Oklahoma department of education video targets transgender students
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Nuria Martinez-Keel - The Oklahoman
After sharing an inflammatory video opposing teachers unions last month, the Oklahoma State Department of Education put out a new "public service message" on Thursday describing transgender students as a threat in schools.
The message continues state schools Superintendent Ryan Walters' ongoing opposition to the presence of transgender students in school bathrooms and to classroom discussions of gender-nonconforming identities. Members of Oklahoma's LGBTQ+ community have said this rhetoric is harmful to transgender youths who are already vulnerable.
More:Transgender, nonbinary Oklahomans say the political front against them has taken a toll
The Education Department did not respond to questions about how much money and employee hours it spent to produce the video, nor has it explained the resources used to create the first public service message.
Last month's five-minute video portrayed teachers unions as a malevolent force in education. Teachers walked out in disgust as it played at an Oklahoma State Board of Education meeting. Some said it shared a message that could make educators a target of violence.
Thursday's video posed the question "What is reality?" as Walters cast doubt on any gender identity other than the sex a person was born with. To suggest a person could identify otherwise, Walters said, is "dangerous" and an "attack on truth."
"It puts our girls in jeopardy and endangers their safety," he said.
The video focuses on an October fight in a girls' bathroom at Edmond Memorial High School. A 15-year-old girl, whose mother is now suing the school district, said a 17-year-old transgender student punched and kicked her several times.
The transgender student identifies as a girl and enrolled as such, Edmond Superintendent Angela Mills Grunewald said. The student had been attending Edmond Memorial for only a few days before the fight and left the school shortly after, the superintendent said.
Walters was a leading voice against school policies allowing use of bathrooms that match a person's gender identity, rather than their birth sex.
Oklahoma enacted a law last year requiring all individuals in school buildings to use the restroom that aligns with the biological sex written on their birth certificate or use a single-occupancy bathroom.
Three transgender students have sued in hopes of overturning the law.
"Trans students are just students trying to go to school," one of the students, Andrew Bridge, previously told The Oklahoman. "We're not trying to hurt anybody. The state has decided to go after not just trans people but trans kids. That's just messed up."
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SMH!
More shit from the ones who do not know
Every day there is a new corruption scandal in Oklahoma regarding Gov Stitt and Sec Walters!
what corruption?
Another useless link not supporting your claim.
I am not even surprised any longer.
How about this one?
0 for 2 now.
Keep flailing away though, you may get really, really lucky and stumble across something that may even hint at what you claimed.
Personally, I doubt it but don't let my doubt keep you from it!
Read this and get back to me...
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Sadly they are probably correct. It seems that there are some states where being a teacher is a liability.
In 2020/21 Oklahoma was rated 48th in average teacher pay. There were increases in 2022 and 23 which positioned them at number 34th on the list...WOW
Young teachers can increase their pay by 40% or more if they move to Dallas or Fort Worth.
It's closer from OKC to DFW than it is from Miami to Orlando, BTW. Imagine being unwilling to move to Orlando for a 40% raise.
I find the recitation of state-ranked numbers a little funny.
Some state HAS to be least and some state HAS to be first.
It's also interesting because the data is very clear. More money spent in a school has far, far, far less correlation to educational performance than the money spent on the houses the kids live in.
It's no coincidence that the best schools tend to be full of the richest kids.
yes, and the evidence is pretty clear that spending more money on education doesn't equate to good results.
If it did, we certainly would be ranked MUCH higher in the world than we are.
I wonder why our world ranking has declined so significantly since the inception of the Dept. of Education.
Nice thing about America.
What station you are born as isn't where you have to stay.
The first thing to take into consideration is family and do they want to move and then the COL and most importantly the cost of housing which is considerably more in Dallas than OKC.
My comment was directed at the teacher's feeling that they were vulnerable and in doing so their low salaries would be part of ''why in the world am I doing this'' when they could probably quit and go into the market and find a position that pays more without all the BS.
The COL is higher... but not anywhere near 40% higher.
A two-teacher family in Dallas or surrounding areas starts out well over $100k combined. That's easily enough money to buy a house, start a family, pay for college and fund a very nice retirement.
I added to my comment while you were posting this.
That is making the assumption that the family is a two teacher family. It just as likely that only one is a teacher and the other is in another profession.
Sure. And when you listen to Oklahoma teachers, many will tell you they are not the primary breadwinners in their house, so they stay.
If that is accurate it seems to answer your question regarding moving to DFW.
So much for actually working on education. Better to go after trans people, the teachers union, work on putting framed ten commandments in classrooms...
And to think taxpayers are paying for this. I hope they are happy with what they are paying for. Fucking morons.
So videos from a taxpayer funded administrator that is pushing an agenda...
So who is doing the grooming again?