Ryan Walters
Ryan Walters speaking to the United States House Committee on Education and the Workforce in September 2023
15th Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction
Assumed office
January 9, 2023
GovernorKevin Stitt
Preceded byJoy Hofmeister
Secretary of Education of Oklahoma
In office
September 2020 – April 11, 2023
GovernorKevin Stitt
Preceded byMichael Rogers
Succeeded byKatherine Curry
Personal details
Born (1985-05-23) May 23, 1985
McAlester, Oklahoma, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
SpouseKatie
Children4
EducationHarding University (BA)

Ryan Walters (born May 23, 1985) is an American educator and politician who has served as the elected Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction since 2023 and who served as the appointed Oklahoma Secretary of Education between September 2020 and April 2023.

A member of the Republican Party, he has been a vocal critic of critical race theory, LGBT students' rights, and teachers' unions in Oklahoma and has been described as "the state's top culture warrior".[1][2] During his tenure, he has successfully campaigned for the removal of Tulsa Public Schools Superintendent Deborah Gist and supported the conservative political organization Moms for Liberty, which the Southern Poverty Law Center has described as an "extremist" and "antigovernment" group.[3][4]

Early life and career

Ryan Walters was born May 23, 1985.[5] His father was a bank executive while his mother worked at Eastern Oklahoma State College. They both attended Harding University and are members of the North Town Church of Christ where his father serves as a minister and his mother serves as the elementary education director.[2] Walters grew up in McAlester, Oklahoma and attended Harding University before returning to teach at McAlester High School. He was a McAlester Teacher of the Year and finalist for the 2016 State Teacher of the Year.[6] In 2018, Walters met future governor Kevin Stitt at a tennis tournament and the two became friends. Later that year, he published three articles in the conservative magazine The Federalist.[2] He was also appointed to the Oklahoma Community Service Commission in 2018 by Governor Mary Fallin and Commission for Educational Quality and Accountability in 2019 by Governor Kevin Stitt. He resigned from McAlester Public Schools in 2019.[6] On May 29, 2019 he was appointed as the Executive Director of Oklahoma Achieves, a nonprofit education organization created by the State Chamber of Oklahoma.[7] By March 2020, Oklahoma Achieves transitioned into an independent nonprofit, Every Kid Counts Oklahoma, with Walters as its executive director.[6] Walters resigned from his position at Every Kid Counts Oklahoma the week before his inauguration as Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction.[8]

Oklahoma Secretary of Education

On September 10, 2020, Governor Kevin Stitt nominated Ryan Walters to be Oklahoma Secretary of Education.[9]

On May 2, 2022, The Frontier and Oklahoma Watch reported on a United States Department of Education report which found the Bridge the Gap program Walters oversaw was implemented with few safeguards to prevent fraud or abuse and that federal auditors were investigating the distribution of COVID-19 relief money through the program.[10]

On May 11, Oklahoma House of Representatives Democrats called on Governor Stitt to call for Walters resignation. The Governor's office responded "Secretary Walters is doing a great job fighting for parents’ right to be in charge of their child’s education and advocating for funding students, not government-controlled systems.”[11]

Later in May, Oklahoma newspapers reported that while working as Secretary of Education, Walters remained Executive Director of Every Kid Counts Oklahoma, an Oklahoma education non-profit. Walters was paid approximately $120,000 a year by Every Kid Counts Oklahoma compared to his state salary of $40,000. The Frontier and Oklahoma Watch reported that Every Kid Counts Oklahoma was funded by national school privatization advocates and charter school expansion advocates, such as the Walton Family Foundation and another group founded by Charles Koch.[6]

He was reappointed by Governor Kevin Stitt as Oklahoma Secretary of Education in 2023.[12] On April 11, 2023, Governor Kevin Stitt appointed Katherine Curry to replace Walters after his reappointment confirmation stalled in the Oklahoma Senate after attorney general Gentner Drummond told lawmakers it was illegal for him to serve as both Secretary of Education and State Superintendent simultaneously.[13][14]

State Superintendent

2022 campaign

Walters ran for Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction in 2022 as one of four Republican candidates in a June primary alongside John Cox, William Crozier, and April Grace.[15] He was endorsed in the primary by Governor Kevin Stitt and Texas Senator Ted Cruz.[16][17] He advanced to an August run-off alongside April Grace, which he won with 53% of the vote.[18][19] While campaigning, Walters promulgated the litter boxes in schools hoax.[20] He defeated the Democratic Party's nominee, Jena Nelson, in the general election.[21] After the campaign, Walters was fined for 14 violations of state campaign finance ethics rules. He contested 13 of the violations.[22][23]

Tenure

One of Walters's first acts as State Superintendent was to instruct the Oklahoma Department of Education to revoke the teaching licenses of two Oklahoma teachers who had been critical of HB-1775, a law that limits teaching concepts around race and gender.[12] In April 2023, the Oklahoma Attorney General's office under Gentner Drummond "issued an opinion saying the law does not give the State Board of Education the ability to make administrative rules without proper direction from the state Legislature," meaning Walters's "rules regarding pornography in library books, sex education, parents rights and inappropriate materials" were unenforceable.[24][25] Drummond also said he was not "taking a stance" on Walters's rules.[26] Ryan Kiesel, a civil rights attorney and political consultant, said in a KOSU story that, after asking Walters to show them the pornographic material Walters claims schools have, Walters emailed and had staff members hand-delivering copies of explicit materials to lawmakers' offices, though he never said what schools, if any, the materials came from.[27]

In June 2023, Walters spoke at the Moms for Liberty national summit in Philadelphia where he advocated eliminating the United States Department of Education and criticized teachers unions.[3] During a July town hall, Walters was asked "How does the Tulsa Race Massacre not fall under your definition of (critical race theory)" and responded "Let's not tie it to the skin color and say that the skin color determined that."[28] The comments sparked social media backlash and were satirized by The Onion.[29][30][31] Walters had earlier in the event said "Our kids should know … about the Tulsa Race Massacre. They absolutely should. There are (state academic) standards around that. I'll continually work for a more robust curriculum around these events."[32][33]

In September, Walters announced that the state would cooperate with PragerU to provide curriculum to Oklahoma schools, a policy similar to one recently adopted in Florida.[34] The policy was criticised by Oklahoma Democrats for "whitewashing history".[35] Walters was featured in a PragerU video on their website acknowledging the partnership.[36] After the announcement, The Black Wall Street Times, a Tulsa based African American newspaper, requested an interview with Walters, but was told by a Oklahoma Department of Education spokesperson that they were barred from interviews due to tweets by the paper's editor-in-chief.[37][36]

Later that month he spoke to the United States House Education Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education in favor of banning the Confucius Institute because it was funded by the Chinese government.[38] During the hearing representative Raul Grijalva asked Walters about allowing the oil and gas industry to influence climate change curriculum through PragerU, to which he responded "these are American companies that are a benefit to the American economy, so I don’t see any issue with them having influence on our education system.”[39] In an interview, political science professor Melody Huckaby Rowlett said it is rare to see state officials speak at subcommittee meetings and "this is a way for his name to be heard in wider circles. He’s also, probably most importantly, also able to raise funds, so it’s a fundraising tactic more than anything else and that purpose is absolutely higher office."[40] He also launched an investigation into Western Heights Public Schools for hiring a principal who is a drag performer in their free time.[41][42]

In 2024, Walters attempted to reject the American Library Association's standards for information literacy. Walters had called the current standards "woke." The ALA, which works with the Oklahoma Library Association and the American Association of School Librarians, said it "remains focused on ensuring that our current information literacy standards meet academic rigor and that we continue to strive to make Oklahoma a top 10 state in literacy."[43] He has also accused librarians of promoting pornography.[44]

Tulsa Public Schools accreditation

In July 2023, Walters asked the Oklahoma Department of Education Board to delay a vote on Tulsa Public Schools ("TPS") state accreditation until August 24 to give time to review its accreditation status. After the delay, Walters vocally maintained the state was considering not accrediting the district[lower-alpha 1] or having the state Department of Education take over the district.[45] Superintendent of TPS, Deborah Gist, spoke out against Walter's campaign arguing it had caused teachers to quit right before the start of classes.[46] She announced her resignation the Tuesday before the meeting.[45] Walter's said of her resignation, "This is a tremendous day for Tulsa parents, for Tulsa students, I’ve called for her resignation from day one."[47]

Tulsa mayor, G.T. Bynum, criticized the proposal writing "We do not want it, and we do not need it."[48] State representatives for Tulsa Regina Goodwin, Monroe Nichols, and John Waldron criticised the prospect of a state takeover;[49][50] while state representative Mark Tedford asked Walters to take less drastic measures.[1] Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation Chuck Hoskin Jr. also expressed concerns with the state taking over the district (which serves about 800 Cherokee students).[50] Governor Kevin Stitt reassured Tulsans that whatever the state board decided "everything is going to be OK."[51] High school students in TPS staged a walkout the day of the vote in protest of the meeting.[52]

On August 24, 2023, the State Board of Education voted 6-0 to approve Tulsa Public Schools as “accreditation with deficiencies.” Walter's praised the local school board for accepting Gist's resignation saying they had "root[ed] out a cancer in the district that caused so many problems" and vowed to take additional action if the district did not improve in the next few months.[53]

Union Public Schools bombing threats

The Monday before the meeting, the far-right social media account Libs of TikTok released an edited video of a Union Public Schools ("UPS") librarian which Walters shared the following morning.[54] The six consecutive school days following the videos release, both UPS and the librarian's home received bomb threats.[55][56] Walters later denounced the bomb threats, he did not remove the post.[57]

State representative Mickey Dollens and former governor David Walters, both Democrats, called on Walters to be removed from office for inciting the bomb threats;[58] Oklahoma House minority leader Cyndi Munson and state representative Melissa Provenzano called for a house investigative committee to consider impeaching Walters.[59] Oklahoma Senate minority leader Kay Floyd supported the calls for an investigative committee.[60] A Walter's spokesperson claimed that by "seeking to remove a popularly elected constitutional officer, they represent a direct threat to our democracy."[59][56] Speaker of the Oklahoma House Charles McCall later shut down prospects of impeachment saying "until somebody puts forth an allegation of something criminal (in) nature, I don’t see the House of Representatives just weighing in and trying to overturn the election results of the state of Oklahoma."[61]

Electoral history

2022

2022 Oklahoma state superintendent Republican primary results[62]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Ryan Walters 142,540 41%
Republican April Grace 105,303 31%
Republican John Cox 83,012 24%
Republican William E. Crozier 12,936 4%
Total votes 343,791 100%
2022 Oklahoma state superintendent Republican runoff results[63]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Ryan Walters 149,147 53.4
Republican April Grace 130,168 46.6
Total votes 279,315 100.0
2022 Oklahoma state superintendent election[64]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Ryan Walters 650,310 56.8 -1.7%
Democratic Jena Nelson 495,031 43.2 +9.4%
Total votes 1,145,341 100.0
Republican gain from Democratic

Notes

  1. ↑ Not accreditiing the district would have closed the district (the largest in the state) and sent all 33,000 of its students to neighboring school districts.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 KingKade, Tyler (August 23, 2023). "How Oklahoma's schools superintendent became the state's top culture warrior". NBC News. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 Jacobson, Linda (October 5, 2023). "The Mystery of Ryan Walters: How a Beloved History Teacher Became Oklahoma's Culture-Warrior-in-Chief". The 74. Retrieved 6 October 2023.
  3. 1 2 Forman, Carmen (July 1, 2023). "State Superintendent Ryan Walters rubs elbows with Moms for Liberty". Tulsa World. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
  4. ↑ "Moms for Liberty". Southern Poverty Law Center. Retrieved 2023-11-26.
  5. ↑ Maune, Tess (February 17, 2021). "Oklahoma's New Education Secretary Stays in Classroom, Dedicated to What's Best for Kids". KOTV-DT. Retrieved June 29, 2022.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Adcock, Clifton; Gorman, Reese; Palmer, Jennifer (19 May 2022). "Billionaire philanthropists pushing charter schools and school vouchers also fund Oklahoma's Secretary of Education's six-figure salary". The Frontier. Retrieved 19 June 2022.
  7. ↑ Autry, David (29 May 2019). "Ryan Walters new Oklahoma Achieves executive director". McAlester News-Capital. Retrieved 19 June 2022.
  8. ↑ Gorman, Reese; Adcock, Clifton; Palmer, Jennifer (January 8, 2023). "Ryan Walters steps down from nonprofit role that drew scrutiny". The Frontier. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
  9. ↑ Prather, Megan (10 September 2020). "Stitt names Ryan Walters new secretary of education". NonDoc. Retrieved 19 June 2022.
  10. ↑ Palmer, Jennifer; Adcock, Clifton; Gorman, Reese (2 May 2022). "Stitt gave families $8 Million for school supplies in the pandemic; They bought Christmas trees, gaming consoles and hundreds of TVs". The Frontier. Oklahoma Watch. Retrieved 19 June 2022.
  11. ↑ Palmer, Jennifer (11 May 2022). "House Democrats call on governor to oust cabinet member over misspent educational relief funds". The Frontier. Oklahoma Watch. Retrieved 19 June 2022.
  12. 1 2 "State Superintendent Ryan Walters pushes for revocation of TPS, ex-Norman teachers' licenses". Tulsa World. January 11, 2023. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  13. ↑ Savage, Tres (April 11, 2023). "Stitt selects Katherine Curry as new secretary of education, replacing Superintendent Ryan Walters". NonDoc. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
  14. ↑ Denwalt, Dale; Martinez-Keel, Nuria (April 13, 2023). "Attorney general told Senate that Ryan Walters can't hold two offices". The Oklahoman. Retrieved 21 May 2023.
  15. ↑ Love, Ryan (30 May 2022). "Election 2022: Four-Republican race for state superintendent in Oklahoma". KJRH 2 News Oklahoma. Retrieved 19 June 2022.
  16. ↑ Forman, Carmen (19 June 2022). "Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt's primary challenge: getting his allies elected to state offices". The Oklahoman. Retrieved 19 June 2022.
  17. ↑ Severin, Kevin (10 June 2022). "Ted Cruz endorses Ryan Walters: 'Ryan is a tireless advocate for students'". Fox 25 Oklahoma. Retrieved 19 June 2022.
  18. ↑ "Walters, Grace Projected For State Superintendent Runoff Election". KOTV-DT. 28 June 2022. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  19. ↑ Martinez-Keel, Nuria (23 August 2022). "Ryan Walters wins GOP nomination for Oklahoma state schools superintendent over April Grace". The Oklahoman. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
  20. ↑ Nicholson, Jonathan (November 4, 2022). "Man Who Wants To Run Oklahoma's Schools Buys Into Bogus 'Cat Litter' Conspiracy Theory". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2023-04-10.
  21. ↑ Eger, Andrea (8 November 2022). "Ryan Walters wins high-profile race for state superintendent". Tulsa World. Retrieved 9 November 2022.
  22. ↑ Clay, Nolan (August 28, 2023). "Ryan Walters ordered to pay Oklahoma Ethics Commission over campaign report violations". The Oklahoman. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
  23. ↑ Wallis, Beth (August 30, 2023). "Oklahoma State Superintendent Ryan Walters draws political heat, fines for recent actions". KOSU. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
  24. ↑ Greco, Jonathan (4 April 2023). "State Board of Education can't make administrative rules without Legislature's direction, AG says". KOCO.
  25. ↑ "Attorney General: New Oklahoma State Board of Ed. rules should be void, unenforceable". Fox 25. 4 April 2023.
  26. ↑ "Oklahoma Attorney General rules State Board of Education can't make rules without legislative direction". KOSU. 2023-04-04. Retrieved 2023-04-08.
  27. ↑ "New education rules, Superintendent Ryan Walters, state park restaurants and more". KOSU. Retrieved 2023-04-09.
  28. ↑ Martinez-Keel, Nuria (July 8, 2023). "Oklahoma schools should teach Tulsa Race Massacre as a 'racist' event, state superintendent says". The Oklahoman. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
  29. ↑ Weber, Andy (July 8, 2023). "Ryan Walters says he was misquoted on Tulsa Race Massacre comments". KOCO. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
  30. ↑ Christy, Erin (July 7, 2023). "State Superintendent Ryan Walters reacts to backlash over Tulsa Race Massacre comments". KJRH-TV. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
  31. ↑ "Oklahoma Schools To Teach Students That Tulsa Massacre Was Crime Of Passion From Loving Black People Too Much" (Satire). theonion.com. The Onion. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
  32. ↑ Krehbiel, Randy (July 7, 2023). "Ryan Walters denies saying Tulsa Race Massacre was not about race". Tulsa World. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
  33. ↑ Bailey, Brianna (July 7, 2023). "Hear and read Ryan Walters' full remarks about the Tulsa Race Massacre". The Frontier. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  34. ↑ Lonas, Lexi (September 5, 2023). "Oklahoma follows Florida in allowing PragerU in schools". The Hill. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
  35. ↑ Greco, Jonathan (September 6, 2023). "Oklahoma State Department of Education announces partnership with PragerU Kids". KOCO. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
  36. 1 2 Wertz, William C. (September 7, 2023). "Black-owned newspaper denied interview with Ryan Walters about PragerU partnership". The Oklahoman. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  37. ↑ Osborne, Deon (September 6, 2023). "Okla. Supt. Ryan Walters bans Black reporter from interviews". The Black Wall Street Times. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
  38. ↑ Morgan, Ben (September 20, 2023). "State Superintendent Walters speaks to Congress about Confucius Schools". KRMG. Retrieved 21 September 2023.
  39. ↑ Martinez-Keel, Nuria (September 19, 2023). "Walters alleges Chinese communist influence in schools during D.C. hearing". Oklahoma Voice. Retrieved 21 September 2023.
  40. ↑ Weber, Andy (September 20, 2023). "Ryan Walters' messaging aligns with national talking points, OU professor says". KOCO. Retrieved 21 September 2023.
  41. ↑ Brinkman, Bennett; Savage, Tres (September 11, 2023). "'Very open with who I am': Western Heights principal defends drag queen alter ego". NonDoc. Retrieved 28 September 2023.
  42. ↑ Martinez-Keel, Nuria (September 26, 2023). "Western Heights school district under investigation for hiring principal who performs in drag". Oklahoma Voice. Retrieved 28 September 2023.
  43. ↑ "The Oklahoman Subscription Offers, Specials, and Discounts". subscribe.oklahoman.com. Retrieved 2024-01-05.
  44. ↑ "Ryan Walters calls for eliminating 'woke' library standards from Oklahoma schools". KOSU. 2023-12-08. Retrieved 2024-01-05.
  45. 1 2 Krehbiel-Burton, Lenzy (August 22, 2023). "'TPS isn't perfect, but it is ours,' parent tells Tulsa school board". Tulsa World. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
  46. ↑ Eger, Andrea (August 17, 2023). "Gist says anti-TPS effort timed for max disruption: 'We have lost teachers because of this'". Tulsa World. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  47. ↑ Cash, Alex (August 22, 2023). "State superintendent supports Gist's plan to leave TPS". KOKI-TV. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  48. ↑ Eger, Andrea (August 18, 2023). "Tulsa mayor on state takeover of TPS: 'We do not want it, and we do not need it'". Tulsa World. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  49. ↑ Krehbiel, Randy (August 16, 2023). "TPS supporters say turmoil damaging the district". Tulsa World. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  50. 1 2 Wallis, Beth (August 22, 2023). "Tulsa superintendent to resign amid battle with Oklahoma State Superintendent Ryan Walters". KGOU. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  51. ↑ Hoberock, Barbara (August 15, 2023). "With nonaccreditation looming over Tulsa schools, Stitt says 'everything is going to be OK'". Tulsa World. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  52. ↑ Martinez-Keel, Nuria (August 29, 2023). "With a district takeover threat still looming, Tulsans call out vague demands for improvement". Oklahoma Voice. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
  53. ↑ Eger, Andrea (August 24, 2023). "TPS receives accreditation renewal, as Walters vows additional actions if quick progress not made". Tulsa World. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
  54. ↑ Derksen, Cheyenne (August 22, 2023). "Ryan Walters labels Oklahoma librarian's video an example of 'woke agenda' in Twitter firestorm". The Oklahoman. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
  55. ↑ Derksen, Cheyenne (August 25, 2023). "Ryan Walters calls for investigation of threats made toward Oklahoma schools". The Oklahoman. Retrieved 26 August 2023.
  56. 1 2 KingKade, Tyler (August 29, 2023). "Democrats push for investigation of Ryan Walters, Oklahoma's firebrand schools superintendent". NBC News. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
  57. ↑ Osborne, Deon (August 25, 2023). "Oklahoma Education Board ignores bomb threats at Tulsa Schools". The Black Wall Street Times. Retrieved 26 August 2023.
  58. ↑ Dulaney, Josh (August 24, 2023). "Criticism for Ryan Walters intensifies after 3 days of bomb threats at school in retweeted video". The Oklahoman. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
  59. 1 2 Weber, Andy (August 29, 2023). "House Democrats call for bipartisan committee to investigate whether Ryan Walters should be impeached". KOCO. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
  60. ↑ "House Democrats call for impeachment investigation into Supt. Walters". KOKI-TV. August 29, 2023. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
  61. ↑ Martinez-Keel, Nuria (September 14, 2023). "House speaker: Only a criminal act by Oklahoma state superintendent will prompt impeachment action". Oklahoma Voice. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
  62. ↑ "June 28 2022". okelections.us. Oklahoma State Election Board. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  63. ↑ "August 23 2022". okelections.us. Oklahoma State Election Board. Retrieved 1 October 2022.
  64. ↑ "Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction Election Results". The New York Times. 2022-11-08. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-12-11.
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