Oklahoma’s “Woke⁤ Test” for Teachers ⁤Raises Constitutional Concerns

When the Techdirt community has had to hear ‍so much about a single state’s education superintendent, you no something has gone horribly wrong.The horribly wrong in this case is Ryan Walters of Oklahoma. Walters‍ appears to be doing some sort of combo-impression of Joseph McCarthy mixed with Donald Trump.In his role running Oklahoma schools, wich rank near the bottom of states in the country, he seems far more interested ⁤in inserting Christianity anywhere he can into public schools,⁣ teaching children his favourite pet election conspiracy theories and presiding⁢ over board meetings where tame but very strange erotic ⁤videos sometimes appear on screens.

Much of ⁢this runs afoul of the Constitution and the First Amendment, of course. And I very much wonder if the same ⁤might ⁤be true of Walters’ latest plan, which is to give transplants from certain states who wont to become teachers in Oklahoma a “woke⁢ test” that will determine if they get a teaching license.

Teachers from “liberal” states who ⁢have relocated to Oklahoma and ⁢are ⁤seeking to work there must take a controversial new assessment, to be given for the first time today, that “keeps away woke indoctrinators,” according‍ to Oklahoma’s top education official.

Ryan Walters,Oklahoma’s superintendent ‍for public instruction,told CNN that if applicants do not pass the test,they⁢ will not⁤ earn a teaching certificate to be able to teach in public schools in‍ the state this school year,which begins for ‍some⁢ Oklahoma⁣ districts on Monday.The superintendent’s office notified CNN on Friday that it had not yet been released as of noon, but that it was coming soon.

Now, I’m ⁤no constitutional law professor, but this sure sounds‍ like the state ⁤government would be setting different ⁢requirements for ‍different citizens purely based on the place in America from which they are emigrating. Section 1 of the 14th ⁣Amendment reads:

All persons⁣ born or naturalized ‍in the United States,and subject to the jurisdiction thereof,are citizens of the United States and of ⁣the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce ‍any law ⁣which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person‍ of⁢ life,liberty,or property,without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

I, and ‍others, ⁣can certainly argue that these selective tests run afoul of that ⁤text. And I imagine someone will try to…