Dahm Files Legislation to Require Thanksgiving Proclamations be Taught in Schools

State Senator Nathan Dahm

TULSA, Okla. (KTUL) — State Senator Nathan Dahm filed legislation that would require Oklahoma educational institutions to teach students the history and meanings of Thanksgiving Day.

Senate Bill 2 requires five proclamations to be read or hear by students in Oklahoma’s public school districts. public charter schools, visual charter schools, career and technology schools and higher education institutions.

The proclamations include:

• The Proclamation by the Continental Congress for a day of Thanksgiving in 1777
• The First Presidential Prayer Proclamation issued by George Washington in 1789
• The Thanksgiving Proclamation issued by Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1944
• The Thanksgiving Proclamation issued by Ronald Reagan in 1985
• The Thanksgiving Proclamation issued by Oklahoma City Mayor Sidney Clarke in 1889

“It is important for all students to understand the importance of our nation’s history, including the role Thanksgiving plays in forming our country,” Dahm said in a news release. “These significant proclamations date back to our founding fathers, and students reading or hearing them leading up to Thanksgiving will give them a better understanding of what the holiday truly means historically.”

Dahm filed this legislation in 2021, but it did not complete the legislative process.