Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters resigned Tuesday, nearly a week after his surprise announcement on FOX News that he’s stepping down to take a position in the private sector.
Walters starts his new role leading an anti-teacher-union organization, the Teacher Freedom Alliance, today.
It’s now up to Gov. Kevin Stitt to appoint someone to fulfill the 15 months remaining on the superintendent’s term. One of Walters’ early political allies, Stitt appointed Walters secretary of education in 2020 and endorsed him in the 2022 race for superintendent. But the relationship soured; Stitt publicly disagreed with Walters’ controversial immigration policy, and overhauled the board of education with new members willing to challenge Walters’ proposals.
The Republican culture warrior grabbed headlines throughout his tenure as the state schools chief.
“He’s been anti-conventional in almost every respect,” said Brett Sharp, a professor of public administration at the University of Central Oklahoma. “It’s just so off-the-wall, even for Oklahoma.”
A former high school history teacher, Walters left the classroom in 2019 to lead an education initiative for the State Chamber, which later became Every Kid Counts Oklahoma. The organization bungled an $8 million federal pandemic program, leading to more than $1 million in unauthorized purchases.
Elected with 57% of the vote in 2022, Walters made waves early by removing the Educator Hall of Fame from the Education Department offices and, in a budget hearing at the Capitol, called the state’s teachers’ union a terrorist organization, setting off a firestorm and bringing the committee hearing to an abrupt end.
His administration racked up dozens of lawsuits, on everything from wrongful termination and slander claims to policies over library books, Bible purchases and academic standards. Few have gone his way, but most are still pending; the frequent turnover in the agency’s legal department led to delays.
Among the lawsuits was one filed by NexStar and KFOR-TV over access to public Board of Education meetings, one of many run-ins Walters had in his highly contentious relationship with state media. A federal judge signed a temporary order granting KFOR meeting access, and in December, facilitated a settlement that ensured KFOR could continue to cover meetings. Walters and his former spokesman were later ordered to reimburse the plaintiffs $170,000 in attorneys’ fees.
Multiple agencies investigated Walters after two board members reported seeing nude women on a TV in his office during the executive session of the board’s July meeting. Walters claimed the accusations were lies and a political attack on his character. Investigators ultimately determined the images were from an obscure Jackie Chan movie accidentally playing on a cable channel.
“From the beginning to the end, he just tried to politicize our education system in a way that really harms our students and teachers,” said Christine Pappas, a professor of political science and legal studies at East Central University in Ada.
Walters touted his accomplishments in an email to public school parents on Tuesday. Among them: school choice expansion, teacher merit pay, new literacy programs, and bringing Bibles back to classrooms.
“Serving as your state superintendent has been an honor,” he wrote. “Together, we have delivered the most historic education reforms in Oklahoma’s history, in record time.”
Here’s where some of those reforms and initiatives stand today.
Teacher Bonuses
One of Walters’ first major policy initiatives was a program to award new and returning teachers bonuses of $15,000 to $50,000, which he announced in April 2023. But the agency mistakenly paid some teachers who didn’t qualify and demanded the money back, months after the money was distributed. Two teachers sued; their case is pending.
Walters said his agency ultimately distributed more than $15 million in the first year through merit pay and bonus programs. That includes the Teacher Empowerment Program, created by the Legislature in 2022, which funds bonuses through money collected from the lottery.
Bibles for Classrooms
Walters’ unrelenting push to see Bibles in Oklahoma classrooms included demands that school leaders incorporate the Bible as an instructional support. In October 2024, a month before the presidential election, his agency opened bids for a contract to spend millions on 55,000 Bibles with narrowly tailored specs that seemed to only fit the Trump-endorsed “God Bless America” Bible.
The proposal sparked a lawsuit, and in March, the Oklahoma Supreme Court temporarily blocked the state from furthering the Bible initiative until the case is resolved.
Walters ultimately spent $24,500 to buy 500 Trump Bibles for AP Government classes.
Free Speech Issues
Even before his election, Walters called for educators to be stripped of their teaching licenses over political statements, a penalty typically reserved for serious offenses such as child abuse, predatory behavior or criminal charges.
In 2022, while education secretary, Walters called for Norman teacher Summer Boismier to lose her teaching license over a classroom display that shared a QR code linking students to the Brooklyn library. Instead of revocation, the agency refused to renew her certification. Boismier has asked a judge to be reinstated.
In 2024, the agency moved to strip teachers Regan Killackey and Alison Scott of their teaching certificates over Trump-related social media posts. The Board of Education hasn’t yet voted on either.
And in September, the department announced it was investigating 70 certified educators from 44 districts over statements regarding the shooting death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
Social Studies Standards
To further his Bible initiative, Walters spearheaded an overhaul of the state’s academic standards in social studies. He tapped national conservative media pundits and right-wing policy advocates to develop the standards, including Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts and PragerU Founder Dennis Prager.
The Board of Education in February approved the standards, which contain more than 40 references to the Bible and Christianity, as well as election fraud theories.
Parents filed two separate lawsuits. One challenge was dismissed but is on appeal; the other is pending in the Oklahoma Supreme Court, which, in September, temporarily blocked the standards.
Self-Promotion
If it seems like Walters is always on national TV, that’s by design. Since early 2024, the agency has contracted with the D.C. area firm Vought Strategies for $5,000 per month to book Walters interviews with national media outlets and write op-eds, despite Stitt’s ban on wasteful public relations spending.
Ultimately, Walters made more than 400 appearances on national TV and radio programs during his time in office, according to a KOKH-TV report. He rarely agreed to interviews with local media.
In March, Walters updated his social media profiles to settle an Ethics Commission complaint for using his official account to promote President Donald Trump’s election.
He brought his campaign manager, Texan Matt Langston, onto the payroll from the get-go as the agency’s chief policy advisor, collecting a salary of more than $150,000 per year plus bonuses, though Langston rarely came into the office. Other politicos joined him on the payroll this year.
Walters leaves the department ranked 50th among the states in education.
The Tulsa World reported late Tuesday that retired CareerTech administrator Lindel Fields, 54, would be the governor’s selection to replace Walters.
Oklahoma Watch, at oklahomawatch.org, is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that covers public-policy issues facing the state.
