Ryan Walters (politician)

Last updated

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. [24] He was endorsed in the primary by Governor Kevin Stitt and Texas Senator Ted Cruz. [25] [26] He advanced to an August run-off alongside April Grace, which he won with 53% of the vote. [27] [28] While campaigning, Walters promulgated the litter boxes in schools hoax. [29] He defeated the Democratic Party's nominee, Jena Nelson, in the general election. [30] After the campaign, Walters was fined for 14 violations of state campaign finance ethics rules. He contested 13 of the violations. [31] [32]

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. [21]

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. [33] [34] Drummond also said he was not "taking a stance" on Walters's rules. [35] 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. [36]

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." [37] The comments sparked social media backlash and were satirized by The Onion . [38] [39] [40] 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." [41] [42]

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. [43] The policy was criticised by Oklahoma Democrats for "whitewashing history". [44] Walters was featured in a PragerU video on their website acknowledging the partnership. [45] 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. [46] [45]

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. [47] 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." [48] 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." [49] He also launched an investigation into Western Heights Public Schools for hiring a principal who is a drag performer in their free time. [50] [51]

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". [52] He has also accused librarians of promoting pornography. [53]

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. [54] Superintendent of TPS, Deborah Gist, spoke out against Walter's campaign arguing it had caused teachers to quit right before the start of classes. [55] She announced her resignation the Tuesday before the meeting. [54] 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." [56]

Tulsa mayor, G.T. Bynum, criticized the proposal writing "We do not want it, and we do not need it." [57] State representatives for Tulsa Regina Goodwin, Monroe Nichols, and John Waldron criticised the prospect of a state takeover; [58] [59] 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). [59] Governor Kevin Stitt reassured Tulsans that whatever the state board decided "everything is going to be OK". [60] High school students in TPS staged a walkout the day of the vote in protest of the meeting. [61]

On August 24, 2023, the State Board of Education voted 6-0 to approve Tulsa Public Schools as "accreditation with deficiencies". Walters 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. [62]

Student endangerment

In August 2023, the Monday before a meeting of the Oklahoma State Board of Education, 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. [63] The six consecutive school days following the video's release, both UPS and the librarian's home received bomb threats. [64] [65] Walters attended the board meeting that Thursday, during which a third bomb threat had been made against Union Public Schools. Walters initially did not have any comments on the matter. The following day, after a fourth bomb threat was made, Walters denounced the threats, though he did not remove the Libs of TikTok post believed to have incited the threats. [66]

State representative Mickey Dollens and former governor David Walters, both Democrats, called on Walters to be removed from office for inciting the bomb threats; [67] Oklahoma House minority leader Cyndi Munson and state representative Melissa Provenzano called for a house investigative committee to consider impeaching Walters. [68] Oklahoma Senate minority leader Kay Floyd supported the calls for an investigative committee. [69] In response, a spokesperson for Walters argued that by "seeking to remove a popularly elected constitutional officer, they represent a direct threat to our democracy". [68] [65] 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". [70]

In January 2024, Walters appointed the Libs of TikTok account owner Chaya Raichik to a statewide library advisory board, prompting criticism from both Republicans and Democrats. [9] [71] Walters's decision also resulted in protests from a number of parents, educators, and lawmakers who believe Raichik endangered students and teachers. [72] [73]

Electoral history

2022

Ryan Walters
Ryan Walters (Oklahoma Superintendent).png
Walters speaking in 2023
15th Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction
Assumed office
January 9, 2023
2022 Oklahoma state superintendent Republican primary results [74]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Ryan Walters 142,540 41%
Republican April Grace 105,303 31%
Republican John Cox83,01224%
Republican William E. Crozier12,9364%
Total votes343,791 100%
2022 Oklahoma state superintendent Republican runoff results [75]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Ryan Walters 149,147 53.4
Republican April Grace130,16846.6
Total votes279,315 100.0
2022 Oklahoma state superintendent election [76]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Republican Ryan Walters 650,310 56.8 -1.7%
Democratic Jena Nelson495,03143.2+9.4%
Total votes1,145,341 100.0
Republican gain from Democratic

Notes

  1. ↑ Not accrediting 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]

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References

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  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 October 6, 2023.
  3. 1 2 Forman, Carmen (July 1, 2023). "State Superintendent Ryan Walters rubs elbows with Moms for Liberty". Tulsa World . Retrieved July 2, 2023.
  4. ↑ "Moms for Liberty". Southern Poverty Law Center. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
  5. ↑ Suter, Tara (February 29, 2024). "Hundreds of LGBTQ, civil rights groups call for removal of top Oklahoma education official following Nex Benedict's death". The Hill. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  6. ↑ "Advocacy Groups Call for Removal of Okla. School Superintendent Following Nex Benedict's Death". Peoplemag. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  7. ↑ "350+ leaders call for Walters' removal following Nex Benedict's death". Public Radio Tulsa. March 1, 2024. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  8. ↑ "Oklahoma superintendent appoints Libs of TikTok creator to state library committee". USA Today. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
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  10. ↑ Goodman, J. David; Sandoval, Edgar (February 23, 2024). "After Nonbinary Student's Death, Schools Chief Defends Restrictive Gender Policies". The New York Times . ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  11. ↑ "Ryan Walters' response to Nex Benedict's death only causes more pain for Oklahoma's LGTBQ+ families | Editorial". The Oklahoman. Retrieved March 17, 2024.
  12. ↑ 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.
  13. 1 2 3 4 Adcock, Clifton; Gorman, Reese; Palmer, Jennifer (May 19, 2022). "Billionaire philanthropists pushing charter schools and school vouchers also fund Oklahoma's Secretary of Education's six-figure salary". The Frontier. Retrieved June 19, 2022.
  14. ↑ Autry, David (May 29, 2019). "Ryan Walters new Oklahoma Achieves executive director". McAlester News-Capital . Retrieved June 19, 2022.
  15. ↑ Gorman, Reese; Adcock, Clifton; Palmer, Jennifer (January 8, 2023). "Ryan Walters steps down from nonprofit role that drew scrutiny". The Frontier. Retrieved January 9, 2023.
  16. ↑ Prather, Megan (September 10, 2020). "Stitt names Ryan Walters new secretary of education". NonDoc. Retrieved June 19, 2022.
  17. ↑ Palmer, Jennifer; Adcock, Clifton; Gorman, Reese (May 2, 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 June 19, 2022.
  18. ↑ Palmer, Jennifer (May 11, 2022). "House Democrats call on governor to oust cabinet member over misspent educational relief funds". The Frontier. Oklahoma Watch . Retrieved June 19, 2022.
  19. ↑ "FBI investigating after Oklahoma education funds misspent". The Oklahoman. Retrieved January 31, 2024.
  20. ↑ "Governor's Emergency Education Relief Fund". oese.ed.gov. Office of Elementary and Secondary Education . Retrieved March 24, 2024.
  21. 1 2 "State Superintendent Ryan Walters pushes for revocation of TPS, ex-Norman teachers' licenses". Tulsa World . January 11, 2023. Retrieved January 12, 2023.
  22. ↑ Savage, Tres (April 11, 2023). "Stitt selects Katherine Curry as new secretary of education, replacing Superintendent Ryan Walters". NonDoc. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
  23. ↑ Denwalt, Dale; Martinez-Keel, Nuria (April 13, 2023). "Attorney general told Senate that Ryan Walters can't hold two offices". The Oklahoman . Retrieved May 21, 2023.
  24. ↑ Love, Ryan (May 30, 2022). "Election 2022: Four-Republican race for state superintendent in Oklahoma". KJRH 2 News Oklahoma. Retrieved June 19, 2022.
  25. ↑ Forman, Carmen (June 19, 2022). "Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt's primary challenge: getting his allies elected to state offices". The Oklahoman. Retrieved June 19, 2022.
  26. ↑ Severin, Kevin (June 10, 2022). "Ted Cruz endorses Ryan Walters: 'Ryan is a tireless advocate for students'". Fox 25 Oklahoma. Retrieved June 19, 2022.
  27. ↑ "Walters, Grace Projected For State Superintendent Runoff Election". KOTV-DT. June 28, 2022. Retrieved June 29, 2022.
  28. ↑ Martinez-Keel, Nuria (August 23, 2022). "Ryan Walters wins GOP nomination for Oklahoma state schools superintendent over April Grace". The Oklahoman . Retrieved October 23, 2022.
  29. ↑ Nicholson, Jonathan (November 4, 2022). "Man Who Wants To Run Oklahoma's Schools Buys Into Bogus 'Cat Litter' Conspiracy Theory". Huffington Post . Retrieved April 10, 2023.
  30. ↑ Eger, Andrea (November 8, 2022). "Ryan Walters wins high-profile race for state superintendent". Tulsa World . Retrieved November 9, 2022.
  31. ↑ Clay, Nolan (August 28, 2023). "Ryan Walters ordered to pay Oklahoma Ethics Commission over campaign report violations". The Oklahoman . Retrieved August 30, 2023.
  32. ↑ Wallis, Beth (August 30, 2023). "Oklahoma State Superintendent Ryan Walters draws political heat, fines for recent actions". KOSU . Retrieved August 30, 2023.
  33. ↑ Greco, Jonathan (April 4, 2023). "State Board of Education can't make administrative rules without Legislature's direction, AG says". KOCO.
  34. ↑ "Attorney General: New Oklahoma State Board of Ed. rules should be void, unenforceable". Fox 25. April 4, 2023.
  35. ↑ "Oklahoma Attorney General rules State Board of Education can't make rules without legislative direction". KOSU. April 4, 2023. Retrieved April 8, 2023.
  36. ↑ "New education rules, Superintendent Ryan Walters, state park restaurants and more". KOSU. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
  37. ↑ Martinez-Keel, Nuria (July 8, 2023). "Oklahoma schools should teach Tulsa Race Massacre as a 'racist' event, state superintendent says". The Oklahoman . Retrieved July 8, 2023.
  38. ↑ Weber, Andy (July 8, 2023). "Ryan Walters says he was misquoted on Tulsa Race Massacre comments". KOCO . Retrieved July 8, 2023.
  39. ↑ Christy, Erin (July 7, 2023). "State Superintendent Ryan Walters reacts to backlash over Tulsa Race Massacre comments". KJRH-TV . Retrieved July 8, 2023.
  40. ↑ "Oklahoma Schools To Teach Students That Tulsa Massacre Was Crime Of Passion From Loving Black People Too Much" (Satire). theonion.com. The Onion . Retrieved July 8, 2023.
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  44. ↑ Greco, Jonathan (September 6, 2023). "Oklahoma State Department of Education announces partnership with PragerU Kids". KOCO . Retrieved September 7, 2023.
  45. 1 2 Wertz, William C. (September 7, 2023). "Black-owned newspaper denied interview with Ryan Walters about PragerU partnership". The Oklahoman . Retrieved September 8, 2023.
  46. ↑ Osborne, Deon (September 6, 2023). "Okla. Supt. Ryan Walters bans Black reporter from interviews". The Black Wall Street Times . Retrieved September 7, 2023.
  47. ↑ Morgan, Ben (September 20, 2023). "State Superintendent Walters speaks to Congress about Confucius Schools". KRMG . Retrieved September 21, 2023.
  48. ↑ Martinez-Keel, Nuria (September 19, 2023). "Walters alleges Chinese communist influence in schools during D.C. hearing". Oklahoma Voice. Retrieved September 21, 2023.
  49. ↑ Weber, Andy (September 20, 2023). "Ryan Walters' messaging aligns with national talking points, OU professor says". KOCO . Retrieved September 21, 2023.
  50. ↑ Brinkman, Bennett; Savage, Tres (September 11, 2023). "'Very open with who I am': Western Heights principal defends drag queen alter ego". NonDoc. Retrieved September 28, 2023.
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  53. ↑ "Ryan Walters calls for eliminating 'woke' library standards from Oklahoma schools". KOSU. December 8, 2023. Retrieved January 5, 2024.
  54. 1 2 Krehbiel-Burton, Lenzy (August 22, 2023). "'TPS isn't perfect, but it is ours,' parent tells Tulsa school board". Tulsa World . Retrieved August 22, 2023.
  55. ↑ Eger, Andrea (August 17, 2023). "Gist says anti-TPS effort timed for max disruption: 'We have lost teachers because of this'". Tulsa World . Retrieved August 23, 2023.
  56. ↑ Cash, Alex (August 22, 2023). "State superintendent supports Gist's plan to leave TPS". KOKI-TV . Retrieved August 23, 2023.
  57. ↑ 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 August 23, 2023.
  58. ↑ Krehbiel, Randy (August 16, 2023). "TPS supporters say turmoil damaging the district". Tulsa World . Retrieved August 23, 2023.
  59. 1 2 Wallis, Beth (August 22, 2023). "Tulsa superintendent to resign amid battle with Oklahoma State Superintendent Ryan Walters". KGOU . Retrieved August 23, 2023.
  60. ↑ Hoberock, Barbara (August 15, 2023). "With nonaccreditation looming over Tulsa schools, Stitt says 'everything is going to be OK'". Tulsa World . Retrieved August 23, 2023.
  61. ↑ Martinez-Keel, Nuria (August 29, 2023). "With a district takeover threat still looming, Tulsans call out vague demands for improvement". Oklahoma Voice. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
  62. ↑ Eger, Andrea (August 24, 2023). "TPS receives accreditation renewal, as Walters vows additional actions if quick progress not made". Tulsa World . Retrieved August 24, 2023.
  63. ↑ Derksen, Cheyenne (August 22, 2023). "Ryan Walters labels Oklahoma librarian's video an example of 'woke agenda' in Twitter firestorm". The Oklahoman . Retrieved August 24, 2023.
  64. ↑ Derksen, Cheyenne (August 25, 2023). "Ryan Walters calls for investigation of threats made toward Oklahoma schools". The Oklahoman . Retrieved August 26, 2023.
  65. 1 2 KingKade, Tyler (August 29, 2023). "Democrats push for investigation of Ryan Walters, Oklahoma's firebrand schools superintendent". NBC News . Retrieved August 30, 2023.
  66. ↑ Osborne, Deon (August 25, 2023). "Oklahoma Education Board ignores bomb threats at Tulsa Schools". The Black Wall Street Times . Retrieved August 26, 2023.
  67. ↑ Dulaney, Josh (August 24, 2023). "Criticism for Ryan Walters intensifies after 3 days of bomb threats at school in retweeted video". The Oklahoman . Retrieved August 25, 2023.
  68. 1 2 Weber, Andy (August 29, 2023). "House Democrats call for bipartisan committee to investigate whether Ryan Walters should be impeached". KOCO . Retrieved August 29, 2023.
  69. ↑ "House Democrats call for impeachment investigation into Supt. Walters". KOKI-TV . August 29, 2023. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
  70. ↑ Martinez-Keel, Nuria (September 14, 2023). "House speaker: Only a criminal act by Oklahoma state superintendent will prompt impeachment action". Oklahoma Voice. Retrieved September 15, 2023.
  71. ↑ Carless, Will (January 26, 2024). "Oklahoma schools gig for Libs of TikTok founder: Does it meet state's own rules?". USA Today . Retrieved January 27, 2024.
  72. ↑ "Libs of TikTok Fueled Bomb Threats at Oklahoma Schools. The Superintendent Just Hired Her". Yahoo News. January 23, 2024. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
  73. ↑ Staff, PAYTON MAY | KOKH (January 27, 2024). "'Libs of TikTok' creator's appointment to Oklahoma library committee sparks protest". KATU. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
  74. ↑ "June 28 2022". okelections.us. Oklahoma State Election Board. Retrieved June 29, 2022.
  75. ↑ "August 23 2022". okelections.us. Oklahoma State Election Board. Retrieved October 1, 2022.
  76. ↑ "Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction Election Results". The New York Times. November 8, 2022. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved December 11, 2022.
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Preceded by Republican nominee for Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction
2022		Most recent
Political offices
Preceded by Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction
2023–present		Incumbent
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