Oklahoma has ignited a fierce national debate after announcing a new requirement targeting teaching applicants from California and New York, mandating they pass an exam designed to screen for what state officials describe as "radical leftist ideology." The move, unveiled on August 19, 2025, by Oklahoma’s public schools superintendent Ryan Walters, has drawn sharp criticism from educators, policy experts, and political leaders, who have labeled the measure a "MAGA loyalty test" and warned it could deepen the state’s ongoing teacher shortage.
The newly instituted assessment, to be administered by PragerU—a conservative nonprofit based in Oklahoma known for its political and economic videos—marks a dramatic escalation in the state’s culture war over education. Walters, who has long positioned himself as a staunch opponent of progressive influences in the classroom, declared, “As long as I am superintendent, Oklahoma classrooms will be safeguarded from the radical leftist ideology fostered in places like California and New York.” According to the Associated Press, this requirement applies to any teacher seeking certification in Oklahoma after relocating from either of those traditionally Democratic states.
PragerU, short for Prager University, is not an accredited university but a media organization that produces short-form content promoting conservative perspectives. The group describes its mission as advancing "American values through the creative use of digital media, technology and edu-tainment." The test itself, according to state education department spokesperson Quinton Hitchcock, consists of 50 questions and is set to roll out "very soon." While the state has not released the full exam, it did provide the first five questions to reporters—these include basic civics, such as asking applicants to identify the first three words of the U.S. Constitution and to explain why freedom of religion is "important to America's identity."
The assessment is not limited to civics, however. PragerU’s CEO, Marissa Streit, told CNN that several questions are specifically intended to address “undoing the damage of gender ideology.” According to USA Today, the test will require applicants to demonstrate knowledge of "the biological differences between females and males" and to agree with Oklahoma’s American history standards. Notably, those standards include elements of a conspiracy theory that the Democratic Party stole the 2020 presidential election from Donald Trump—an assertion that has been widely debunked. As the Associated Press and other outlets have reported, there is no evidence of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election.
PragerU previously played a central role in developing Oklahoma’s new high school history curriculum. Their lessons include modules on investigating the 2020 election results, allegations of mail-in voter fraud, and the supposed "security risks" of mail-in voting—topics that critics argue reinforce partisan narratives rather than promote objective education. The institutionalization of PragerU as a gatekeeper for teacher certification in Oklahoma is unprecedented, according to Jonathan Zimmerman, a professor who teaches the history of education at the University of Pennsylvania. He told The Independent, “Instead of Prager simply being a resource that you can draw in an optional way, Prager has become institutionalized as part of the state system. There’s no other way to describe it.”
Zimmerman pointed to a 2024 American Historical Association survey of 7th- to 12th-grade teachers, which found that only a minority were relying on textbooks for day-to-day instruction—most have turned to online resources, including those from PragerU. “I think what we’re now seeing in Oklahoma is something different, which is actually empowering Prager as a kind of gatekeeper for future teachers,” Zimmerman said, highlighting the significant shift from optional resource to mandatory arbiter of ideological fitness.
The backlash has been swift and vocal. Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), condemned the measure as a "MAGA loyalty test" and warned it would further deter teachers from coming to Oklahoma, a state already grappling with a severe shortage. “This MAGA loyalty test will be yet another turnoff for teachers in a state already struggling with a huge shortage,” Weingarten told the Associated Press. She also criticized Walters for prioritizing partisan battles over educational quality: “His priority should be educating students, but instead, it’s getting Donald Trump and other MAGA politicians to notice him.”
State Representative John Waldron, who chairs the Oklahoma Democratic Party, echoed these concerns, calling the new requirement "political posturing" and "a sad echo of a more paranoid past." Waldron, himself a former teacher who moved to Oklahoma from New Jersey via Washington, D.C., said that if such a test had existed when he arrived in 1999, it would have signaled that the state was "not serious about attracting quality teachers." He added, “Teachers are not rushing here from other states to teach. We’ve got an enormous teacher shortage and it’s not like we have a giant supply of teachers coming in from blue states anyway.”
The controversy comes at a time when Oklahoma, like many states nationwide, is struggling to fill classrooms with qualified educators. Critics argue that the new test will only exacerbate the problem by adding an ideological filter that deters talented teachers from relocating. The issue has also reignited broader debates over academic freedom, the politicization of education, and the role of outside organizations in shaping public school curricula.
Meanwhile, supporters of the measure, including Walters and conservative groups, frame the test as a necessary defense against what they see as the encroachment of progressive values in schools. They argue that teachers from states like California and New York bring with them educational philosophies that are at odds with Oklahoma’s "traditional values" and that the assessment is a legitimate means of preserving local control over classroom content.
PragerU did not immediately respond to requests for comment from several news outlets. However, its leadership has been clear about their intentions to influence public education. CEO Marissa Streit’s remarks about “undoing the damage of gender ideology” underscore the organization’s commitment to promoting conservative social policies, particularly around issues of gender and sexuality.
The rollout of the PragerU-administered test is being closely watched by educators, policymakers, and advocacy groups across the country. Some fear it could set a precedent for other states seeking to impose ideological litmus tests on teachers, while others see it as an overdue pushback against what they perceive as left-leaning dominance in American education. As the debate rages on, one thing is clear: Oklahoma’s new requirement has thrust the state to the forefront of the nation’s ongoing battle over the future of public schooling.
As Oklahoma prepares to implement this controversial measure, the stakes are high—not just for teachers from California and New York, but for the broader question of who gets to decide what is taught in America’s classrooms.
