Teachers from California and New York looking to work in Oklahoma will now face an extra hurdle: proving they align with the state’s conservative education standards.
Oklahoma Superintendent Ryan Walters announced a new “America First” certification exam aimed at screening incoming teachers.
“We want to make sure newcomers are not coming into our classrooms and indoctrinating kids,” Walters told USA TODAY. He added, “A lot of the credit goes to Gavin Newsom,” accusing California’s governor of promoting “gender theory” that won’t be allowed in Oklahoma classrooms.
The test will feature questions on U.S. history and government while reinforcing Oklahoma’s revised curriculum, which includes contested claims about the 2020 election and excludes lessons about George Floyd and Black Lives Matter. Walters insisted, “These reforms will reset our classrooms back to educating our children without liberal indoctrination.”
Teachers’ unions across the country strongly pushed back. American Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten said the policy will be a “huge turn off” and argued, “Teachers in this country are patriotic, and suggesting they’re not is insulting.” She also criticized Walters, saying, “Ryan Walters appears to be trying out for MAGA in chief, not educator in chief.”
Oklahoma Education Association president Cari Elledge called it “a political stunt to grab attention” and warned it would worsen “the serious teacher shortage crisis.” California Teachers Association president David Goldberg agreed, saying the plan aims to “scare them away” and “almost seems like satire.”
Despite union backlash, Walters said the new certification test will launch by August.
