marc Nuttle, a businessman and political insider who worked on the presidential campaigns of Ronald Reagan and Pat Buchanan, to administer DOGE-OK. Nuttle also coordinated fundraising efforts for Stitt’s inauguration as governor.”

SD 8 GOP primary: Bryan Logan, David Nelson advance to runoff

Non-Doc: BOY WAS THIS GREAT NEWS! Bryan Logan knocked it out of the park with a whopping over 40% in the primary. Now, we’ve just got to stay focused and help him finish out the homestretch on May 13th. (Let’s not ask why our Governor took so long to call this election, since the people of SD8 will have had no representation through nearly the ENTIRE legislative session – and let’s not ask why Senator Roger Thompson had to throw such a baby fit and quit and leave his district without representation for nearly the ENTIRE legislative session.) Let’s also remember that the swamp would prefer Bryan’s opponent, so all the stops will come out before May. Here’s an interview we did with Bryan for our Candidate Corner. Please share.

NATIONAL MEDIA

Chris Wright: “We need more energy. Lots more energy.”

Robert Bryce Substack: Bryce quoting Wright, “Everywhere wind and solar penetration have increased significantly, prices on the grid went up and stability of the grid went down.” Now, can we convince our tax-credit-happy Governor to get away from the stupidity? Who knows, but we can’t quit trying.

Breaking News: South Dakota Governor Signs HB 1052

FreeSoil Foundation: “South Dakota Governor Larry Rhoden signed HB 1052 to protect property rights and prohibit the use of eminent domain for CO2 pipeline projects.” This is great news for SD and I’m hoping that, not far behind, will come a real repudiation of the whole C02 carbon credit scheme that’s driving so much of this stuff from Harold Hamm (Continental Oil) down.

With lawyers and judges like those the American Bar Association advances, the United States will quickly discard what’s left of our constitutional order

The Federalist: Hopefully, people are learning that nearly ALL the organizations they had believed to be at least politically ‘neutral’ have been taken over by leftists. Look at the AMA and other US medical groups. A study just last year found that, “Overall, activism is common across specialty medical societies. Among the 26 societies that take stances, 23 (88%) do so on multiple issues.” From the Federalist article, “By endorsing race and sex discrimination, presidents unilaterally changing the Constitution, and forbidding elected executive control of unelected executive bureaucrats, the ABA has disqualified itself as a legal organization or any kind of legitimate player in American public life. No elected official who has made a public vow to preserve and protect the Constitution should give this anti-American pressure organization the time of day.”

Honors Student Sues After Graduating Without Being Able to Read

The Liberty Sentinel/Alex Newman: From the article, “Despite graduating from high school with “honors” and being accepted into the University of Connecticut on a scholarship, 19-year-old government-school victim Aleysha Ortiz cannot read or write. At all. Literally. And she’s hardly alone. Now, with help from an attorney, Ortiz is suing the city and the school board. And the national media is paying attention.” I knew social promotion was happening back in the early 2000’s – it’s one of the reasons I left public school teaching. We can write laws against social promotion all we want, but it’s still done and it will CONTINUE to be done until parents wake up and decide to take an interest in what their kids are learning at school. As our friend Kendra Wesson has said before, all it takes is a parent who will listen to a child read on a regular basis to tell how well they’re doing in school. If you can’t do even that, you’re dooming your child to this same outcome. That is a parental responsibility and until parents accept their responsibilities, they don’t have parental rights.

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A Discussion About Oklahoma Homeschool And Other Education Legislation

homeschooling tax credit

Wednesday, March 5th, Michael and I talked to Jana Belcher and Robert Scott – both Homeschooling parents who have been heavily involved in lobbying the legislature to remove homeschoolers from the Parental Choice Tax Credit voucher legislation. It was a really great conversation and covered much more than just homeschooling. Please find the full live video here on our YouTube channel and on Rumble as well.

For years, trying to fight this tax credit, so many of us have said that private schools will just raise their rates once the tax credit comes online. If more students come to the school, more teachers and instructional materials will be necessary, raising the price. And not only that, it just gives a school a good excuse to raise rates. In the clip below, Robert gives an example of exactly that happening.

In the clip below, Robert talks about the data bill we’ve been warning about. Though we didn’t talk about the specific inclusion of homeschoolers in the database, years ago when Julia Seay, Lynn Habluetzel and I were studying data collection and trying to stop implementation of a State Longitudinal Database, we had found information indicating that there were fields in the database for collecting data related to homeschooling – which concerned a whole lot of homeschoolers.

And finally, in the last clip I pulled from the full video, Robert shows us that every individual who files for the Oklahoma Parental Choice Tax Credit has their name and the amount of their tax credit listed in the Oklahoma Tax Commission, Tax Credits database online. There is no address or phone number listed, just the name and the amount of the tax credit, but the point is, anyone can look you up to see your ‘award’.

Below is a PDF of Robert’s slide presentation. Please share this information with friends and family – and especially homeschoolers who want to take this government handout.

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SB224 And SB141 Are Unnecessary; The WAVE (SLDS) Captures Student Data On Education And The Workforce – AND WAY MORE – Already

Common Core flowchart

For those of you who have followed ROPE since the days (2008-2014) when we were called Restore Oklahoma Public Education (ROPE), you’ll recognize the flowchart, that Lynn Habluetzel (former ROPE Board member) and I created together to show how Obama’s Race To The Top grant program was fueling ways in which the government would track YOUR CHILDREN all under the guise of ‘helping’ them. What did Reagan say, “The nine most terrifying words in the English language are ‘I’m from the government and I’m here to help”?

This session, our ‘helpful’ legislature – particularly Representative Chad Caldwell and Senator Ally Seifried – have decided to add to the State Longitudinal Database System (SLDS) so loved by former REPUBLICAN State Superintendent Janet Baressi. Here is the text of the bill. In addition, Seifried and Dick Lowe (SB141) are directing the OSDE to issue RFP’s for a “statewide student information system”. I guess, we’re the only ones that remember the information below apparently.

I was going to publish a list of reasons why this bill shouldn’t even be considered, but I’ll just say this – WE ALREADY HAVE A STATE LONGITUDINAL DATABASE (aka Statewide Student Information System) and according to everything we learned years ago, it was set up to do all the same stuff outlined in the bill by the person responsible for setting the whole scheme up by the Obama administration in the first place, John Kraman – now the Chief Information Officer for the Mississippi State Department of Education.

Here’s what we know.

We know that the state got a Race To The Top grant for $4,997,082 to construct the SLDS in 2012.

We know that Oklahoma created a P20 Council via law to oversee the project which was supposed to have sunset (gone away) in 2015.

We know that The Wave is “OSDE’s primary system for collecting data from schools to perform necessary duties and functions” (Oklahoma’s SLDS). Incidentally, the link that is supposed to tell parents exactly what data is collected via The Wave is not working, which violates section C.1 of the law we helped implement in 2013 (2013 Student Data Accessibility, Transparency, and Accountability Act, 70 O.S. § 3-168) until we realized it didn’t say what we expected it to say – story on that here.

We know that the OSDE has a data governance board.

We know that the OSDE has a Data Privacy Program Plan.

Here is a list of The Wave Code Tables to give you an idea of the kind of data our SLDS is storing.

We know that the OSDE is continually updating the Schools Interoperative Framework (SIF) and has new updates ready this year (2025).

And finally, we know that The Wave allows data researchers/teachers/etc., to pull information on students regarding their post-secondary and (‘workforce’) ‘opportunities’.

In closing:

STOP COLLECTING DATA ON KIDS! THERE IS NO NEED FOR THIS UNLESS THE IDEA IS FOR THE GOVERNMENT TO EDUCATE STUDENTS FOR JOBS LIKE THE EU DOES.

And if there’s still any concern that Oklahoma needs more excuses to collect data on kids, below is the presentation I made to the House Admin rules, Government Oversight and Repealer Committee during October of 2013. It’s a MUST WATCH because it contains the flowcharts I prepared that show how the state – and the feds – collect student data.

Here is the paper that contains all the LIVE links to all the research Lynn, Julia Seay (former ROPE Board member) and I did on the SLDS during the time Oklahoma was implementing that monster.

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE share this information with every parent and grandparent you can and IMMEDIATELY contact your Representative and Senator and tell them that they MUST vote NO for SB224 and SB141 and any other data collection bill in the state legislature.

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Six Reasons Why The Oklahoma State Legislature Should Ban The Use of SEL – Social Emotional Learning – Through SB1442

Last year, the state Legislature – prompted by outcry from parent and taxpayers across the state and the nation – passed HB1775, a rejection of the teaching of tenets tied to Critical Race Theory.

Unfortunately, CRT tenets are still entering classrooms around the state, packaged under the heading of Social Emotional Learning.

WHAT IS SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LEARNING

Social Emotional Learning is a theory which, according to the Collaborative for Academic Social and Emotional Learning (CASEL), became an “essential part of education” “through which all young people and adults acquire and apply the knowledge, skills and attitudes to develop healthy identities, manage emotions and achieve personal and collective goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain supportive relationships, and make responsible caring decisions.”

CASEL also goes on to say that “SEL can help address various forms of inequity and empower young people and adults to co-create thriving schools and contribute to safe, healthy and just communities.”

While every parent wants their child to have traits like empathy and every teacher wants a classroom of children who can manage their emotions, SEL programming does much more.

Like so many before it – Outcome Based Learning and Common Core to name a few – SEL has been federalized through numerous grant programs and school accountability requirements. With the carrot of $122 billion dollars in funding via Elementary and Secondary School Education Relief (ESSER) funds, the Biden Administration has lured schools into a program that fosters philosophies steeped in race, with which many parents and taxpayers disagree.

CONCERNS WITH SEL:

#1 Brings CRT Concepts Into Schools and Classrooms

Karen Neimi, the President and CEO of CASEL (Collaborative for Academic Social Emotional Learning) makes it clear throughout a nearly 50-minute video, that, “We believe that our work in Social Emotional Learning must actively contribute to anti-racism” and that CASEL has “prioritized issues of equity in the center of our work for a long time.”

Deena Simmons, Ed.D, Assistant Director of the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence and an Associate Research scientist at the Yale Child Study Center advocates that, “You can’t be trauma informed if you’re not talking about racism. Without an anti-racist lens, SEL is white supremacy with a hug”.

One Edmond mother recently researched an SEL program being used in her child’s classroom – Conscious Discipline – and found a letter written by founder Becky Bailey, in which she says that her program is “based on and steeped in inclusion” and that they will train their employees in “anti-racist” goals, using Ibram X Kendi’s “Raising Antiracist Kids” and CASEL’s “SEL as a Lever for Equity”.

Dr. James Lindsay explains the mechanisms by which SEL is used to bring CRT concepts into classrooms in a video interview, and Dr. Susan Berry cites numerous articles which bring awareness to this fact in ‘Social Emotional Learning’ Now a Vehicle for Critical Race Theory”.

Oklahoma passed HB1775 in 2021. This bill specifically states, “Any orientation or requirement that presents any form of race or sex stereotyping or a bias on the basis of race or sex shall be prohibited.” Because CASEL’s specifically stated goals include race stereotyping and bias, SEL programming should be banned from classrooms under the law.

#2 CASEL Foundation Supporters Have Leftist Political Philosophies

CASEL Foundation ‘supporters’ are also a cause for concern. Bill and Melinda Gates have been tied to a slew of ‘education reform’ issues beginning with the Obama education reforms in 2008 which have been completely unsuccessful such as Common Core, School Turnaround and teacher effectiveness initiatives.

The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative has been investigated in several states for their interference in the 2020 presidential and state elections.

The Patrick J. McGovern Foundation uses AI to ‘democratize’ data, and uses data to establish racial equity and create climate change solutions.

New Profit is an organization dedicated to raising money to fight social injustice and to establish racial equity through influencing government.

The NoVo Foundation is funded by Warren Buffet. “NoVo also increased our funding to a wide variety of organizations focused on ending violence, giving voice and generally lifting up the truth about systems that have continually oppress (sic) girls and women – Black. Brown. Indigenous. Cis. Trans and gender non-conforming.”

The Raikes Foundation seeks to create systems that will better empower marginalized communities and create a more just and equitable world.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation promotes socialized health care and bemoans the effects of climate change on “health and equity”.

Wallace – “Our mission is to foster equity and improvements in learning and enrichment for young people…”

#3 SEL Trains Students As Activists

CASEL cites 10 ‘indicators’ of ‘high quality’ SEL implementation. The first four are; ‘Explicit SEL Instruction’, SEL Integrated with Academic Instruction, Youth Voice and Engagement and Supportive School and Classroom Climates.

Number 3 involves teaching students to use their voice (agency) to advocate for change.

In this video about ‘Schoolwide SEL: Youth Voice and Engagement”, we hear from Mayrydennia Perez, a student who explains how, in 10th grade, students didn’t like a class they were given so they protested. This involved the entire 10th grade class walking out of school and Mayrydennia was very happy to report that the Administration ‘listened to them’ and the class was changed the next year.

Children are not adults. Giving children ‘agency’ – autonomy – to defy school administration, teaches children they have a power they don’t have the worldview yet to process rationally. Giving students ‘voice’ and teaching them to engage on issues is not giving students more responsibility, it’s teaching students to use their emotions to react as activists – I don’t like this, so instead of finding a calm, rational solution, I’m going to get mad and walk out. How does THAT help students manage their emotions?

#4 SEL Uses Lots of Behavioral Surveys

School climate surveys are used to gauge students’ feelings about different factors associated with their school under the guise of creating ‘supportive schools’. Here are some questions that can be found on Oklahoma’s School Climate Survey:

  • Do you know what consent means?
  • During the past 12 months have you experienced sexual activity when you did not want to?
  • During the past 12 months has your dating partner hit, slapped (sic) or physically hurt you?
  • Do you currently receive sexual health information? If so, from where?
  • Do you feel like your school supports and affirms your identities?
  • Choose 3 topics you would like to learn more about: pregnancy, bullying, substance use, mental health, violence prevention, sexual health, LGBTQIA+, other

Data is then compiled into a spreadsheet so that the ‘risk profile’ of the student can be determined and a student effectively pigeonholed by his or her behavior.

Another SEL survey called Success Highways is given to students in middle school through 10th grade in Oklahoma. The results tell the administrator of the survey the level of academic ‘risk’ for the student in several different categories.

Here are some questions on the Success Highways questionnaire:

  • The reason I keep coming to school is because if I don’t I’ll get punished
  • In the past week, how often have you experienced breaking things when angry
  • In the past week, how often have you experienced feelings of danger
  • In the past week how often have you experienced nightmares
  • In the past week how often have you experienced overeating
  • In the past month how often did you have difficulty paying for recreation and entertainment

These surveys are given in ‘advisory’. The main questionnaire was over 100 questions with other smaller surveys given depending upon the topic. A concerned Edmond mom took a considerable amount of time researching Success Highways and found it linked to ‘Emancipatory Communitarianism’ a form of social justice, among other issues.

A federal law the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA) passed in 1978 protects children from surveys or questionnaires that ask:

1. Political affiliations or beliefs of the student or student’s parent; 2. Mental or psychological problems of the student or student’s family; 3. Sex behavior or attitudes; 4. Illegal, anti-social, self-incriminating, or demeaning behavior; 5. Critical appraisals of others with whom respondents have close family relationships; 6. Legally recognized privileged or analogous relationships, such as with lawyers, doctors, or ministers; 7. Religious practices, affiliations, or beliefs of the student or student’s parent; or 8. Income, other than as required by law to determine program eligibility

Schools MUST send out letters to parents describing the survey and ask for permission to give their child the survey. Unfortunately, this only applies to surveys administered using federal funds and schools get around this caveat by having an in-state agency (OSDE, OSDH) administer the survey as in the case of the CDC Youth Risk Behavioral Survey, or they simply don’t provide them to parents as in this opt out form for School Climate Surveys.

Schools should NOT collect behavioral data on students for numerous reasons:

  • Whether there is an active parent in the home or not, parents MUST be the ones dealing with their child’s behavior – not a public school. Parents know their children MUCH better than anyone else and behavioral data collected at school is only as good as the context in which it’s collected.
  • Often, students lie on surveys to be funny or because they don’t want to answer the questions truthfully. Answers are collected and recorded, leading to improper data collection and results.
  • Many schools are not trained to collect and analyze data and as such data can be misapplied and results meaningless.
  • Data is not safe and parents have no say or knowledge as to how the data is disseminated or to whom, leaving their child’s behavioral profile to be used to sell further educational products or used in ways that could expose the child.

#5 Not All School Counselors Respect Parent Authority OR HB1775

A recent blog involving a walk through the Oklahoma State Department of Education website involved a great deal of connection with the American School Counselors Association (ASCA).

Further research found that the ASCA is another organization steeped in the philosophy of racial justice. An article on their website titled, “Racial Justice Starts At School” indicates that one of the primary functions of school counselors is to “address racism and bias in their school counseling programs.”

In fact, the article goes on to say that, according to the 2020 State of the Profession survey report, “About 42% of school counselors said they are monitoring student behavior to identify racist behavior or speech, 38% are providing individual counseling and 35% are providing classroom lessons…”

This kind of monitoring should be frightening to parents whose children could be counseled for racist ‘behavior or speech’ when there was none such meant. What about children 3 In addition, how in the world could this kind of counseling be done without violating the tenets of HB1775?

Several parents have reported that, following Success Highways surveys, counselors have called their children in to their office for counseling. Once the parents became aware of the practice, the counselor stated that their child was in a ‘low-risk’ category (the risk category never explained to them) and did not require parental notification for counseling. This is a clear violation of Parent’s Rights and should not be allowed.

Then there’s the fact the school counselors have Common Core like “Mindsets and Behaviors” standards – specific behaviors which children should exhibit in order to be ‘successful’ students. Never mind that every student is different and success is as different for each as they are from another. Counselors collect behavioral data on students through these standards.

#6 Teachers Do Not Need A National Program To Help Children

Though SEL has been in classrooms in some form for years, teachers have been helping children develop character by prescribing classroom responsibilities for many decades without it. Good teachers have always had rules in their classrooms to inform students of the ways in which they must manage their own behaviors – raise your hand before asking a question, no talking when the teacher is talking, no hitting or bullying – a program to do this is simply unnecessary and a waste of dollars and time that could be better spent studying academics.

It seems completely bizarre that, while Oklahoma’s NAEP scores have continuously fallen in nearly ALL subjects, schools are now stopping class to have children talk about their feelings in a classroom not staffed by a trained behavioral psychologist.

It’s also a bit bizarre that ESSER funds were meant, in part, to be spent on SEL programs to mitigate student ‘trauma’ resulting from COVID school closures, yet schools created the crisis they now want to mitigate. In fact, numerous studies have indicated that school closures caused students more harm than the virus itself.

It appears that much of the push for SEL is being driven by rising discipline problems in classrooms and schools over the years, made worse by a Dear Colleague letter sent to all US schools asking them to adopt discipline polies that would promote equity in classrooms. This letter resulted in numerous problems in classrooms around the country as schools became unwilling to discipline special education or students of color.  

SEL behavioral programming will accomplish little to nothing until administrators allow teachers to discipline students who provide disruption in the classroom. Disruptive students should be removed from class to allow the rest of the class to learn. Once removed, administrators should work with parents to help the child realign their behaviors and return successfully to the classroom. Why put a program in place to deal with an entire class of children when administrators could simply deal with discipline problems on an individual basis?

True, some parents do not parent their children and some children have deep-seated behavioral issues, yet nothing prevents schools from working with individual students in these circumstances by referring them to state, or private, behavioral assistance – all children should not be placed in behavioral training for the few students who need it.

Sadly, SEL programs will not help the fact that many Oklahoma schools say one thing, but do another. What good does it do to have SEL in every classroom, yet when a student reports something as serious as sexual assault, nothing is done by the Administration to rectify the situation? This has happened more and more often, as administrators abdicate their role in school discipline as seen in both Shawnee and Bixby recently.

In closing, like so many other federalized educational programming, SEL will not produce the results desired and has the very large potential to in fact, inject harmful and unlawful philosophies into classrooms.

Supplemental Links and Information:

New Study Finds Multiple Problems with Push for Social-Emotional Learning in K-12 Education (https://pioneerinstitute.org/featured/new-study-finds-multiple-problems-with-push-for-social-emotional-learning-in-k-12-education/)

Oklahoma School Climate Risk Screening Scale (https://www.scribd.com/document/523717182/Oklahoma-School-Climate-Student-Risk-Screening-Scale)

Oklahoma High School Climate Survey (https://www.scribd.com/document/523755206/HS-Student-Climate-Survey-1)

Social Emotional Learning, Part 1: The New Age Nanny State (https://idahofreedom.org/social-emotional-learning-part-1-the-new-age-nanny-state/)

Social Emotional Learning, Part 2: How SEL Became A Vehicle For Critical Race Theory (https://idahofreedom.org/social-emotional-learning-part-2-how-sel-became-a-vehicle-for-critical-race-theory/)

Social Emotional Learning, Part 3: How Did This Happen In A State Like Idaho (https://idahofreedom.org/social-emotional-learning-part-3-how-did-this-happen-in-a-state-like-idaho/)

Social Emotional Learning Now A Vehicle For Critical Race Theory (https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2021/03/09/social-emotional-learning-now-a-vehicle-for-critical-race-theory/)

Social Emotional Learning: The Dark Side (https://nancyebailey.com/2018/03/19/social-emotional-learning-the-dark-side/)

Emotional Learning Will Be The Downfall of Society (https://www.heartland.org/news-opinion/news/emotional-learning-will-be-the-downfall-of-society)

Jenks Directs Parents To ‘Social Justice’ Materials (https://www.ocpathink.org/post/jenks-directs-parents-to-social-justice-materials)

Pushback Against SEL Bubbles Up In Idaho (https://www.edweek.org/leadership/pushback-over-sel-bubbles-up-in-idaho/2020/02)

“Meatless Mondays” and The Rise Of Social Emotional Learning in Schools (https://fee.org/articles/meatless-mondays-and-the-rise-of-social-emotional-learning-in-schools/)

What’s So Great About Social Emotional Learning (https://truthinamericaneducation.com/social-emotional-learning/great-social-emotional-learning/)

Gasp! How Will We Educate Without Social Emotional Learning (https://truthinamericaneducation.com/social-emotional-learning/gasp-how-will-we-educate-without-social-emotional-learning/)

Trading Academics for Far Left ‘Social Emotional Learning’ (https://illinoisfamily.org/education/trading-academics-for-far-left-social-emotional-learning/)

Using Schools To Retrain Kid’s Emotions – What Could Possibly Go Wrong Here (https://thefederalist.com/2016/12/14/using-schools-retrain-kids-emotions-possibly-go-wrong/)

How Social Emotional Learning Could Harm Our Kids (https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/streams-of-consciousness/how-social-emotional-learning-could-harm-our-kids/)

Using Schools To Retrain Kid’s Emotions – What Could Possibly Go Wrong Here (https://thefederalist.com/2016/12/14/using-schools-retrain-kids-emotions-possibly-go-wrong/)

Schools Ditch Academics For Emotional Manipulation (https://thefdrlst.wpengine.com/2016/10/19/schools-ditch-academics-for-emotional-manipulation/)

How Social Emotional Learning Became Another Vehicle For Anti-White Racism In Schools (https://thefederalist.com/2021/02/08/how-socio-emotional-learning-became-another-vehicle-for-anti-white-racism-in-schools/)

Zuckerbucks Aren’t Just Tampering With Elections, They’re Tampering With Your Kids’ Education (https://thefederalist.com/2021/08/02/zuckerbucks-arent-just-tampering-with-elections-theyre-tampering-with-your-kids-education/)

Social-Emotional Learning and Teachers Students Love? Teachers in Los Angeles! (https://nancyebailey.com/2019/01/22/social-emotional-learning-and-teachers-students-love-teachers-in-los-angeles/)

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Edmond Public Schools Superintendent, Dr. Angela Grunewald’s November 2nd Response To Parents, Is Either Deliberately False, Or Uninformed By Reality

In a post made to the Edmond Public Schools website, Superintendent Dr. Grunewald addressed what she characterized as “negative and sometimes false comments” made by parents at the 11.1.21 Board Meeting.  On the playground we used to say, “It takes one to know one.”  Dr. Grunewald’s response to parents in this missive is either deliberately false, or – worse – uninformed by reality.  Here’s how we know.

I have known Molly Jenkins – like every other ROPE Board Member – for 8-10 years.  She’s tough and smart and like the rest of us, VERY concerned about what is happening to our children in public education.

In the Spring of 2021, she was very troubled by an assignment that was brought to the attention of the EPS Board at a regular Board meeting by a parent who was alerted to the assignment by their child who was completing work online due to COVID.

The class was reading The Absolutely True Diary of A Part Time Indian, a book about a native American boy who lives on a reservation, has troubles in school, reads books and draws cartoons. 

Unfortunately, what might be a really interesting book, centers a great deal on the differences between Native Americans and white people from his perspective.  Another book in a long litany of books for young adults that introduce race (or sexuality) as a way of indoctrinating readers into certain worldviews.

In May, after the passage of HB1775 preventing the teaching of Critical Race Theory ideals, Molly – still concerned about the “white vs indian” assignment she’d seen – drove to the EPS Administration building and asked for a meeting with Superintendent Grunewald.  

She wanted to speak with the Superintendent personally to make certain they were going to follow HB1775 after seeing what she felt to be a completely inappropriate narrative.
An appointment was made and on the day she returned for the meeting with Dr. Grunewald, she was interested to find 10-12 copies of a book sitting on a table in her office with the word ‘equity’ in the title.

“That looks like an interesting book,” she remarked to the Superintendent who then suggested she take a copy to read.

During the meeting, Molly shared her CRT concerns with Dr. Grunewald who assured her they were not teaching CRT tenets in Edmond Public Schools.  So, with little further to say after that ‘assurance’, Molly headed home to read the book she was given.

Once home, it took her just about four hours to read the book from cover to cover, she found it so unnerving.  On nearly every page she made notes to herself about what she was reading and how it directly connected to the ideals which derive from CRT – the ones specifically outlawed by HB1775.  

After reading the book, she immediately contacted EPS Administration to make a further appointment with Dr. Grunewald, which was granted.

At that meeting, she explained to the Superintendent what she had found in the book and that she found CRT tenets on nearly every page.

She asked Dr. Grunewald if she had read the book in its entirety and was told NO, BUT SHE HAD SCANNED IT.

Molly asked the Superintendent who she was giving the book to read – since there had been numerous copies on the table.  Dr. Grunewald would NOT give her a clear answer, saying only, “some people around here”.  She felt that the Superintendent was very dismissive with her – almost a “you do you we’ll do us” kind of attitude.

Now, let’s examine Dr. Grunewald’s statement from November 2.

Look at the first bullet point.  Now, look at this:

What Dr. Grunewald said was simply a talking point described by leftist educators to defend against the use of CRT in schools.  In literally means nothing.  It’s a deflection for parents who have done their homework and know better.

Bullet point 2 – no one has said it was a standard.  Another deflection.

Bullet point 3 – this point references the book we’ll discuss in the next frame – “Belonging Through A Culture of Dignity”.

Bullet point 4 – SEL=CRT.  Guest poster Emily Wright (EPS mom of 3) made that abundantly clear in her blog of this week.  You can find that here.  SEL is Social Emotional Learning, another education fad created by a bunch of leftist teachers in order to indoctrinate children.  If you don’t believe me, read this page.  Talk about mumbo-jumbo, word salad – not to mention that children’s EMOTIONS are strictly the territory of PARENTS, not schools.

In this portion of her response, Dr. Grunewald claims she’s read the book “Belonging Through a Culture of Dignity”.  Here’s what WalMart said about the book when I went searching for it.

“Once these fundamental human needs are understood, educators can gain clarity of the barriers to meaningful student relationships, especially across dimensions of difference such as race, class and culture…Through their work, the authors aim to equip educators with the tools necessary to deliver the promise of DEMOCRACY through schools by breaking the cycle of equity dysfunction once and for all.”

Belonging Through a Culture of Dignity: The Keys to Successful Equity Implementation Kindle Edition
by Floyd Cobb  (Author), John Krownapple (Author), Brenda CampbellJones (Foreword) 

FULL STOP.  There is so much wrong with those sentences it’s hard to breakdown in a blog, but let me do it by asking some questions: 

  • How did public schools create students OF EVERY COLOR and sex smart enough to put a man on the moon without this tripe?
  • Has anyone looked to see what the National Assessment of Academic Progress scores of Oklahoma students are in Math, Science and Reading?  (I have – they’re dismal and have been for a decade)  Have schools been teaching, or modifying behaviors?
  • If you specifically hone in on race, class and culture do you make disparities clearer to children or less clear?
  • Since when are schools a DEMOCRACY?
  • Who says there is a “cycle of equity dysfunction” except for the people like Dr. Becky Bailey who stand to make a KILLING on all the stuff she sells to promote ‘dignity’ through SEL programming?  Is this about money or the welfare of kids?

Molly read the entire book.  Here are some of the most horrifying nuggets from the book:

Pg 42: “Schools routinely offer our students on the margins (e.g., impoverished and minoritized) inferior academic experience to students of affluence and cultural dominance. – Nor did it require educators to prioritize a sense of belonging for students racialized as Black (or otherwise) who were displaced and had to leave the safety and belonging of home schools and move into often unwelcoming school cultures that were exclusively White.  Thus a “belonging gap” emerged within racially integrated schools. (Hilariously, ‘bussing’ was created by liberals believing that black students couldn’t possibly get a good education in black schools – a racist notion in and of itself – so they moved them from their homes into white areas to get equal access to education excellence.  Yet another one of the ‘liberals screw it up and screw it up worse trying to fix their original screw up’ because they simply have to find fault with something all the time.)

Pg 62:  The whole page is filled with racist nonsense, but here are a few examples:  “To redress inequity and create a socially just system of education, ensuring access is not enough For educational equity, access and belonging are both vital”.  “Historically marginalized identity groups are most vulnerable to the stereotype threat and belonging uncertainty when aspiring to achieve in the dominant culture.”

pg 76:  “Perhaps the concept of race (being White, more specifically) is the most prominent example of social exclusion and belonging in US history.”

pg 77:  “Whiteness, as Joe Feagin (2013) argues, is more definitely characterized as the absolute right to exclude and, ultimately the entitlement to determine who belongs.”  “Entitlement has determined, among other things, where groups of people can live or work, whether or not they have basic rights (e.g., voting, health care), and what type of social activities and relationships they can have with whom (e.g. marriage).  In 2018 and 2019, the hashtag #LivingWhileBlack went viral on social media, documenting racial exclusivity  Droves of videos show White Americans calling the police on everyday people – Black, Latinx, Muslim, Americans – going about their lives (without markers of Whiteness in places where they are perceived not to belong: Starbucks, swimming pools, golf courses, fitness centers, sidewalks, parks, picnic tables, libraries, college campus tours, and more.  To this day, the markers of race often determine the extent to which people feel they belong in any given environment.”

Look up HB1775 and then compare that to these book excerpts.  Everything here DEFIES letters a, b, f, g and h of that bill, causing the book – and Dr. Grunewald by pushing it – to violate HB1775.

Now let’s look at her next statement:

Once again, we find that Grunewald has little to say but echoing the talking points of others in the public education cabal.

Apparently, she just surfed the internet and came up with the definition the rest of the sheep use.

And now, how about the concept that we must ‘heal the child before we can educate the child’?  That’s a concept that’s been pushed since John Dewey wanted to take control of society by getting between parent and child since parent wouldn’t necessarily bring the child up to be a democratic socialist the way he envisioned children should be brought up.  (Read more about Dewey in “John Dewey & the Decline of American Education: How The Patron Saint of Schools Has Corrupted Teaching & Learning” – It was VERY enlightening about why public education is the way it is.)

Now look at her last bullet point.

So they’ve increased the number of counselors.  Why?  Because the state Department of Education gave schools money to hire counselors – $35 million dollars in ESSR funds to be exact – because, well, COVID.  Schools pay half – the state pays half – everyone’s happy.  Except that the “School Counselor Corps” as they are being called, apparently come mainly from the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) – an organization that says:

School counselors work toward cultural competence and engage in anti-racist actions by advocating to change racist policies, procedures, practices, guidelines and laws contributing to inequities in students’ academic, career and social/emotional development

American School Counselors Association

You can see more about the ASCA here.  The ASCA also pushes SEL, driving more CRT tenets into children through counseling and data-collection surveys (from the company owned by the husband of the daughter of Merrick Garland, the federal Attorney General who told the FBI to investigate parents at school board meetings – oh what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive.)

So, yet again, Superintendent Grunewald seems to literally be falsifying information or have no idea what she’s reading, what she’s saying or what goes on in her own schools.

Clearly EPS is saturated with SEL and clearly, SEL is the pipeline for CRT pushed by counseling services and Dr. Grunewald herself through “Belonging Through a Culture of Dignity”.

In closing, Dr. Grunewald is doing little more than many Superintendents do anymore when confronted by parents who actually care – they are either outright lying, or are too soaked in their own indoctrination to understand what they’re doing to our kids.

This is another excellent reason why SCHOOL BOARD ELECTIONS ARE PARAMOUNT.  School boards can literally get rid of these kinds of Superintendents and hire ones that actually care about kids, not merely pushing what the education cabal wants pushed on kids.

GET INVOLVED IN SCHOOL BOARDS AND SCHOOL BOARD RACES IN YOUR DISTRICT TODAY!

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