 |
Oklahoma Administrative Code (Last Updated: March 11, 2021) |
 |
TITLE 210. State Department of Education |
|
Chapter 15. Curriculum and Instruction |
|
Subchapter 33. Celebrate Freedom Week |
SECTION 210:15-33-2. Celebrate Freedom Week requirements
Latest version.
- (a) By December 31, 2007, each public school district in the state will include as a part of a social studies class, during Celebrate Freedom Week, appropriate instruction concerning the intent, meaning, and importance of the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution, including the Bill of Rights, in their historical contexts.(b) The religious references in the writings of the founding fathers shall not be censored.(c) The study of the Declaration of Independence will include the study of the relationship of the ideas expressed in that document to subsequent American history, including the relationship of its ideas to the rich diversity of our people as a nation of immigrants, the American Revolution, the formulation of the United States Constitution, and the abolitionist movement, which led to the Emancipation Proclamation and the women's suffrage movement.(d) During Celebrate Freedom Week students in grades three through twelve will study and recite the text quoted below:(1) "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed."(2) Students may be excused from the recitation of the text, if:(A) The parent or guardian of the student submits to the school district a written request that the student be excused;(B) As determined by the school district, the student has a conscientious objection to the recitation; or(C) The student is a child of a representative of a foreign government to whom the United States government extends diplomatic immunity.(e) The Oklahoma State Department of Education will provide a curriculum guide for public schools that identifies different levels of content and rigor for the grade-appropriate subject matter to be covered during Celebrate Freedom Week.