FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Grace Kim (405) 650-0325
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK — The Oklahoma State Department of Education, under the leadership of Superintendent Ryan Walters, today applauds the Trump administration’s decision to discontinue $1 billion in federal grants tied to school-based mental health services that were being used to advance radical DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) policies in K-12 schools.
“From day one, I’ve been clear: Oklahoma will not accept federal funding that comes with strings attached, especially when those strings are used to inject left-wing ideology into the classroom,” said Superintendent Walters. “These grants were never about helping kids—they were about pushing a political agenda.”
Despite Superintendent Walters’ objections, Speaker McCall and Rep. McBride pushed Oklahoma to apply for the grants via SB36x (2023) during last year’s special session. Walters has remained firm in his commitment to keeping divisive politics out of Oklahoma’s classrooms.
The U.S. Department of Education found that the Biden administration’s grant program violated federal civil rights laws by prioritizing race-based hiring and mandating ideological training. Grant recipients were instructed to train counselors on “systemic injustice,” “antiracism,” and “white supremacy”—politically charged language that has no place in evidence-based mental health services.
“I applaud President Trump and Secretary Linda McMahon for taking bold action to eliminate these misguided, DEI-driven programs,” Walters continued. “Washington bureaucrats may want to push political activism on our students, but Oklahoma will continue to focus on academic achievement and student support that is free of ideological interference.”
Oklahoma schools remain committed to strengthening student outcomes through proven, apolitical education policies. Under Superintendent Walters, OSDE will continue fighting federal overreach and defending the right of states to control their own classrooms.
###
