Oklahoma's top schools official, Ryan Walters, is stepping down to run a conservative group targeting teachers unions. Walters, a Republican who made headlines by ordering public schools to teach the Bible and advocating for citizenship checks for student enrollment, announced his resignation Wednesday to lead the Teacher Freedom Alliance, reports NBC News. The group, which describes itself as a major grassroots force, posted online that Walters "fearlessly fights the woke liberal union mob." Walters, meanwhile, is vowing to "destroy the teachers unions" in his new role.
"We have seen the teachers unions use money and power to corrupt our schools, to undermine our schools," he said on Fox News on Wednesday night, per the AP. Walters' brief but contentious term as state superintendent began in January 2023 and drew attention for embracing hot-button issues. He pushed for prayer in schools and the display of the Ten Commandments in classrooms, frequently arguing for an increased presence of religion in public education. Walters has dismissed the concept of church-state separation as a "myth" and wants to "put God back in schools," per NBC.
The superintendent—who the New York Times notes is a former history teacher and son of a minister—partnered Oklahoma schools with Turning Point USA, a conservative advocacy group co-founded by the late activist Charlie Kirk, and accused teachers unions of dominating classrooms and promoting what he called "woke indoctrination." Walters' tenure also faced bizarre moments, including a sheriff's investigation into reports that images of naked women were seen during a state Board of Education meeting from a TV screen in his office—a claim he strongly denied and prosecutors declined to pursue.
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