As Oklahoma schools challenge ‘woke’ content, textbook publishers withdraw from state

Eight textbook publishers have reportedly withdrawn their books from consideration to be used in Oklahoma schools ahead of an upcoming vote by the state's textbook committee.

"As conservative voices continue to scrutinize classroom content, the officials said schools could be left with fewer textbooks that meet the rigorous standard of review in Oklahoma, a small-market state that already has limited leverage with the publishing industry," The Oklahoman reported Wednesday. "Seventeen companies initially asked to be considered in this year’s math textbook adoption process, according to records the Oklahoma State Department of Education provided. Eight withdrew, and one company was removed for not submitting a printed sample product."

Oklahoma lawmakers passed a law regarding "subject matter standards" in 2020, requiring an extra review by experts before a textbook is recommended to the state textbook committee, a process they said can filter out textbooks of poor quality or questionable content. The state has previously experienced controversies ranging from sexually graphic books being allowed in school libraries to a drag queen being hired as an elementary school principal. 

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters is at the forefront of the effort to reform the state's education system, drawing him detractors and praise. Walters warned while serving as Oklahoma's secretary of education in July 2022, "We've got folks in positions of power and administrators that are more focused on a woke ideology and an agenda rather than making sure kids can read and write." 

Students flip through some textbooks at the University Library.  ((Digital Image, Kate LeBlanc/Toronto Star) (Photo by Kate Leblanc/Toronto Star via Getty Images))

Education Department spokesman Dan Isett said in a statement to Fox News Digital, "Superintendent Walters is committed to eliminating woke indoctrination from Oklahoma schools. As a result, the [textbook] adoption process is different from in years past because it includes an extra layer of review."

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McGraw Hill, one of America’s most recognizable textbook brands, was one of the publishers objected to by some parents. 

"A leader of the Tulsa County chapter of Moms for Liberty said at an Oct. 6 state textbook committee meeting that the company’s bid should be rejected because its elementary math textbooks contain social-emotional learning concepts that do ‘not belong in mathematics,’" The Oklahoman reported. 

"While sounding innocuous, the Social Emotional Learning framework actually encompasses the far-left belief that each child is nothing more than a member of an oppressed class, or the oppressor themselves," Isett said in a statement. "This is simply inappropriate, and wrong."

The Oklahoma State Capitol building, seen here in Oklahoma City, building was built in 1917.  (Getty Images)

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The Oklahoman summarized a statement by McGraw Hill’s Chief Academic Officer Katie McClarty defending the textbooks for their ability to encourage classroom discussions and encourage students to share their mathematical thought process and quoted her proclaiming, "McGraw Hill firmly believes that students’ success in academics is tied not just to the high-quality content and sound pedagogy found in our programs but to their individual ability to think mathematically and work productively, confidently, and collaboratively with their peers through the rigorous math content they are learning."

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Alexander Hall is an associate editor for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..