Oklahoma To Establish Turning Point USA Chapters In All State High Schools

Authored by Joseph Lord via The Epoch Times,

Oklahoma has struck a deal with the conservative group Turning Point USA to open chapters in all state high schools, Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters announced Tuesday.

“I am very excited to announce a partnership with @TPUSA to establish chapters in ALL Oklahoma high schools. Radical leftist teachers’ unions have dominated classrooms for far too long, and we are taking them back,” Walters wrote in a post on X.

The decision comes after Charlie Kirk, who founded the group in 2012, was assassinated on Sept. 10 at Utah Valley University. His wife, Erika Kirk, will take over the organization.

“We have seen the outpouring from parents, teachers and students that want to be engaged in a meaningful work going on at Turning Point,” Walters said in a video attached to the post on X. “They want their young people to be engaged in a process that understands free speech, open engagement, dialogue about American greatness, a dialogue around American values.”

Walters said the move seeks to respond to “radical leftists with the teachers’ union” who he says “dominate classrooms and push woke indoctrination on our kids.”

Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters speaks at a Board of Education meeting in Oklahoma City on April 12, 2023. Sue Ogrocki/AP Photo

He said these individuals “fight parents’ rights, push parents out of the classroom, and lie to our kids about American history.”

Walters said Oklahoma is “going to continue to … make sure that our kids understand American greatness, engage in civic dialog and have that open discussion. We will continue to do all that we can to make sure Oklahoma students have the best education possible.”

Walters’s post was reposted by Turning Point USA.

Oklahoma is one of the most Republican states in the nation, with the GOP holding 81 of 101 seats in the state House and 40 of 48 seats in the state Senate. President Donald Trump carried the state by over 34 percentage points in 2024.

Historically, Turning Point USA has focused on engagement with students at the college level, and this would mark the group’s largest expansion into the high school sphere.

In a letter from Walters addressed to “Parents and Guardians,” Walters described the process for forming a new chapter at a school. Students will need at least three potential members and would need to fill out a form to be officially recognized.

At that point, Turning Point USA officials would help students with details such as getting a teacher sponsor and receiving recognition from the school.

In the letter, Walters wrote, “Charlie Kirk inspired a generation to love America, to speak boldly, and to never shy away from debate. Our kids must get involved and active. We will fight back against the liberal propaganda, pushed by the radical left, and the teachers unions. Our fight starts now.”