www.thecentersquare.com – By Andrew Rice | The Center Square – (The Center Square – ) 2025-08-19 17:06:00
Oklahoma will require teachers relocating from California or New York to pass a 50-question certification exam on American citizenship, religion, gender, and government to ensure their values align with the state’s. Oklahoma Superintendent Ryan Walters criticized New York and California’s teaching standards as opposing Oklahoma’s, citing California’s stance on biological sex differences. The exam, developed with Prager University—a nonprofit used by ten other states—covers constitutional knowledge and U.S. government structure. Teacher union leaders, including Randi Weingarten and Cari Elledge, condemned the move as politically motivated, arguing Walters should prioritize student education over political agendas.
(The Center Square) – Oklahoma will begin requiring teachers who move to the state from California or New York to pass certification exams proving their values align with Oklahoma’s.
The test reportedly contains 50 questions on American citizenship, religion, gender and makeup of the U.S. government.
Ryan Walters, the Oklahoma superintendent of public instruction, said teaching standards in New York and California are “antithetical” to Oklahoma’s standards. He said an example of this is California requiring teachers to assert there are no biological differences between sexes.
“We want to make sure, as we are recruiting the best and the brightest in the country, that they align with our values,” Walters said.
Walters said the state is working with the nonprofit organization Prager University, which produces educational materials, to conduct the exam. Ten other states, including Florida, Idaho and South Carolina, use educational materials provided by PragerU.
Some of the questions on the exam reportedly include:
What are the first three words of the Constitution?
Why is freedom of religion important to American identity?
What are the two parts of the U.S. Congress?
How many U.S. Senators are there?
Why do some states have more Representatives than others?
Randi Weingarten, president of the union American Federation of Teachers, criticized Walters’ decision in a statement.
“His priority should be educating students,” Weingarten said of Walters. “But instead, it’s getting Donald Trump and other MAGA politicians to notice him.”
Cari Elledge, president of the Oklahoma Education Association, agreed. She told USA Today the decision by the Oklahoma Department of Education was made as a “political stunt.”
Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.
Political Bias Rating: Center-Right
The article primarily reports on the new teacher certification exam in Oklahoma and includes statements from both supporters and critics of the policy. While the piece presents factual information about the exam and quotes from Oklahoma’s superintendent of public instruction, it also highlights the involvement of PragerU, a conservative educational organization, and includes critical responses from union leaders who frame the policy as politically motivated. The language used to describe the exam and the inclusion of critiques suggest a slight lean toward a Center-Right perspective, as it emphasizes conservative values and the alignment with Oklahoma’s standards, but it also fairly presents opposing viewpoints without overt editorializing. Overall, the article reports on ideological positions without strongly promoting one side, though the framing and source choices indicate a moderate conservative bias.
Republican Senator Markwayne Mullin has twice violated the STOCK Act by late-disclosing nearly three dozen stock and bond transactions worth $1.4 to $3.5 million. These tardy filings follow previous delays of up to two-and-a-half years. Mullin’s office attributes the delays to amendments for accuracy and states an independent firm manages his portfolio, reporting bi-weekly to Senate Ethics. Numerous lawmakers from both parties have also violated the STOCK Act recently. In response, bipartisan bills have been introduced to ban or restrict congressional stock trading, with some progress in the Senate and expressed openness from leaders, though no full votes have occurred yet.
by Dave Levinthal, Oklahoma Watch August 15, 2025
For the second time in two weeks, Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin has disclosed trades showing that he violated a federal conflicts of interest and financial transparency law.
A NOTUS analysis of a financial document Mullin filed Tuesday with the U.S. Senate revealed the Oklahoma lawmaker was months late disclosing nearly three dozen stock and bond transactions by him and his wife.
Taken together, the transactions — mostly sales — are worth between $1.4 million and $3.5 million. Lawmakers are only required to disclose the value of their trades in broad ranges.
The late disclosures follow an earlier slate of hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of tardy stock and municipal security filings — some up to two-and-a-half years past a 45-day deadline enshrined in the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act — that Oklahoma Watch reported Aug. 5.
As it did last month, Mullin’s office declined to answer specific questions about the late filings and emailed Oklahoma Watch the same statement about the senator’s finances.
“Much like tax returns, financial disclosures occasionally need to be amended to reflect the most accurate, up-to-date information,” said a Mullin spokesperson. “That’s what we did here.”
Mullin uses an independent, third-party operator firm that manages all stock portfolio investments on his behalf. He does not conduct nor inform trades. The independent firm reports bi-weekly to Senate Ethics to ensure compliance with federal law, the spokesperson added.
Dozens of other federal lawmakers — Democrats and Republicans alike — have violated the STOCK Act’s disclosure provisions in recent years. The latest example — Democratic Rep. Shri Thanedar — told NOTUS that he is in the process of selling off his individual stocks.
Federal lawmakers have introduced several bills this year that would ban, or otherwise restrict, members of Congress and their immediate family from trading individual stocks.
The measures have attracted an unlikely coalition of Republicans and Democrats. Together, they broadly argue that the current STOCK Act is too weak to adequately defend against the specter of insider trading and conflicts of interest and too permissive toward lawmakers who violate — sometimes repeatedly — its transparency and disclosure provisions.
One such bill, the Halting Ownership and Non-Ethical Stock Transaction Act, advanced last month out of a Senate committee thanks to Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri teaming with the committee’s Democrats.
President Donald Trump has said he’s open, in principle, to signing a congressional stock-trade ban, although he’s warned Congress that he doesn’t want the ban to extend to the White House.
Both House Speaker Mike Johnson and Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries have expressedopenness to a congressional stock-trade ban. But no such bill has yet received a vote in either the full House or Senate.
Oklahoma Watch, at oklahomawatch.org, is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that covers public-policy issues facing the state.
Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.
Political Bias Rating: Center-Left
This content critically examines Republican Senator Markwayne Mullin’s violations of financial disclosure laws, highlighting concerns about transparency and accountability. While it notes that lawmakers from both parties have committed similar infractions, the framing emphasizes ethical shortcomings within the Republican ranks and points to bipartisan legislative efforts to tighten regulations. The tone is investigative and somewhat critical of political corruption, aligning with a Center-Left perspective that values government oversight and reform without overt partisan bias.
SUMMARY: Michael French, operator of a sports training facility in Oklahoma, has been arrested on charges of lewd acts and soliciting a young girl in her early teens. Known for giving private baseball and softball lessons, French’s position raises concern as authorities fear there may be additional, unreported victims. Though former facility owners state French had not worked for them in recent years and never caused issues, police urge anyone affected or aware of inappropriate conduct to come forward. The investigation highlights the risk posed by someone trusted with access to children in sports environments. Authorities continue their search for more victims.
Sports training facility operator accused of child sex crimes
Stay informed about Oklahoma news and weather! Follow KFOR News 4 on our website and social channels.
CoreCivic, a private prison company, is advertising detention officer jobs at vacant prisons in Watonga and Sayre, Oklahoma, with pay at $27 per hour, higher than state correctional officer wages. The facilities, closed due to staffing shortages and other issues, have a combined capacity of 4,560 beds. CoreCivic is negotiating to reopen these prisons for federal immigration detention amid soaring federal spending on immigrant enforcement. Training for new detention officers involves less instruction than state correctional certifications. Critics highlight the lack of transparency, poor facility histories of violence, and concerns about private prisons’ impact on communities.
by Keaton Ross, Oklahoma Watch August 14, 2025
As federal spending on immigrant enforcement and detention soars, a private prison company is advertising detention officer positions at vacant prisons in Watonga and Sayre.
Tennessee-based CoreCivic, whose stock has risen 52% since President Donald Trump’s victory last November, is offering $27 per hour to detention officer recruits as it negotiates contracts with the federal government to reopen the idle facilities. That’s $5.50 per hour more than what Oklahoma pays its entry-level correctional officers.
No law enforcement or corrections experience is necessary to apply, according to the postings. Applicants must be 21 or older, have a clean driving record and hold a high school diploma or GED.
The Watonga prison, which housed out-of-state prisoners from Hawaii, Wisconsin and California during the late 1990s and 2000s, has been empty since May 2010. The Oklahoma Department of Corrections vacated the North Fork facility more recently in June 2023, citing persistent staffing shortages. The facilities have a combined capacity of 4,560 beds.
During a third quarter earnings call on Aug. 7, CoreCivic CEO Damon Hininger said the company was in advanced negotiations with the federal government to open two of its vacant prisons. In May, company officials described its Oklahoma facilities as especially attractive to the federal government because they’re centrally located and close to the Federal Transfer Center in Oklahoma City.
“Contracting activity is happening at a much quicker pace,” Hininger said. “They have a need and a funding for all these solutions.”
CoreCivic spokesman Brian Todd directed questions about when the facilities could reopen to the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement public affairs office. ICE did not respond to a request for comment.
The Sayre city manager said they have not received any information from CoreCivic. Watonga city officials did not return a call seeking comment.
Todd said CoreCivic detention staff receive training that meets or exceeds standards approved by the American Correctional Association. One sample contract reviewed by Oklahoma Watch found that ICE requires 60 hours of classroom curriculum and 40 hours of on-the-job training for new detention officers.
In contrast, Oklahoma law sets a baseline of 200 hours of training for state correctional officer certification. Cadets typically receive 400 hours of training during an eight-week training academy.
Gabriela Ramirez-Perez, an immigration policy analyst at the Oklahoma Policy Institute, said transparency has been lacking as ICE and companies such as CoreCivic and The GEO Group have sprinted to reopen vacant private prisons as detention centers. The federal government has frequently used no-bid contracts to populate the facilities, citing a compelling urgency for thousands of detention beds. So-called letter contracts have also allowed private prison companies to update facilities and recruit staff without a formal agreement.
Organized opposition to the facilities reopening would likely have to happen at the local level, Ramirez-Perez said. That sort of resistance is playing out in Leavenworth, Kansas, where residents are protesting the reopening of the Midwest Regional Reception Center. The privately run facility was plagued by severe understaffing, rapes and inmate-on-staff assaults for years before shuttering in 2021.
“These facilities have quite a long history in the two towns that’s not the best,” Ramirez-Perez said.
The North Fork prison in particular has a lengthy history of large-scale violence. Forty-six out-of-state prisoners from California were injured, with 30 requiring hospitalization, during an October 2011 riot. In April 2017, seven Oklahoma prisoners were hospitalized after a large-scale fight broke out.
CoreCivic also faced allegations of violating state policies when it housed state prisoners. In 2017, The Frontier reported that private prison staff destroyed audio and video evidence of a large-scale gang fight at the Cimarron Correctional Facility in Cushing, which itself began housing hundreds of ICE detainees this year.
Polina Rozhkova, a data analyst with the Oklahoma Policy Institute who has researched Oklahoma’s history with private prisons, said private prisons are often a net negative for communities.
“The job postings may sound great, but this is not a stable source of employment or an institution in these communities,” Rozhkova said.
Oklahoma Watch intern Valerie Scott contributed to this story.
Oklahoma Watch, at oklahomawatch.org, is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that covers public-policy issues facing the state.
Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.
Political Bias Rating: Center-Left
The content critically examines the role of private prison companies like CoreCivic in immigration detention, highlighting concerns about transparency, understaffing, and the negative impact on communities. It emphasizes issues such as the use of no-bid contracts, inadequate training compared to state standards, and the history of violence and mismanagement in private prisons. This focus on accountability, social justice, and skepticism toward privatization aligns with a center-left perspective that advocates for reform in the criminal justice and immigration systems while promoting government oversight and community well-being.
