Ryan Walters’ departure leaves government backtracking.
Oklahoma’s public school system will not be purchasing Bibles for every classroom or using the Bible as a teaching tool for the foreseeable future. An Oct. 15 statement released by current Superintendent Lindel Fields made this information public, following a two week period of discussion concerning what would happen to previous Superintendent Ryan Walters’ many controversial policies in the wake of his resignation.
According to the Oklahoma Department of Education, these policies were intended to empower parents and “rein in” teacher’s unions, which are alleged to have “put politics over students.” Opponents argue that Walters’ policies oppose the American ideal. These included revising the curriculum to teach the Bible in K-12 public schools as well as mandating the unfailable “America First Teacher Test,” which was made by the conservative media group PragerU for those applying to teaching positions. They claim that such policies infringe on some of this country’s founding principles, such as the First Amendment’s separation of church and state. The former policy was met with at least one lawsuit from such critics and created a wider debate about the role of religion and ideology in public education.
Walters’ mandate to order a copy of the Bible for each public classroom, whose criteria was only met by those whose sales directly profit the family of President Trump, led to accusations of corruption and favoritism. Critics argued that the decision blurred the line between government authority and private interest. Former Superintendent Walters said that “[He] could not be more disappointed in the decision to move away from empowering our teachers in Oklahoma to use a foundational document like the Bible in the classroom. The war on Christianity is real,” on X. However, the Oklahoma Supreme Court had already blocked the effort months earlier and had not approved Walters’ motions to permit the purchase.
After being sworn in on Oct. 8, Superintendent Fields has stated that his main priority is improving literacy rates with Oklahoma ranking fourth in literacy rates among US states, in front of only Alaska, West Virginia and New Mexico. Fields also promises to direct the state’s department of education towards improving student preparation for post-school life and teacher retention. He claims his ‘turnaround team’ is on the fast track, in the process of developing an overall plan in the first 90 days while also internally auditing every action of the previous superintendent.
Meanwhile, after his sudden resignation on Sept. 24, Ryan Walters has devoted himself to achieving one of his goals as superintendent: the restriction of teachers’ unions on the national scale. He is now CEO of the Teacher Freedom Alliance, a private organization that presents itself as an alternative to unions. Walters had praised the organization months before his resignation, presenting it as an excellent alternative to “an organization that is laser-focused on breaking up the moral fiber of America.” The TFA has returned his admiration. According to their site, Walters is a “conservative warrior in the fight for America’s future.”
