
Education
Oklahoma high-school students may now earn ‘civics seal’
Rick Farmer, Ph.D. | February 4, 2025
Oklahoma high-school students now have an incentive to study civics and history. Under Superintendent Ryan Walters’ leadership, the Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE) created a “civics seal” for high-school graduates.
To earn the certification, a high-school student must fulfill several requirements. A student who meets the criteria will receive a notation on their transcript and a seal on their high-school diploma.
The certificate standards are high. A student must demonstrate competency in three areas: academics, community service, and leadership training.
The academic standards require the student to do all of the following:
- Accumulate a 3.0 GPA in all social studies classes
- Score 80% or higher on the United States Naturalization test
- Score proficient or advanced on the College and Career Readiness Test for U.S. History and Government
Students are also required to complete 75 hours of community service. Then, they must write a reflection paper that meets the standards set by their particular school district.
In the area of leadership training, students must complete three civics-engagement programs from a list of programs approved by the Oklahoma State Department of Education.
The Fears Fellowship is a great way for high-school students to network and to complete one of the requirements for a civics seal on their diploma.
The late OCPA distinguished fellow J. Rufus Fears (pictured above) spoke often about the need for civic literacy. He would be pleased to know that OCPA’s J. Rufus Fears Fellowship is included in the OSDE’s list of approved leadership-training programs. Over the years, the Fears Fellowship has had about a dozen high-school students participate in the program. High-school students will now be encouraged to participate in the Fears Fellowship as part of earning the civics seal for their transcript and diploma.
This is yet another demonstration of the academic rigor of the Fears Fellowship. Faculty at 12 Oklahoma colleges and universities offer their students an hour of elective college credit for completing the program. This includes the University of Tulsa, where just last week the curriculum committee reviewed and approved the fellowship for credit.
A Fears Fellowship cohort will meet in Tulsa this fall, and another will meet in Oklahoma City in the spring of 2026. The Fears Fellowship is for 16- to 35-year-old conservatives with strong leadership potential. It is a great way for young leaders to learn and to network. It is also a way for those still in school to earn college credit. And now it is a way for high school students to complete one of the requirements for a civics seal on their diploma.

Rick Farmer, Ph.D.
Dean of the J. Rufus Fears Fellowship
Dr. Rick Farmer serves as OCPA’s Dean of the J. Rufus Fears Fellowship. Previously, Rick served as director of committee staff at the Oklahoma House of Representatives, deputy insurance commissioner, and director of the Oklahoma Workers’ Compensation Commission. Earning his Ph.D. at the University of Oklahoma and tenure at the University of Akron, Rick can best be described as a “pracademic.” While working full-time in the Oklahoma government, he continued to teach and write. He served as president of the Oklahoma Political Science Association and chairman of the American Political Science Association’s Practical Politics Working Group. In 2016, he was awarded the Oklahoma Political Science Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award. Farmer has appeared on CNN, NBC, MSNBC, C-SPAN, BBC Radio, and various local news outlets. His comments are quoted in the Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal, Christian Science Monitor, and numerous local newspapers. He is the author of more than 30 academic chapters and articles and the co-editor of four books.