The 2025 Oklahoma Republican Party Platform - Part 2 II. EDUCATION Preamble: We acknowledge our dependence upon Almighty God and ask His blessings upon our students and their parents, teachers, and nation. It is the right and responsibility of parents (hereafter to mean parents and/ or legal guardians) to direct their children's upbringing and education whether public, private, charter, or education by other means without interference, regulation, or penalty from the government. The primary goal of public schools should be to teach proficiency in the basic subjects of phonics-based reading, written and oral communication, mathematics, sciences, history, founding documents, Godly heritage of our nation, critical thinking skills, basic morals, and civics. Locally elected school boards should have the authority to determine and implement all public-school curricula, policies, and procedures for their districts. We demand open accountability from all tax-funded education in Oklahoma. The federal government has no constitutional role in education. A. Philosophy We Believe 1. We believe the traditional family unit, consisting of a (husband) man, (wife) woman, and child(ren) is the foundation of our social structure. The Oklahoma Department of Education and the various 7 Boards of Regents should uphold and teach this definition of traditional family at all levels of public education. 2. We believe individuals should have the right to choose their own education and career tracks. 3. We believe to comply with the Tenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, we favor elimination and complete defunding of the Federal Department of Education. 4. We believe in and affirm the right of students and school employees to the free exercise of religion as guaranteed by the First Amendment, including the right to wear and display religious symbols, voluntary vocal prayer, optional Bible and religious study, religious expression including holidays, and equal access to use of school facilities for these activities. 5. We believe the only flags to be displayed at, or in, any Oklahoma school are the flags of the United States of America and the State of Oklahoma. Students should start the day by reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, including "one nation under God", and be taught the history of and respect for our United States flag. 6. We believe the K-12 public-school system is for the benefit of children of legal residents of the United States. 7. We believe the responsibility to teach children the philosophy, values, and theology to live by belongs to a child's parents. We Support 1. We support all parents fulfilling their God-given responsibility to educate and raise their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, free from government control. 2. We support parental access to examine and evaluate all educational and assessment, records pertaining to their children. 3. We support notification to parents that should be clear, simple, and descriptive when any alternative school programs are offered. Active parental consent to opt in must be obtained without repercussion. 4. We support The Ten Commandments being displayed in public schools as a means of moral guidance along with our national motto "In God We Trust" and the Bill of Rights. Public schools shall not prohibit the teaching of the Judeo-Christian worldview upon which our country was founded. 5. We support the recognition of, instruction in, and honor given to men motivated by Judeo-Christian ethics who made great contributions to the development of traditional Western Civilization. 8 6. We support proficiency in math, reading, writing, and other basic skills before computer technology and calculators are used. 7. We support notification of parents of medical treatment sought by students including dispensing of any pharmaceuticals. We oppose mandatory healthcare in public schools, vaccinations for students, and any forced mental health evaluations or prescriptions. We Oppose 1. We oppose the imposition of national curricula, testing, data collection and teacher certification, Common Core State Standards and associated assessments, and federally mandated programs such as "No Child Left Behind", "Race to the Top," Early Learning Guidelines and Core Competencies. 2. We oppose any government required community service condition for graduation. 3. We oppose overt racism by schools in the name of thinly disguised faux efforts to "eliminate racism" which seek to achieve atheist, Marxist, or Socialist political outcomes. 4. We oppose government expansion and control by the use of public tax dollars to fund and interfere with private forms of education. 5. We oppose the teaching of humanist character education programs, such as Social Emotional Learning (SEL). B. Curriculum We Believe 1. We believe that curricula should include the basics: phonics-based reading, grammar, composition, mathematics, government, history, science, spelling, penmanship, geography, and economics. We encourage the teaching of art, music, foreign languages, and sports/physical fitness. 2. We believe parents must maintain their right and responsibility to educate their children regarding sexuality and sexual conduct. We believe sexual abstinence is the only safe way to avoid sexually transmitted diseases, HIV/AIDS, and pregnancy. 3. We believe local school boards should exercise their right to choose curriculum and textbooks, including the Bible as a literature or history text, without state limitations. 4. We believe Biblical creation and intelligent design must be taught and must receive equal funding, class time, and materials as other theories such as evolution. 5. We believe the heritage of the United States of America should be taught in public schools and include representative limited government, the lives and beliefs of the Founders, influence of the Bible and religion on our laws and principles, and the concept of free enterprise. We believe students should study directly from the primary founding documents, which teach that the distribution of power is among three branches of federal government and the difference between federal and state government teaching that our nation is a constitutional republic. 6. We believe English, the dominant language of our nation, should be the primary language taught in 9 public schools with other languages only offered as electives. We Support 1. We support curricula that promotes the U.S. national sovereignty and the singing of traditional songs and teaching of patriotic literature in all grades. We respect different cultures, but support prioritizing our commonalities as U.S. Citizens. 2. We support the right of parents to personally observe all classroom instruction, activities, and curriculum choices. 3. We strongly support the teaching of the scientific biologically verifiable X and Y chromosomal definition of male and female at birth. 4. We support teaching the basic rules of finance, such as economics, saving, investing, borrowing, balancing a checkbook, and living within a budget. We Oppose 1. We oppose the portrayal of homosexual, promiscuous, or fornication behaviors in a positive light in public schools. 2. We oppose the teaching of non-chromosomal gender and LGBTQ+ lifestyle, history, and demonstration. 3. We oppose one-world government and global citizenship. 4. We oppose teaching multiculturalism that promotes cultural segregation. We are created in God's image. There is one race: the human race. 5. We oppose the implementation of all revisionist U.S. history in education. 6. We oppose the teaching of the theory of anthropogenic global warming without providing equal time for instruction in the complex systems of geo-physics that cause observable climate change, such as solar variations, plate tectonics, and volcanic eruptions. C. Administration and Management We Believe 1. We believe that all education and management decisions should be returned to the control of parents, elected school boards, teachers, and administration at the local level. 2. We believe schools should protect the privacy of any personal information or data collected on a student or their family. 3. School elections should be on the same date as general elections. 4. We believe security options should be pursued, including but not limited to officers and school 10 employees who are qualified to be armed. 5. We believe teachers, school administrators, and the local school board should work together to set and implement policies that give teachers the freedom and authority to lawfully maintain order, discipline, and safety. 6. We believe teachers should not be coerced to adjust standards for any failing students, including athletes. 7. We believe the Teachers Retirement Fund should be actuarially funded with full public disclosure. We Support 1. We support the freedom of local school boards to hire, direct, train, retain, or terminate any teacher who fails to provide the highest quality of instruction based on merit, not years of service. The evaluation criteria should be determined by local school boards for their school districts. 2. We support extensive background checks of prospective school employees, with the right of local school boards to refuse employment to anyone. 3. We support public independent auditing of all public schools and institutions of higher education in Oklahoma. 4. We support the enforcement of Oklahoma statutes that prohibit teachers from strikes, walkouts, or semblance thereof during the school year by penalizing any district that closes its schools with a funding cut equivalent to the daily payroll and expenses of the district. 5. We support professional development for teachers; however, we believe classes should not be canceled in order for public school employees to attend political conventions, electioneering,
