RYAN WALTERS: OKLAHOMA SECRETARY OF EDUCATION

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RYAN WALTERS, OKLAHOMA EDUCATION CHIEF WHO PROMOTED BIBLES IN SCHOOL WIL RESIGN

Who Is Ryan Walters

  • Ryan Walters has been Oklahoma’s State Superintendent of Public Instruction since 2023. 

  • Earlier, he served as Oklahoma Secretary of Education under Governor Kevin Stitt.

  • Walters is known for his strong conservative, Christian-nationalist approach to education policy. 

What Led to the Resignation

On September 25, 2025, Walters announced that he would resign from his role as superintendent to become the CEO of the Teacher Freedom Alliance (TFA), a conservative nonprofit focused on reshaping K–12 education, especially through limiting the influence of teachers’ unions. 

In remarks on Fox News, he framed his departure not as a retreat but as an elevation of his platform:

“We’re going to destroy the teachers unions … We have seen the teachers’ unions use money and power to corrupt our schools.” 

His tenure has been marked by a series of controversial policies and decisions:

  • Mandating that public school classrooms in Oklahoma contain Bibles and include Bible instruction for students in grades 5 through 12.

  • Opening a bid to supply 55,000 Christian Bibles conforming to specific standards (King James Version, leather binding, inclusion of foundational U.S. documents) to classrooms. 

  • Proposing that teachers from states such as New York and California take an “anti-woke” ideology test before being eligible for hire in Oklahoma. 

  • Pushing for all Oklahoma high schools to host chapters of Turning Point USA, a right-wing youth organization, as part of a broader ideological education agenda. 

  • Clashes with state officials, including members of his own party, over board meetings, legal authority, and budgeting. 

  • An investigation over explicit images displayed on a TV in his office concluded with no criminal charges, citing insufficient evidence. 

Walters’ style was polarizing — he made over 400 media appearances during his time in office.

Reactions & Implications

Support

  • For supporters, Walters has been seen as a bold disruptor in education, standing against what he calls “woke indoctrination” and pushing “moral” education. 

  • His move to TFA is presented as scaling up his influence from state to national levels — focusing on reshaping educational policy across the U.S. 

Criticism & Concerns

  • Critics argue many of his policies ran afoul of constitutional limits on the separation of church and state, particularly the Bible-instruction mandate in public schools. 

  • Legal challenges were filed; the Oklahoma Supreme Court temporarily blocked the Bible mandate pending judicial review.

  • Some in his own party, including Oklahoma’s Attorney General Gentner Drummond, criticized his administration for “political drama” and said the focus should return to improving education outcomes.

  • Under his charge, Oklahoma’s national performance in education metrics reportedly declined, with concerns about neglecting basics in pursuit of culture-war battles. 

What It Signals Moving Forward

  • The shift may indicate that Walters believes his agenda will be more effective from a national advocacy position rather than navigating state bureaucracies.

  • It also shows how the battleground over public education, curricula, religious expression, and ideological control continues to intensify in U.S. politics.

  • For Oklahoma, his resignation opens a transition point — who will succeed him, and whether the state will pivot away from ideologically driven policies toward more conventional educational priorities, remains to be seen.

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