Oklahoma governor clarifies after comments about graduates joining Army after high school go viral

Oklahoma Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt clarified his vision for high school graduates in his state after a news report indicated that he wanted them to join the Army if they decided against college or trade school.

As 2024 drew to a close, Stitt began touting his “Classrooms to Careers” initiative, a series of measures that have given parents a $7,500 tax credit for school choice and allowed high school students to study financial literacy, take classes that better suit their college or career ambitions, and earn credit through relevant work experience.

During an interview about “Classrooms to Careers” with KOKH, Stitt further expounded on his plans for educating kids for the future.

“I’m thinking about even making it a requirement to graduate from Oklahoma high schools — you’ve got to either be accepted to college, you have to be accepted into a CareerTech, or you have to be going into the Army,” he said, according to a clip of the interview. “You have to have some kind of plan post-graduation to go get a great job.”

‘I mean, enjoy the lawsuit.’

When KOKH summarized Stitt’s statements in an article, however, it took his remarks “out of context,” his office later claimed, and implied that he would force graduates into military service if they opted out of college or CareerTech.

In the original article, KOKH said:

Stitt announced Friday that he wants to prepare every student for success in the workforce. … He has some ideas to make this happen, like requiring students to graduate from Oklahoma high schools. Stitt also wants students to have to be accepted into a college. If not college, he says kids should be accepted into a CareerTech. Otherwise, Stitt says a student would have to be going into the army.

Critics pounced on the comments, accusing Stitt of breaking the law by making military service compulsory and of being insensitive to students with special needs and others who may not be well suited for college or trade school.

“I mean, enjoy the lawsuit,” commented one X user. “This is a conversation for a child and their parent. Not for the government.”

“Your plan is unenforceable, where do you think you’re living ?” said another.

Others on social media even implied “Classrooms to Careers” was some backdoor means of implementing Project 2025, a collection of policy suggestions from the Heritage Foundation for President-elect Donald Trump’s second term. Even left-leaning outlet the Oklahoman admitted that possibility was “unlikely.”

The backlash prompted a response from Stitt’s office.

“The governor would love to see every high school student graduate high school with a plan for their future, whether that be college, CareerTech, military, or workforce,” communications director Abegail Cave later said in an email to StateImpact.

“He in no way suggested that kids who don’t go to college would be mandated to serve in the military. … It was a comment given in a broader discussion about education policy and workforce that was taken out of context in a news story.”

KOKH later amended the article to add that Stitt’s “office states he is not suggesting mandatory military service.” It also added the following sentence at the very bottom, beneath even the readers’ comments section: “Governor Stitt’s Office wants to clarify that, as of right now, this is just an idea – not an initiative or plan.”

KOKH did not respond to a request for comment from KGOU.

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