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Fact check: What is Oklahoma now teaching about the 2020 election?
1. Summary of the results
Oklahoma has implemented new social studies standards that require high school students to "Identify discrepancies in 2020 elections results" [1] [1]. The standards specifically instruct students to examine:
- Ballot-counting processes
- Mail-in voting security
- Ballot "batch dumps"
- Voter numbers
- "Bellwether county" trends [2]
This represents a significant expansion from the previous requirement, which simply asked students to "Examine issues related to the election of 2020 and its outcome" [1].
2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints
Several important contextual elements need to be considered:
- Multiple recounts, reviews, and audits in battleground states have already confirmed Joe Biden's victory, and Trump lost dozens of court cases challenging the election results [1]
- National education experts, including David Griffith from the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, have called it "inappropriate to promote conspiracy theories about the election in standards" [3]
- A group of parents and educators have filed a lawsuit arguing the standards represent a "distorted view of social studies" [3]
- Some Republicans have raised concerns about last-minute changes to the standards [3]
3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement
There are competing interests and narratives at play:
*Political interests:
- State Superintendent Ryan Walters, who championed these standards, claims they will help students have an "accurate and comprehensive view of historical events" [2] and encourage "critical thinking" [1]
- Both Republicans and Democrats have objected to the standards [3]
Educational concerns:*
- Educators and national experts argue that the language promotes election misinformation [3]
- The standards reference "baseless claims" about the 2020 election ballot counting process and mail voting security [2]
- While Walters claims the standards allow students to draw their own conclusions [1], critics argue the language is deliberately misleading and seeks to steer discussion in a particular direction [1]