A nonprofit is helping Oklahoma teachers fight back against what they said is a growing “political war” in the classroom.OK Appleseed has created a legal fund for teachers if they are accused of violating House Bill 1775, the state’s anti-critical race theory law.OK Appleseed said that teachers in Oklahoma are caught in the crossfire and have recently become political pawns. The new legal fund is meant to provide them with help they might not otherwise get.”We wish we didn’t have to create it, but here we are,” said Colleen McCarty, executive director for OK Appleseed.McCarty said the Freedom to Teach fund is needed, especially after the passage of HB 1775. The law forbids teaching lessons designed to make children uncomfortable because of their race or gender.”It’s kind of opened the floodgates on teachers and some administrators who have tried their best to comply with the law,” McCarty said.The fund is for teachers accused of violating the law, who become targeted with defamation, discipline or dismissal.”There are just not many pro-bono attorneys that would be able to take a case like this that could take hundreds of hours of research and writing. Most teachers don’t have the money to cover those kinds of services,” McCarty said.McCarty said the fund was also created thanks, in part, to the recent election of Ryan Walters to the state superintendent’s position. Walters campaigned heavily on critical race theory and removing teachers who violate the law.”I’m not going to lie, his election did make us more sure that we wanted to create the fund. By creating this we are pretty much trying to anticipate that there will be more teachers being targeted,” McCarty said.The fund is launching in just a few hours at midnight, right in time for Giving Tuesday. It is completely dependent on donations.In a statement to KOCO 5, Walters said, “It is simple – don’t tell and teach kids that they are racist. Unions and liberals want to dodge, weave and distort the truth. Here in Oklahoma we’re fed up with liberal indoctrination and the woke mob playing victim. My message is crystal clear – teach don’t indoctrinate.”
A nonprofit is helping Oklahoma teachers fight back against what they said is a growing “political war” in the classroom.
OK Appleseed has created a legal fund for teachers if they are accused of violating House Bill 1775, the state’s anti-critical race theory law.
OK Appleseed said that teachers in Oklahoma are caught in the crossfire and have recently become political pawns. The new legal fund is meant to provide them with help they might not otherwise get.
“We wish we didn’t have to create it, but here we are,” said Colleen McCarty, executive director for OK Appleseed.
McCarty said the Freedom to Teach fund is needed, especially after the passage of HB 1775. The law forbids teaching lessons designed to make children uncomfortable because of their race or gender.
“It’s kind of opened the floodgates on teachers and some administrators who have tried their best to comply with the law,” McCarty said.
The fund is for teachers accused of violating the law, who become targeted with defamation, discipline or dismissal.
“There are just not many pro-bono attorneys that would be able to take a case like this that could take hundreds of hours of research and writing. Most teachers don’t have the money to cover those kinds of services,” McCarty said.
McCarty said the fund was also created thanks, in part, to the recent election of Ryan Walters to the state superintendent’s position. Walters campaigned heavily on critical race theory and removing teachers who violate the law.
“I’m not going to lie, his election did make us more sure that we wanted to create the fund. By creating this we are pretty much trying to anticipate that there will be more teachers being targeted,” McCarty said.
The fund is launching in just a few hours at midnight, right in time for Giving Tuesday. It is completely dependent on donations.
In a statement to KOCO 5, Walters said, “It is simple – don’t tell and teach kids that they are racist. Unions and liberals want to dodge, weave and distort the truth. Here in Oklahoma we’re fed up with liberal indoctrination and the woke mob playing victim. My message is crystal clear – teach don’t indoctrinate.”
