Oklahoma’s ‘America First’ Teacher Screening Test Spotlights Partisanship Debate

Education Superintendent Ryan Walters’s tool, which is now available to the public, is viewed as the backlash to progressive bias in U.S. public education.

Gregory-Portland High School U.S. history teacher William Schuetz presents his theories during Conspiracy Week in Portland, Texas, on May 10, 2016. Rachel Denny Clow/Caller-Times via AP

Oklahoma’s recent “America First” initiative for K–12 education has renewed debate on partisanship in public education.

Teacher candidates from outside the Sooner State are now screened for progressive ideologies such as transgenderism or critical race theory.