Updated September 25, 2025 at 5:21 PM CDT
The outgoing superintendent's tenure has been marked by political scandal and charged rhetoric, while Oklahoma's education system continued to lag behind the rest of the country.
Walters first announced his resignation late Wednesday night on FOX News. He said he'll be taking his fight against what he calls radical left teachers' unions to a national arena.
"I'll be stepping down as Oklahoma State Superintendent and taking on the role as the CEO of the Teacher Freedom Alliance," he said. "We're going to destroy the teachers' unions."
Walters explained he'll do that by building "an army of teachers" who will help push his anti-union agenda. The Teacher Freedom Alliance is an offshoot of the conservative Freedom Foundation.
Gov. Kevin Stitt will appoint a replacement to finish out Walters' term, which ends in January 2027. However, a spokesperson for the governor said his office had not received an official resignation letter. A handful of candidates have declared their intent to run for the spot in 2026.
"I wish Ryan and his family the best in this next chapter," a statement from Stitt's office said. "Oklahoma students remain my top priority, and with my first appointment to this role, I will be seeking a leader who is fully focused on the job Oklahomans expect: delivering real outcomes and driving a turnaround in our education system."
Walters was a presumed candidate for Oklahoma's governor in the 2026 cycle. However, preliminary polling shows Walters far behind opponents, with negative feelings outweighing positive ones even among Republican voters.
In what is expected to be his final meeting chairing Oklahoma's State Board of Education, Walters did not address his resignation in an opening statement. Instead, he turned it over to a representative from Turning Point USA to discuss the effort to establish a chapter in every Oklahoma high school.
He also left the meeting and did not answer questions from local reporters.
One of his final official acts was to present a proposed budget for K-12 education. The state board of education is mandated to do so before October of each year.
Walters' budget proposal serves as a wishlist, with a request of roughly $4 billion, a $100 million decrease from the previous year.
"What we're attempting to do and what our goal has been from the beginning, is to continue to drive academic excellence, transparency and empower parents, teachers and students across the state," Walters said. "So when we begin to look through this budget, you're going to see the most fiscally responsible conservative budget in education."
It holds state aid to public schools flat, while cutting public school activity funding and several other programs for schools. However, the board rejected Walters' budget proposal, saying they did not have enough information.
"This is $4 billion we're talking about," said Board Member Mike Tinney. "And I certainly appreciate the work I know that must have gone into this, but we just got this pretty recently and it's like, you know, I would spend more time on our own home budget. That's way puny compared to this."
Another board member, Chris Van Dehende, said he spoke to Walters' budget team leading up to the monthly meeting, but still wasn't satisfied with the information.
"I personally had a call, went through this data with some of your staff," Van Dehende told Walters. "Very helpful, very much appreciated. But sometimes you wake up in the middle of the night thinking."He shook his head, implying newfound clarity.
"So, I'm not sure how we will get there," Van Dehende said.
The proposal's future is ultimately unclear and will likely be the responsibility of the next state superintendent.Tinney and board member Becky Carson stayed behind after the meeting to answer reporters' questions.
Tinney said the board received Walters' budget proposal about a week before they met Thursday. Both he and Carson agreed the superintendent's resignation comes as a relief — and an injection of hope.
"I hope this… opens the door for us to make progress, to educate children in the best way possible, to support teachers in doing that, and to motivate parents to, say – You know, get involved in your children's education," Carson said. " That was our plan from the beginning. And we haven't been able to do that."
She says the only direction student outcomes can go from here is "up."
The Oklahoma Education Association, a teachers' union, issued a statement urging Oklahomans to vote thoughtfully in the 2026 superintendent election.
"Oklahoma has a chance to chart a better course," OEA officials said in the statement. "As educators, we implore those who care about our students and the future of public education to actively engage in the election process."
Democrats – from state lawmakers to his former opponent for the state's highest education office – celebrated Walters' imminent departure.
Senate Democratic Leader Julia Kirt minced no words in a statement on Walters' departure.
"It's no surprise Ryan Walters has chosen his own personal ambitions over serving our students and teachers, like he always has," Kirt said. "Republicans failed to hold him accountable to do his job and they should be embarrassed he's left this office of his own accord."
But criticism of Walters hasn't just come from lawmakers across the aisle.
Attorney General Gentner Drummond, a Republican and a 2026 candidate for governor, issued a statement calling Walters "an embarrassment." He cited the mismanagement of COVID pandemic relief funds for schools, and a more recent gaffe where a Jackie Chan film featuring nude women played on Walters' television during a Board of Education meeting.
"Even worse, test scores and reading proficiency are at historic lows," Drummond said. "It's time for a State Superintendent of Public Instruction who will actually focus on quality instruction in our public schools."
This report was produced by the Oklahoma Public Media Exchange, a collaboration of public media organizations. Help support collaborative journalism by donating at the link at the top of this webpage.
