Oklahoma Supreme Court blocks new social studies standards critics deride as 'Christian nationalist'

The Oklahoma Supreme Court has blocked the implementation of new social studies standards in Oklahoma, which critics claim advance a “Christian Nationalist” agenda.

The Oklahoma Supreme Court released its ruling Monday prohibiting the Oklahoma State Department of Education and the Oklahoma State Board of Education from implementing and enforcing the 2025 Oklahoma Academic Standards for Social Studies as litigation involving the matter continues.

Several Oklahoma parents filed a lawsuitagainst the standards, which include multiple references to the Bible and Christianity, over the summer.

The lawsuit maintained that the new standards violated the Open Meeting Act because the public was not given adequate notice that the new standards that would be adopted at a Feb. 27 State Board of Education meeting would be drastically different than the ones approved at a December 2024 meeting. Additional claims in the complaint allege that the standards violate state laws requiring curriculum to be “accurate and age-appropriate” as well as religious freedom provisions of the Oklahoma Constitution.

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