Ryan Walters, the superintendent of Oklahoma schools who garnered national attention for wanting Bibles in the state’s public classrooms, will continue to push for tax credits for tuition-paying parents who want to send their children to a conservative online school, despite the school being deemed ineligible for the credits by the state’s tax commission.
American Virtual Academy is an online K-12 school that Walters’ department has said promotes “American principles rather than pushing a liberal agenda.” Walters had previously emailed “thousands of parents” in Oklahoma stating the tax credits would be available, according to Oklahoma’s News 9, but the school is not accredited in the state and therefore not qualified for tax credits. However, Walters is prepared to get his way by the time school starts.
“We will continue to work with the tax commission and American Virtual to have them approved by the start of the school year. Oklahoma is proud to remain the most school choice state in the country,” Walters said in a statement to NOTUS.