Ryan Walters officially announces his resignation and future plans.
Ryan Walters, Oklahoma’s Superintendent of Public Instruction, announced he is resigning on Sept. 24 during an appearance on Fox News at Night. Walters told the host of the show, Trace Gallagher, that he would lead the Teacher Freedom Alliance, which is a new professional organization that declares itself to be an alternative to union membership for teachers. Walters took several days to officially resign and submit his letter of resignation on Sept. 30. In the letter, Walters called his position and role “one of the highest honors any citizen can be entrusted with.”
Walters was originally elected to the position in 2022, and although he is stepping down, Walters has made his intentions to remain active in public life clear. HeHe had had previously served as the Oklahoma Secretary of Education until 2023. He is also also a member of the Republican Party, with with his political views havinging been described as far-right, as he opposes critical race theory in schools in schools, LGBTQ students’ rights, and teachers’ unions in Oklahoma. In fact, dIn fact, during his term as the state superintendent, he successfully campaigned for the removal of Tulsa Public Schools Superintendent Deborah Gist and h and he is also known for advocating for the teachings of the Christian Bible in public schools. As such, mAs such, many of his actions during his term have been deemed very controversial.
Most recently, Walters had directed public schools in Oklahoma to hold a moment of silence for the conservative activist, Charlie Kirk, who was shot on Sept. 10. This action promptedprompted intense controversy, and some schools denied his order entirely. One reason for this was that some school districts, including several large districts in the Tulsa area, already have a daily moment of silence during the school day and did not want to add another one. On Tuesday, during an event at Eisenhower International School in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Governor,ernor, Kevin Stitt,, announced Walters’ replacement to be educator Lindel Fields. The new state superintendent has worked more than 30 years in education and has stated that his focus will be to improve reading proficiency, teacher recruitment, and create more career pathways for students.
Former Oklahoma Superintendent Ryan Walters Photo courtesy of OK.gov
When Walters entered his position as state superintendent in 2023, the Annie E. Casey Foundation had ranked Oklahoma’s K-12 education system 49th in the nation in 2022 and had only a lead on New Mexico. This year, Oklahoma is now ranked 50th nationally in education. When this new ranking was released, state school board members had expressed their concerns to Walters, who then responded by saying that many of the national rankings were “ridiculous.” Walters dismissed criticism about the ranking of education in Oklahoma by celebrating the number of teachers they had hired in the last year. However, However, Board Member,, Becky Carson,, said they needed to focus less on attracting larger numbers and more on recruiting qualified teachers.
Another reason for Oklahoma’s low ranking was the low amount of spending on education in recent yearsin recent years. Walters had stated when asked about this issue that he never thought expensive spending was a factor in making a good education system. The state had mixed reactions to Walters’ surprising resignation, some celebrated while some were disappointed the republican superintendent was moving on to the Teacher Freedom Alliance. It seems clear, however, that It seems clear, however, that Walters will continue his campaign against teacher unions in his new role as CEO, while new state superintendent Fields will take over his old old position.
