Last year, the conservative Freedom Foundation made headlines with a high-profile effort to convince Miami-Dade teachers to dump their union. 

Ultimately, it flopped: 83% of members voted to stick with United Teachers of Dade. Still, Brent Urbanik, president of the rival Miami Dade Education Coalition, said he appreciated the Foundation’s “all-hands-on-deck” support, which included funding mailers to teachers’ homes and to knock on doors. Urbanik said he couldn’t have run the campaign without the Foundation’s help. 

But he’s not a fan of the group’s latest move. In late September, it named anti-union firebrand Ryan Walters, ���������dz���’s former state chief, as head of its new Teacher Freedom Alliance.  

“Most teachers just want to go to school. They want to teach their subjects, and they want to know that they’re not going to get fired for saying the wrong thing,” he said. With Walters at the helm, he said, the Teacher Freedom Alliance risks becoming “the right’s version of the left’s problem, which is the politicization of classroom material.” 

To Aaron Withe, the Foundation’s CEO, Walters is a “freedom fighter” who brings passion and new energy to a cause that has seen mixed results since the Supreme Court’s 2018 decision in . The court ruled that teachers and other public sector employees can opt out of paying fees to unions they don’t want to join. But Walters is escalating the attack. Since resigning from his state job, he’s criticized for striking over their recent loss of collective bargaining and joined members in Florida, where he said unions have turned schools into “Marxist indoctrination centers.” 

One frequent target of his rhetoric doesn’t see the new Alliance as a threat. In a statement, Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, called the Foundation’s post-Janus efforts a “dismal failure.”  

Urbanik, who teaches AP Psychology at a magnet school in Miami-Dade, is among those educators who think the AFT and the National Education Association have strayed too far from core bargaining issues like salaries, benefits and working conditions. That’s what Mark Janus, a former child support specialist in Illinois, argued when he challenged AFSCME on First Amendment grounds, that he shouldn’t be forced to financially support a union’s political activities or preferred candidates.

“There was an inherent unfairness in requiring people to join a union and spend money on political activities they disagree with in order to hold a government job,” said Dean McGee, senior counsel and director of educational freedom at the Liberty Justice Center, the conservative law firm that represented Janus. 

Since Janus, some teachers say that unions continue to make it hard to opt out by automatically renewing membership without warning or creating short “escape” windows for canceling membership. But in 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear those concerns.

‘Power comes from money’

Teachers’ conflicts with their unions aren’t always political. Members of the Miami-Dade Education Coalition say United Teachers of Dade didn’t fight for raises and merit pay tied to a 2011 state law after the district said it was an unfunded mandate and they couldn’t afford the bonuses. 

And in Chicago, Liberty Justice Center represents members of the Chicago Teachers Union who are union leaders for a required annual audit for the past four years. 

The Teacher Freedom Alliance, McGee said, takes the Janus ruling a step further. “The power comes from money, and the money comes from member dues,” he said. If unions are losing members, he suggested they focus on “members’ interests and not broader political fights.”

He didn’t mention specific priorities, but the NEA this year that aim to counteract President Donald Trump’s “embrace of fascism” and to support “No Kings” protests. 

Opt-out campaigns have generally seen mixed results, experts say. When they’re combined with legislation to undermine the unions, as when Wisconsin stripped public sector unions of collective bargaining in 2011, membership drops, said Eunice Han, an associate economics professor at the University of Utah who studies unions. 

In 2023, Florida passed a law that requires unions to maintain a 60% dues-paying membership. In January 2024, United Teachers of Dade . Urbanik’s group saw an opening. 

A year after the law passed, over 50 public sector unions in the state had been wiped out because they couldn’t reach the 60% threshold, according to . But only three of those were K-12 unions, all of which represented non-instructional staff. 

of the Florida Education Association “have successfully re-certified,” Han said. The Freedom Foundation has seen small victories in other states where it’s been active, like Oregon, California and Washington. 

Larry Delaney, president of the Washington Education Association, said the Foundation frequently sends mailers with messages encouraging teachers and other school staff to opt out. The cards include a section the member can rip off and mail back to the union’s address. Their campaigns get creative, he said. Around Halloween, one mailer portrayed Delaney as a monster. Another said “Give yourself a Christmas bonus! End your monthly union dues.”

But only a handful of members opt out each year, Delaney said.

Some mailers look like a and include a fake check representing how much money members would save in dues each year if they quit the union. Based on his own experience, it costs about $40,000 to send mail to all 84,000 members of the union statewide, and the Freedom Foundation sends a new mailer almost monthly.

“I don’t know what their direct mailing budget is, but it’s large,” he said. The Foundation didn’t comment on its mailing budget.

The Foundation, a $17 million operation, according to its most , is a nonprofit and doesn’t have to disclose donors. In Florida, the free market-oriented , founded by successful futures trader Bill Dunn, donated $100,000 to support the Miami Dade Education Coalition’s opt-out campaign, according to .

by the Center for Media and Democracy, a progressive organization that tracks spending by conservative groups, show the Koch Brothers, the Milwaukee-based Bradley Foundation and the Sarah Scaife Foundation in Pittsburgh, are also among the Foundation’s contributors. Those organizations often fund right-leaning causes, like efforts to roll back and PragerU, a media operation that produces conservative videos for kids.

‘We won’t be intimidated’

The Foundation used some of its resources to fight that says union members can sue if someone is trying to impersonate them as an opt-out strategy. 

“They say that we’re pretending to be union officials and going to union members’ homes to convince them to leave,” Withe, the Foundation’s CEO, said in an . “We won’t be intimidated. If anything, we’re more emboldened to go and get more of their members.”

The Foundation wasn’t able to keep the bill from passing. It allows union representatives to bring a civil lawsuit against a group or individual that tries to deceive a union member into opting out. Withe said the unions provided no evidence that the Foundation employed deception. 

But his group did manage to get teachers in the small 126-student along the south coast of Oregon, to create a new independent union in June. When all 13 of their teachers voted unanimously to create the new Cruiser Educators Association, the Oregon Education Association didn’t oppose the move. 

Gabe Shorb, a sixth grade teacher in the district, first heard Walters speak at one of the Foundation’s Teacher Freedom Summits and called his message “refreshing.”

He said several teachers had already opted out on their own and a few had joined the Teacher Freedom Alliance. Those remaining felt the Oregon Education Association wasn’t very helpful when they bargained with the district and asked for contract information from comparable districts. Membership in the new union is free.

“I’m hoping that we’ll make connections and show other small districts that, ‘Hey you don’t have to pay a lot of money for something that’s really not that useful,’ ” he said.

The Freedom Foundation also pushed this year for that would prevent teachers from using paid professional development days to attend the Montana Federation of Public Employees’ annual meeting. The sessions, the Foundation argues, are “oriented toward political activism, radical woke ideology and union marketing.” to panels on topics such as equity training and promoting LGBTQ issues. But the bill died in the session.

The Teacher Freedom Alliance aims to give school staff an alternative to the AFT and the NEA. Its free membership includes liability coverage up to $2 million, which protects teachers if they’re sued or need legal representation for other reasons. The American Association of Educators, with about 32,000 members, charges $19.50 per month for that includes liability coverage as well as other benefits, like shopping discounts.

Walters first promoted the new Alliance in March with a , drawing an ethics complaint from Rep. Ellen Pogemiller, a Democrat, who argued that he was using state resources to endorse an organization. The complaint was dismissed, and the state attorney general said he didn’t break the law.��Walters did not respond to attempts to reach him by phone or text.

When he accepted the new job, Pogemiller filed , suggesting his promotion of the group was for personal gain. The state ethics commission hasn’t issued any findings. 

Walters might have taken the job because he thought it would “give him a larger national profile,” said Julia Koppich, an independent consultant in San Francisco and expert on teachers unions.

He might also have been seeking a higher salary. His paid $124,000. The Foundation did not disclose his salary at Teacher Freedom Alliance, but past show Withe made $525,000 in 2023, and other top executives earned in the $200,000 range. 

Koppich wonders how the new Alliance will benefit teachers. In states where unions have bargaining rights, teachers who drop their membership can’t negotiate their own salaries and working conditions with school districts, Koppich said. They’re bound by the union contract whether they pay dues or not. 

In non-union states, teacher pay is set by a statewide salary schedule.

“Unionism is baked in where it’s baked in and anathema where it’s always been anathema,” Koppich said. “These [opt-out] organizations don’t have a great track record.” 

In Miami, Urbanik blames part of his group’s poor showing in the election on the Miami- Dade district. He said officials “heavily suppressed” his organization’s message. Some teachers didn’t even know the vote was taking place. About two-thirds of the Miami-Dade teachers didn’t vote.

“We were not allowed to have contact with teachers on school grounds,” he said. “I was not allowed to have a mailer placed in mailboxes.”

Under Walters, opt-out drives are likely to go national and his rhetoric about unions funding agendas unrelated to the classroom are expected to intensify, said Han, with the University of Utah. 

“I believe that with Walters’s leadership,” Han said, “we may see a more politically charged and aggressive version of the Freedom Foundation’s strategy.”

OKLAHOMA CITY — ���������dz���’s new education chief said Wednesday he has “no plans to distribute Bibles” or a biblical curriculum in public schools, reversing course from his predecessor, Ryan Walters.

State Superintendent Lindel Fields, who was , indicated Wednesday he will not fight in court to defend Walters’ order that .

A lawsuit, which , challenged the mandate and and a biblical curriculum through a public bidding process.

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“We plan to file a motion to dismiss, and have no plans to distribute Bibles or a biblical character education curriculum in classrooms,” Fields announced in a statement Wednesday. “If resources are left to be allocated, the timing is fortunate since the team and I are currently reviewing the (Oklahoma State Department of Education) budget.”

The Oklahoma Supreme Court on Tuesday gave Fields until Oct. 28 to decide whether to resolve the lawsuit by withdrawing the Bible directives.

Represented by local and national legal groups, 32 parents, students, educators and faith leaders sued Walters, the Education Department, the Oklahoma State Board of Education and the Office of Management and Enterprise Services, which oversees bidding and purchasing for state agencies.

Requiring biblical instruction in public schools and purchasing Bibles with taxpayer dollars violates the Oklahoma Constitution’s ban on state-established religion, they contend.

The Supreme Court acknowledged there’s been “significant turnover” of the public officials involved in the case. Walters to lead a conservative nonprofit, and Gov. Kevin Stitt has replaced every member of the state Board of Education since the lawsuit was filed in October 2024. The head of the Office of Management and Enterprise Services, Rick Rose, also recently resigned.

Fields became the lead defendant in the case when Stitt appointed him to finish Walters’ term as state superintendent.

Attorneys for the plaintiffs said they are “encouraged” to hear Fields’ comments and are discussing next steps with their clients, according to their joint statement Wednesday. The group includes Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the American Civil Liberties Union, the Freedom From Religion Foundation and the Oklahoma Appleseed Center for Law and Justice.

“The promise of separation of church and state guaranteed by the U.S. and Oklahoma constitutions means that families and students — not politicians — get to decide when and how to engage with religion,” their joint statement reads.��“The attempts to promote religion in the classroom and the abuses of power that the Oklahoma State Department of Education engaged in under Walters’ tenure should never happen in Oklahoma or anywhere in the United States again.”

The state Supreme Court hasn’t reached a final decision in the lawsuit, but it agreed in March to from purchasing Bibles and a biblical curriculum while the case is pending.

Walters’ administration already to give to Advanced Placement government classes.

In a separate case, the Court courses that would have required public schools to teach Bible stories and the teachings of Jesus.

Walters said this instruction would help contextualize the beliefs of America’s founding fathers and key historical figures. He also called the separation of church and state a myth.

Fields doesn’t oppose Bibles being present in public schools, said his spokesperson, Tara Thompson. Students already are permitted to bring their own copies to school or to access the Bible online, and many districts keep a Bible in their libraries.

However, Fields’ administration has raised doubts about whether purchasing Bibles and racking up legal fees are the best use of taxpayer dollars, Thompson said during a media briefing Wednesday afternoon.

The agency’s new leadership aims to quickly dismiss as many lawsuits as possible, she said. The Education Department’s lead attorney, Jacki Phelps, said five cases are still pending against the agency.

That includes two lawsuits challenging the social studies standards that Walters’ administration developed. Thompson said Fields would like to reach an amicable resolution with the plaintiffs in those cases, and permanently reverting to ���������dz���’s 2019 standards is a possible solution.

“Those were award-winning standards,” Thompson said. “Our schools have them, are familiar with them. And so, in the essence of time, that’s an option that’s on the table. Is that the one that gets selected? I don’t know yet. I hope to have that answered in the next couple of weeks.”

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Oklahoma Voice maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Janelle Stecklein for questions: info@oklahomavoice.com.

He began opening monthly board meetings with a Christian prayer, released a about protecting children from transgender students, and at odds with his agenda. The next two and a half years were marked by a steady stream of edicts, incendiary statements and disruptions that included , funding delays and conflicts with .

“Every seven days you could expect something coming. It was almost like clockwork,” said Robert Franklin, a former associate superintendent of Tulsa Tech, a district that offers career and technical education programs. 

As Walters leaves his post as state superintendent to head the Teacher Freedom Alliance, a national anti-union organization, Oklahomans say his turbulent administration offered a preview of the Trump administration’s “” approach to overhauling education. Despite about educators “closest to the child” knowing what’s best in the classroom, Education Secretary Linda McMahon, like Walters, has embraced an aggressive, top-down approach that frequently targets teachers for an assortment of perceived ills, from equity policies to protecting the rights of LGBTQ students.

In February, an Oklahoma City called his state a “testing ground for Project 2025,” the conservative Heritage Foundation’s 920-page strategy document that federal agencies are closely following. In the same way Walters welcomed like David Barton and Dennis Prager to influence a rewrite of the state’s social studies standards, the Trump administration has assembled dozens of conservative leaders and organizations to shape a for the nation’s 250th birthday.

In both cases, improving schools took a backseat to a singular — some might say, relentless — focus on the culture war. Walters’ grip on the state’s schools was “a microcosm of what we’re now facing at the federal level,” said the Rev. Shannon Fleck, executive director of Faithful America, an online community that seeks to counteract Christian nationalism. 

In Oklahoma, where she led an interfaith network, educators grew fearful for their jobs as Walters teamed up with , who created , to monitor teachers’ social media. In Washington, McMahon laid off 1,300 staffers and officials told districts nationwide that they would lose federal funds if they didn’t eliminate programs aimed at closing racial achievement gaps. 

To some right-leaning groups, Walters was a champion for parental rights whose “courage” deserves respect. “He showed that it’s possible to push back against the machine,” a supporter on Facebook. 

In part due to his use of to get himself on conservative media, Walters’ actions drew attention far outside his state. But the visibility also made him fodder for . Stephen Colbert called out the Oklahoma chief’s mandate that every classroom have a Bible and teachers incorporate scriptures into their lessons.

“Our kids have to understand the role the Bible played in influencing American history,” Walters said in a video from behind his desk last year after spending on 500 Trump-endorsed Bibles for AP Government courses. “It’s very clear that the radical left has driven the Bible out of the classroom. We will not stop until we’ve brought the Bible back to every classroom in the state.”

For Oklahoma superintendents, the mandate was no joke. 

“Most of my colleagues across the state are in the front row at their local church every Sunday, and here’s this guy forcing the Bible on them,” said Craig McVay, who retired in 2022 as superintendent of the El Reno district, outside Oklahoma City, and is now for state superintendent. 

accused Walters of trying to local curriculum, noting that students were already allowed to bring their own Bibles to school. “Especially in the smaller communities of this state, it’s very difficult to stand up against Jesus, and that’s what he forced them to do.”

He largely failed.

Most districts have no plans to change current practices, while both the and the blocked Walters’ plan to purchase 55,000 Bibles.

Trump hasn’t conditioned federal funds on Bible reading in public schools, but the federal department is expected to issue new guidance on what he called “total protection” for . Some worry the administration will over other religions in violation of the First Amendment. 

‘Trumpier than Trump’

After Trump’s November victory, Walters created a special committee to help the state comply with the president’s education agenda. In a letter to parents, he called Trump “a fearless champion of efforts to eliminate the federal bureaucracy that has shut local communities and parents out of the decisions that impact their students’ educations.” Some speculated that Walters, who did not return calls or texts to comment for this article, was for a job in Trump’s cabinet, particularly the one the president ultimately gave to McMahon. 

His frequent social media posts continue to voice unwavering support for Trump on issues such as , , and even .

Leslie Finger, an assistant professor of political science at the University of North Texas, said she wondered if Walters’ strategy toward achieving “political prominence” was to be “Trumpier than Trump.” 

She pointed, for example, to Kari Lake, the former TV news anchor and Trump ally who that former President Joe Biden won Arizona in 2020. She sued, unsuccessfully, to overturn a gubernatorial election she lost to Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs in 2022 and still denies she lost her in 2024.

But while Trump chose Lake to lead, and , the U.S. Agency for Global Media, which runs Voice of America, Walters never got the nod. To Derek Black, a constitutional law professor at the University of South Carolina, that’s surprising.

“His brazenness seems to be a character trait the administration values, which begs the question of why he stayed in Oklahoma,” Black said. It’s “somewhat likely,” he added, that Walters “lacked the insider network to get a position high enough to suit him.”

Once Trump was re-elected, Walters advanced policies that seemed to stay one step ahead of his hero. He pushed through that expect students to “identify discrepancies in 2020 elections results,” even though ruled there was no evidence that the Biden campaign “stole” the election. , the standards present the “full and true context of our nation’s founding and of the principles that made and continue to make America great and exceptional.” The Oklahoma Supreme Court the state from implementing them after parents, teachers and faith leaders sued, arguing the standards require teaching from the Bible. 

Over 1,300 miles away, the Trump administration is undergoing a similar overhaul of the Smithsonian museums in Washington, D.C., to replace “ideological indoctrination or divisive narratives that distort our shared history.” Exhibits, , focus too much on “how bad slavery was” and offer “nothing about Success, nothing about Brightness, nothing about the Future.”

In line with Trump’s immigration policy, Walters to round up undocumented students at school and instructed districts to collect parents’ citizenship status when they enrolled their children. The state legislature opposed the plan.

The federal government has attempted to bar undocumented children from attending Head Start and issued that prohibits students, including those in high school, from receiving tuition assistance for career and technical education.

‘Christian patriot’

To Black, the law professor, Walters was “so far out of bounds” that he “cared even less about rules …than the current administration.”

He required teachers from New York and California, seeking to work in Oklahoma, to take a to screen out “woke” applicants — a move said would discourage efforts to recruit teachers. But as with Trump, his boundary pushing endeared him to Christian nationalists, who maintain a strong foothold in Oklahoma. One group, the Tulsa-based City Elders, considers Walters a “Christian patriot” who worked to advance their mission of “establishing the kingdom of God” on earth and infusing government with Christian principles.  

“This is a war for the souls of our kids,” Walters in 2022. “The brilliance of our founders and the acknowledgement of almighty God — that’s where our blessings come from. That’s where our rights came from … and the left wants us to take that out of schools.”

Last August, when GOP lawmakers called for investigations into Walters’ management of state education funds, members of the group school board meetings and were the first to sign up to speak. 

City Elders hosted him again at a gala in March, but , organized by groups that oppose Christian nationalism, gathered outside the Tulsa-area conference center. Some waved signs that said “Impeach Walters,” calling him a “danger” to education.

A month later, he came face-to-face with critics during a “town hall” event organized by the Turning Point USA chapter at Oklahoma State University, considered one of the colleges in the country. Co-founder Charlie Kirk, who was assassinated Sept 10 in Utah, founded the organization to mobilize college students around conservative ideas and encourage open debate.

But Walters couldn’t finish his sentences amid the angry chants about his and his following the death of a nonbinary student last year. He called Nex Benedict’s death, later determined to be a suicide, a tragedy. But he also used the moment to voice opposition to schools that allowed students to use facilities that don’t align with their sex assigned at birth. His administration, he said, would not “lie to students” about being able to change their gender. 

At the time, he was still a potential candidate for governor. In June, suggested that while Walters trailed frontrunner Attorney General Gentner Drummond by 27 percentage points, a path to the Republican nomination wasn’t impossible. Some question why a politician with Walters’ ambition would walk away for a new position with an uncertain future. He was also eligible to run again for state superintendent.

“It’s pretty rare for someone to resign [during] their first term in a position when they’ve got another one available,” , a civics and voting rights advocate, said on a �ճ�ܰ����岹��.��

While Walters and were once close, observers say the superintendent had no chance of getting the . They had a series of on issues ranging from Walters’ attempt to take over the Tulsa schools to his support for immigration raids at school. Walters’ allegiance to Trump may have worked against him, said Jeffrey Henig, a professor emeritus of education and political science at Teachers College, Columbia University. 

“There’s an odd lack of symmetry in the politics around Trump,” he said. “Crossing him is close to political suicide for Republicans, but trying to read from his script does not confer equal and proportionate success.”  

When McMahon visited the state in August, she a charter school tour with the governor’s office, not Walters — a move widely viewed as a political snub. 

In a farewell letter to parents, he counted eliminating “woke indoctrination” and teacher recruitment efforts among his accomplishments. He that 151 special education teachers, including 34 from out of state, would receive signing bonuses of $20,000. It was Kirk’s death, he r, that inspired him to take the job at the Teacher Freedom Alliance and that “national leaders” recruited him for the position.

“We have to have more people step up on the national stage to protect this country’s values,” he said. “We’ve got to get rid of the teachers unions.” 

In typical outsized fashion, Walters didn’t just pay his respects to Kirk. He mandated that schools hold a moment of silence on Sept. 16 at noon — at a time when students would be eating lunch or enjoying recess. 

He followed up with a declaration that all Oklahoma high schools would open a Turning Point USA club, even though leaves those decisions up to local school boards.

To Franklin, who took opposite sides with Walters on issues like Christian charter schools, the moment was telling. The former Tulsa Tech official said it underscored why Walters, despite the backing of right-wing groups like the Heritage Foundation and Moms for Liberty, might struggle outside of Oklahoma.

As Walters assumes a new national position, Franklin said that unlike Kirk, the former chief never sparked a “groundswell of ‘Oh my God, we need to listen to this guy,’ ” Kirk’s organization had over 900 college chapters prior to his death and has since to establish thousands more. His campus appearances could draw thousands.

“The Charlie Kirk phenomenon only strikes every once in a while, and I don’t think Walters has that kind of following.”

He once called ���������dz���’s teachers union a “terrorist organization.” Now state Superintendent Ryan Walters is threatening to “destroy” teachers unions nationwide.

A former small-town history teacher who waged a culture war against educators over issues such as sexually explicit books and criticism of President Donald Trump, Walters announced his resignation to become CEO of the , an anti-union initiative of the , a conservative think tank. 

“We will build an army of teachers to defeat the teachers unions once and for all,” he told Fox News. “This fight is going national and we will get our schools back.”

Walters was expected to run in the Republican primary for . But he had increasingly alienated “pretty much everyone” in state leadership, said Deven Carlson, a political science professor at the University of Oklahoma. “I do think there was still some grassroots support in pockets of the state, but it wasn’t clear how that was going to translate to the things you might need to win, say, the 2026 governor’s election.”

First as education secretary to Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt and then as the state’s elected schools chief for nearly three years, Walters established a reputation for a headline-grabbing and at times even outlandish brand of Christian nationalism. Even before his election in 2022, Walters singled out teachers he considered too “woke” for Oklahoma schools. Once in office, he moved quickly to revoke the teaching certificates of educators accused of violating laws against so-called “divisive concepts.”

With little initial opposition from the state’s GOP majority, he made news almost daily for controversial actions such as threatening to take over the Tulsa schools and mandating Trump-endorsed classroom Bibles. As recently as this week, he announced that every high school in Oklahoma would have a , the youth-focused conservative organization Charlie Kirk founded in 2012. Most of the Wednesday’s Fox news show Walters joined focused on the growth of the organization since Kirk was killed Sept. 10 in Utah.

“We’ve never seen a national movement like this of so many kids, so many parents so willing to step up and say, ‘Listen, we have got to get the country back on track.’ ” he said. “We’ve got to turn away from this radical leftism.” 

As Walters kept a of appearances on right-wing media, at home, Republican lawmakers began criticizing the state chief for , like delaying funds to schools for security upgrades. Former state officials said he failed to communicate about . He promoted stronger literacy instruction, recently launching , but his divisive manner overshadowed his efforts to focus on learning. 

One Republican who repeatedly questioned Walters’ competence for the job and supported investigations into whether he should be impeached said the superintendent’s departure is a “very positive move for Oklahoma.”

Former state Rep. Mark McBride said he hopes the person Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt appoints as an interim replacement has “no agenda other than working with students and teachers to improve outcomes.” McBride, who led an education subcommittee in the House, said he would also “love to serve Oklahoma in this capacity,” but had not yet spoken with the governor about the possibility.

Walters was an early advocate of the Freedom Foundation’s efforts to weaken the teachers unions. He appeared at the group’s and Teacher Freedom Summits. 

“They’re about power and they’re about money,” he said of the unions at last year’s event. “They could care less about student test scores.”

When the foundation launched the new Alliance earlier this year, Walters issued a endorsing the initiative, which prompted a state lawmaker to ask Oklahoma’s attorney general to investigate its legality.

Corey DeAngelis, a school choice advocate and outspoken union critic, said Walters is the right person for the job. 

“Ryan Walters has the tenacity needed to take the unions head on,” said DeAngelis, a senior fellow with the American Culture Project, an effort to mobilize independent voters around issues such as school choice and tax relief. “His fearless advocacy against the status quo is exactly what we need to lead a mass exodus from the teachers union cartel.”

An enthusiastic MAGA supporter, Walters frequently voiced his admiration for President Trump, even directing schools last year to of him praying for the president. 

But the administration hasn’t always reciprocated. 

Education Secretary Linda McMahon during an August stop to the state. Carlson suggested the Education Department likely coordinated the visit with Stitt’s office and, with “little love lost” between the two men, “Walters didn’t make the itinerary.”

Department officials have also been critical so far of his proposal to eliminate federal testing requirements in the state and said to suggest McMahon would likely approve it.

While Stitt, current chair of the National Governor’s Association, initially supported Walters’ political aspirations, the two were no longer “on the same page,” Carlson said. “I think the governor became frustrated with the effects that Walters initiatives were having on his economic development agenda.”

The state, for example, received negative attention for being 50th in education in .

Not long before Walters jumped into politics, he was an award-winning history teacher in the McAlester school district, not far from the Arkansas state line. Former students saw him as fair and inclusive, not the anti-LGBTQ firebrand he later became as state superintendent. His love for teaching impressed McBride when the two first met in 2018. 

Despite a string of scandals, Walters always bounced back. A probe into his management of state funds last year found no misconduct or missing money. Most recently, he was cleared of any criminal charges following into why a movie with nude scenes, Jackie Chan’s 1985 action film “The Protector,” was playing on a TV in his office during a state school board meeting. Oklahoma County District Attorney Vicki Behenna said she found insufficient evidence that he had broken the law.

‘Constant distraction’

The episode was one of many that kept Walters in the news. Education advocates, who Walters frequently accused of indoctrinating students with left-wing ideas, largely expressed relief Wednesday night.

“We can get back to the true focus of teaching without the constant distraction and headlines from the  state superintendent,” said Jami Jackson-Cole, a teacher who moderates a Facebook group of Oklahoma educators and advocates. 

As Walters departs next month, they’re wondering who will take his seat, not just for the remaining 15 months of his term, but in the 2026 election. 

Along with McBride, others rumored to be possible candidates for interim superintendent include , Stitt’s education secretary. A former member of a charter board, she voted in favor of approving the nation’s first religious charter school. Earlier this year, the U.S. Supreme Court split 4-4 on whether the school violated the First Amendment, allowing the state supreme court’s decision prohibiting tax dollars from funding the school to stand.

Regardless of who completes the rest of Walters’ term, advocates are also beginning to examine the records of those . Republican candidates include Rob Miller and John Cox, two superintendents. Two former Tulsa board members, Democrat Jennettie Marshall and independent Jerry Griffin, have also filed paperwork to enter the race.

With Walters “being out of the picture, maybe Oklahomans who are serious about public education can now get to work turning this ship around,” said Erika Wright, an education organizer for Oklahoma Appleseed, a nonprofit law firm.  

She’s been working with a coalition of organizations to develop a for the state’s schools that focuses on the teaching profession, student performance, funding for education and school safety. 

“The possibilities that lie before us are really exciting,” she said, “but the work is not done.”

was originally reported by Nadra Nittle of .��

After a public backlash for pushing , State Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters is now mired in scandal for an entirely different reason — images of nude women on his office television.

Two members of the Oklahoma State Board of Education are accusing Walters — who was on Trump’s shortlist of education secretary candidates last year — of screening graphic images on a television connected to his computer Thursday during a closed-door meeting focused on teaching credentials and student attendance.

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Now the state’s Republican leaders, including Gov. Kevin Stitt, say they support a probe into the conduct of the conservative superintendent who has and backed bans of . for his policies and rhetoric, which came under scrutiny last year when a nonbinary Oklahoma teenager named died after a physical altercation with classmates.

In a statement on Sunday, Walters denied the accusations, which he called “politically motivated attacks” as he prioritizes parental rights and rejects “radical” education agendas.

“Any suggestion that a device of mine was used to stream inappropriate content on the television set is categorically false,” he said. “I have no knowledge of what was on the TV screen during the alleged incident, and there is absolutely no truth to any implication of wrongdoing.”

Board members Ryan Deatherage and Becky Carson allege that, in Walters’ office last week, they saw full-frontal nudity on the TV.

about what she’d seen, demanding he turn off the television at once, and he complied.

Deatherage said he witnessed the exchange between Carson and Walters. A third board member, who said he did not see the confrontation, described the superintendent as “shook up” and “obviously a little flustered or embarrassed” during the executive session.

Quinton Hitchcock, a spokesman for Walters, denied that Walters bears responsibility for the explicit content shown, telling The Oklahoman that multiple people have access to the superintendent’s office. He also described the state board — which has challenged Walters repeatedly over issues including free student lunch, teacher assessments and his partnership with an online school — as “hostile” to the superintendent.

“These falsehoods are the desperate tactics of a broken establishment afraid of real change,” Walters said in his statement. “They aren’t just attacking me, they’re attacking the values of the Oklahomans who elected me to challenge the status quo. I will not be distracted. My focus remains on making Oklahoma the best state in the nation, in every category.”

in a new study on school quality by personal finance company Wallet Hub.

As Walters accuses the board members of ulterior motives, the governor expressed his trust and appreciation for the State Board of Education. “They are volunteers who are sacrificing their time to serve Oklahoma students,” Stitt said. “Should these allegations be true, all I can say is that I am profoundly disappointed.”

The board members’ allegations have initiated (OMES).

“The accounts made public by board members paint a strange, unsettling scene that demands clarity and transparency,” , a Republican, in a statement. “Senator [Adam] Pugh and I appreciate the quick action by OMES to help coordinate through this situation to get details on exactly what happened. More transparency is essential before strong conclusions can be drawn.”

Oklahoma House Speaker Kyle Hilbert said in a statement that the allegations against Walters warrant a third-party review.

“I urge the State Superintendent to unlock and turn over all relevant devices and fully cooperate with an investigation,” said Hilbert, a Republican. “If no wrongdoing occurred, a prompt and transparent review should quickly clear his name.”

Deatherage and Carson want to see Walters held accountable in the same way a teacher would be under these circumstances.

“We hold educators to the strictest of standards when it comes to explicit material,” Deatherage said in a statement. “The standard for the superintendent should be no different.”

OKLAHOMA CITY — As state officials in the next fiscal year, lawmakers on Tuesday appeared doubtful of requests to spend millions on Bibles for public schools and salary increases at the Oklahoma State Department of Education.

The agency’s leader, state Superintendent Ryan Walters, again asked for $3 million to purchase copies of the Bible, the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution to place in every public school classroom. He also requested $2.3 million for a 6% cost-of-living salary bump for Education Department employees, who last saw a pay raise in 2019.

Although his total budget request would increase the agency’s funding by $113 million, Walters hinted at “potential staff cuts” to limit the Education Department’s operational expenses during a meeting Tuesday with the Senate Appropriations Committee.

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“I​​ do believe we can save $1.3 million in some of the costs that we’ve been able to absorb through rolling positions together, cutting positions that are duplicated in their services,” Walters said during the meeting.

Members of the influential appropriations committee heard Walters’ budget requests for the 2026 fiscal year. The state is required to pay some of the projected expenses, such as an extra $88.6 million for the rising cost of health insurance for public school employees.

Another $4 million would increase the teacher maternity leave fund, which Walters said is growing in popularity. He also asked for $500,000 to offer firearms training to teachers.

Senators of both parties questioned Walters’ request for $3 million to buy 55,000 copies of the King James Version Bible, which they suggested could be donated to schools or found for free online.

House lawmakers last week.

The state superintendent has advocated for more instruction on the Bible to help contextualize American history and the beliefs of the country’s founding fathers. He said he doesn’t intend for schools to preach Christianity to students.

Last year, he to incorporate the Bible into their lesson plans and that would mandate instruction on biblical stories. His agency already spent under $25,000 on 532 copies of Lee Greenwood’s God Bless the USA Bible, which is informally known as the Trump Bible because it has the president’s endorsement.

Walters’ Bible instruction mandate already on church-state separation grounds.

Sen. Brenda Stanley, R-Midwest City, said she never encountered a classroom that didn’t have a Bible available to students during her 43-year career in education.

Sen. Dave Rader, R-Tulsa, encouraged Walters to exhaust all resources for Bible donations before having the Legislature consider spending $3 million.

“We could take the $3 million elsewhere, if somebody is willing to make those available to us at no cost,” Rader said during the hearing.

The Senate committee also appeared dubious of funding a COLA increase for over the past two years. Walters told the committee the Education Department employed 520 people when he took office in January 2023 and that it now counts 460 employees.

“If you have decreased your (full-time employees), it would appear to me that there are already dollars inside your operating budget to offer salary increases,” Sen. Kristen Thompson, R-Edmond, told Walters during the hearing.

Walters disagreed that staff departures would be enough to fund the increase. A complicating factor is the large number of federally funded salaries at the agency, he said.

The department has considered reducing its staff even further after the state Board of Equalization in the 2026 fiscal year, Walters said.

The projection is preliminary, and the Board of Equalization will meet again this month for updated numbers.

“After the last Board of Equalization meeting, we really went in and tried to do a deep dive into can we continue to see cuts, and we believe that we do need to be able to do that,” Walters said.

Legislative leaders are preparing to limit expenses in light of the budget projections, especially as Gov. Kevin Stitt , flat agency budgets and “eliminating wasteful government spending.”

The governor suggested no funding increases to public schools nor to the state Education Department in .

House Speaker Kyle Hilbert, R-Bristow, said Monday that he shares many of the governor’s priorities “as we seek to tighten our belt fiscally this year.” Senate President Pro Tem Lonnie Paxton, R-Tuttle, echoed Stitt’s tax-cut message when he endorsed “improving the lives of Oklahomans by allowing them to keep more of their hard-earned money.”

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Oklahoma Voice maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Janelle Stecklein for questions: info@oklahomavoice.com.

From strategic defiance to more open compliance, school districts across the country are gearing up in very different ways for how to respond if — or when — immigration agents arrive on campus.��

Their deliberations are occurring as Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids and as President Donald J. Trump’s new administration placing schools, hospitals and churches off-limits to such enforcement actions. 

Sonja H. Trainor, executive director of the National School Attorneys Association, told The 74 on Monday that her members are already reporting a significant decrease in student attendance — and tremendous concern among parents about Trump’s latest orders.  

And while many education leaders have pledged to keep ICE at bay — Georgia’s Gwinnett County Public Schools instructed staff to make a copy of agents’ identification cards and to “not offer any information” — others are advising greater degrees of cooperation. One extreme outlier: ���������dz���’s Republican state Superintendent Ryan Walters, who said he welcomes . 

“Schools haven’t been working with law enforcement on this,” he . “However President Trump decides to carry out the actions around his immigration policy, we are going to absolutely work with him on that.”

Trainor said her organization will be offering their members information and support on how they can counsel districts in responding to ICE, including a webinar presented by an immigration attorney, in the coming weeks.

Most school protocols for visits from law enforcement agencies, including immigration agents, she said, call for a school official to greet the officer; ask for credentials and any order, subpoena, or warrant; and to get a specific administrator to interact with them.

“The administrator may also want to consult legal counsel based on the circumstances,” she said. “Each scenario may be fact specific and require schools to be neutral and objective looking at state/federal law for release of student information.”

The United States is home to some and as of 2018, roughly lived with at least one family member, often a parent, who was undocumented, according to the American Immigration Council.

Tom Homan, Trump’s border czar, told ABC’s “This Week” that he’s willing to execute raids in K-12 schools, saying it will help solve another problem:  

“How many MS-13 members are the age 14 to 17? Many of them,” Homan said Sunday, referring to a  

Longtime Oklahoma science teacher Jenny Bobo said students and families in her school community are filled with dread. 

“People are terrified,” she told The 74. “We, as educators, fear for our students. We are terrified that, in order to advance political careers, entire buildings full of children will be traumatized.”

in Oklahoma have already begun, as students and adults plead to keep families together.

Bobo’s 14-year-old son, Preston Lee Bobo, was among a group of protestors who attended the state Board of Education meeting Tuesday morning in Oklahoma City. The board Walters’ proposal requiring that families provide information on their immigration or citizenship status when enrolling their kids. The move is seen as possibly violating Plyler v. Doe, the landmark 1982 Supreme Court ruling that a child cannot be denied a public education based on immigration status, and could potentially create a trove of data making undocumented students in Oklahoma more vulnerable to ICE enforcement.

Preston said he wanted to call attention to what he believes is unfair treatment of undocumented children. The teen was not permitted to speak as the public comments portion of these events has been greatly curtailed: . If given the chance, Preston said he was ready to be heard.

“I think that they should be treated like any other student,” the teen said of his undocumented peers. “Agents coming in and looking for undocumented children is inappropriate. If they find them, then they will presumably try to get them deported and I don’t support that. I also don’t really want a bunch of cops in my school. We already have SROs (school resource officers).”

John Seidlitz, a long-time educator, immigrant advocate and founder of the California-based Seidlitz Education, said he’s concerned about the stress raids could place on children. 

“As educators, we have spent years learning about the effects of trauma on educational outcomes,” he said. “The threat of ICE presence in schools will have a serious negative impact not only on undocumented students, but on all students attending public schools.” 

about ICE agents on or near school grounds continue to spread through social media. But it’s unclear whether immigration agents will actually come to campus. Some school officials have been told their districts are not targets.  

Christopher Cram, a spokesperson for Maryland’s Montgomery County Public Schools, said the school system was led to believe through a virtual call on Friday with immigration officials that campuses are still safe. 

“Despite the Department of Homeland Security’s recent statement that ICE agents no longer have to ‘honor’ the ‘sensitive locations’ guidance, recent comments by ICE officials to Maryland superintendents indicate that there are no plans to visit or take action near schools,” he said. 

But the atmosphere remains tense. The Chicago Public Schools reported last week that ICE agents visited one of its campuses only to later realize this : It was the Secret Service on an unrelated matter. But immigration raids were conducted within the past few days and also in among a host of other early locations, including the area and  

people in Arizona and New Mexico were caught up in the sweeps. Citing a senior Trump official, Tuesday that immigration authorities made close to 1,200 arrests in just one day, roughly 245 more than initially claimed. Nearly half of those detained don’t have criminal records, it reported, which Trump had said .

In an effort to prepare for any outcome, and local education agencies have provided school personnel — and, in some cases, parents — varying directives. Many reflect the fine line between protecting students’ rights and violating federal law. 

• The state superintendent of schools in Maryland said in a memo that “school personnel should not argue or debate with immigration enforcement officials but should direct them to the local superintendent or designated administrator for further action.”

• Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools in North Carolina said its administrators must, when told by agents they want to speak to a particular child, attempt to contact their parents and remain with the student during a law enforcement interview. The directive said they “should not interfere with any ICE enforcement action, which may include service or execution of warrants, interviews, searches, or arrests,” but that students have a right against self-incrimination and may not be required to provide information that would establish residency status.

• Gwinnett County Public Schools in Georgia provided staff with a script, advising them to welcome the agents and say, “We will cooperate within the boundaries of the law, but to ensure minimal disruption, please have a seat until the principal arrives.” They’re further instructed to make copies of any warrants, not allow agents access beyond the vestibule until their identity is confirmed and to document the agent’s name, badge number, agency affiliation, time, date, and details of the request.

• The School District of Philadelphia asked parents Friday to make sure that all emergency contact information is updated for their children.  

• Chicago Public Schools , in English and Spanish, to support immigrant students and their families, saying at a press conference last week: “Regardless of this policy change, our protocols will remain in place. There is complete alignment here between our state, our city and our district … CPS does not ask for a family’s immigration status. CPS will not coordinate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement or ICE. CPS does not share student records with ICE except in the rare case where there’s a court order or consent from a parent or guardian.”

• Orange County Public Schools in Florida was advised by one of its attorneys to contact students’ parents whenever possible to ask for their permission for an ICE agent to interview their child. But, it notes, that if an administrator informs the parent of an interview after being told not to by law enforcement, refuses to leave the room when directed or interferes with a student’s arrest, they “may be subject to arrest on charges of tampering with a law enforcement investigation or obstructing a law enforcement official.”

• Clark County School District in Las Vegas told staff that if there is a concern with the identity of the officer or agent — or the reason for their visit — they should call the Clark County School District Police Department. 

This week, President Donald Trump that had been in place since 2011 that discouraged U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement from making arrests in “protected areas” like schools, medical centers and places of worship.

Oklahoma schools Superintendent Ryan Walters said in a TV interview posted Friday that he would help the Trump administration in “any way they see fit” to carry out immigration enforcement, including ICE raids in schools.

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“For years the liberal media has been vilifying Republicans for separating illegal immigrant children from their parents,” Walters said in a news release Friday afternoon. “Now they want us to explain why we’d let ICE agents into schools. The answer is simple: we want to ensure that deported parents are reconnected with their children and keep families together.”

Chicago Public Schools said ICE agents attempted to enter an elementary school on Friday, but the school denied them entry. However, the it was one of its agents in the area investigating a threat, not ICE conducting immigration enforcement.

Walters has proposed a rule at the state Education Department, which he leads, that would or legal immigration status during enrollment.

His proposal would not prohibit any students from attending public schools, but districts would have to report to the Education Department the number of undocumented children they enroll.

Walters said Friday he intends to share this information with the federal government to assist with immigration enforcement.

“The first step is getting them the information,” Walters said in an interview with Tulsa TV station KTUL. “That’s part of what they flagged is, you know, schools haven’t been working with law enforcement on this. Well, in Oklahoma, we’re going to work with law enforcement. We are going to work with the Trump administration.”

The Oklahoma State Board of Education, which Walters also heads, is expected to vote Tuesday on the proposed immigration rule. If it passes, the state Legislature would have the choice of voting on it or allowing the governor to decide whether to approve it. The rule would carry the force of law if OK’d by the Legislature or governor.

Gov. Kevin Stitt’s office remains focused on deporting undocumented immigrants who committed crimes unrelated to their immigration status, spokesperson Meyer Siegfried said.

“Governor Stitt supports the strong enforcement of immigration laws and believes we have a responsibility to know who is in our state and how taxpayer dollars are being spent,” Siegfried said.

The office of the Senate president pro tem did not return a request for comment Friday. House Speaker Kyle Hilbert’s office declined to comment on a rule that hasn’t yet passed a board vote to be submitted to the Legislature, nor did he remark on potential ICE involvement in schools.

Walters initially suggested the rule last month as a way to gauge current and future needs for English learner programs and other school resources to accommodate immigrant children.

Advocates of Oklahoma immigrant communities warned citizenship checks in schools could dissuade undocumented families from enrolling their children in public education.

Schools should be a safe haven from immigration enforcement, said Juan Lecona, a member of the Oklahoma City Public Schools Board of Education.��

“This is not about red or blue,” Lecona said Friday. “It’s about the future of our students. Let them learn. Let them become whoever they want to be in the future. By doing this, you are breaking up families, and on top of that, how are the schools going to benefit from it?”

Lecona is the first immigrant to serve on the Oklahoma City school board. His parents brought him to the U.S. from Mexico when he was a child in 1990 with a legal visa and permit, he said. Once that paperwork expired, he became undocumented.

Lecona is now a U.S. citizen with children attending the Oklahoma City district. As a school board member, he represents a majority Latino area in the city’s south side.

He said immigrants living in his community are afraid and “don’t know what to do.”

“I’m concerned for my community, our working people, because that’s what we want. We just want to work and achieve our American dream,” Lecona said. “We’re not here to cause trouble.”

Oklahoma City Superintendent Jamie Polk has said the district has no plans to collect students’ immigration status. The district administration did not return a request for comment on Walters’ statements Friday.

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Oklahoma Voice maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Janelle Stecklein for questions: info@oklahomavoice.com.

The student population has not only , but the district saw an unprecedented influx of English learners. 

“It’s a huge testament to the work being done in Tulsa,” he said at a state board meeting. “I think that you’re seeing parents that have confidence in what’s being done there.”

But now he wants parents in Tulsa and other districts throughout the state to share their citizenship status when they enroll their children — a proposal that not only violates but is likely to keep some parents from sending their children to school. 

Districts say they don’t know how many undocumented students they have, but In Tulsa, the population of English learners grew from 10,168 in 2023 to 11,149 last year. 

President-elect Donald Trump’s are celebrating Walters’ effort to end “sanctuary schools,” but district leaders say the plan is traumatizing vulnerable families.

“It’s hurtful, and it’s going to create fear,” said Nick Migliorino, superintendent of the Norman Public Schools, south of Oklahoma City. “Not educating kids because of the status of their parents helps nobody.” 

The Oklahoma State Department of Education says the is needed to determine how many tutors and teachers districts need for English learners. But it comes as many national Republicans are eager to challenge a longstanding Supreme Court ruling, , which  guarantees undocumented students an education in the U.S. 

“It’s reasonable to presume that this is an attack on Plyler,” said Julie Sugarman, associate director of the National Center on Immigrant Integration at the Migration Policy Institute. “If the Supreme Court was to say, ‘Well, we changed our mind — you actually can ask about immigration status,’ that would really put all of Plyler into question.” 

The public has until Jan. 17 to submit comments on the rule. The state Board of Education will hold a public hearing the same day. 

The plan follows an election in which President-elect Donald Trump referred to the U.S. as a for undocumented immigrants. He has called for on Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids at schools on the day he takes office and said he would — even if their children were born in the U.S.

Walters foreshadowed the new rule in July when he asked districts to account for the “cost and burden” of illegal immigration. And on Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas and ICE Deputy Director Peter Flores for $474 million, saying their “failed border policies” have placed “severe financial and operational strain” on ���������dz���’s schools. He a bill for the same figure in October. 

The state, which has an under 16, will need an additional 1,065 teachers for English learners over the next five years, he wrote in his letter to Harris. He offered no specifics on where he got that figure. 

“We cannot effectively budget or allocate critical resources when we have no accounting of the cost that illegal immigration places on our schools,” the letter said.

shows that the percentage of English learners in the state, about 10%, hasn’t increased since the 2021-22 school year. But teachers in Tulsa have definitely noticed the influx of newcomers. 

“Some of them just show up on Monday and they don’t speak any English,” said one teacher in the district who did not want to be named in order to protect students. She often communicates with students through bilingual staff members. “I just hear the saddest stories every day. The kids are really sweet, but they’re afraid.”  

She worries about what might happen if recent immigrants are unable to attend school. 

“We provide coats,” she said. “We provide groceries on the weekends.”

‘Will not comply’

Norman, where about 8% of students are English learners, was among the many districts that didn’t submit any data to the state last summer. Regardless of their needs, Migliorino said, “educators invest in the students who show up in our district.”

Leaders of other districts, including the , and the , pushed back on Walters’ demands, saying they haven’t  asked about families’ immigration status and don’t intend to start. 

Bixby Superintendent told The 74 the proposed rule was “clearly unconstitutional.” 

“Bixby will not comply,” said Miller, an outspoken critic of Walters who is suing him for .

He compared Walters’ plan to the state’s legal battle over a first-in-the-nation religious charter school. While the Oklahoma Supreme Court said the Catholic charter violates the law, the school and the state’s charter board have appealed that ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court. The court has not yet decided whether to hear the case. 

“I believe they are trying to create a case for the Trump Supreme Court,” he said.

In , a Texas school district sought to charge tuition to students not “legally admitted” to the country. The U.S. Department of Education has long interpreted the court’s opinion to mean that states “cannot do anything to chill the atmosphere or to make people feel afraid to send their kids to school,” Sugarman said. 

Oklahoma isn’t the first state to attempt to curb illegal immigration’s impact on schools. In 1994, California voters passed Proposition 187, which denied undocumented immigrants access to public education and other services. The measure directed teachers to report students they suspected were undocumented to authorities. But advocates and federal courts found it .

Since then, , Arizona, Maryland and Texas have sought to ask parents about their citizenship, all for the stated purpose of determining how much it costs to serve unauthorized students. Only Alabama’s law was enacted, but a federal appeals court in 2012, after only a year. 

The issue could prove appealing for the Supreme Court, which took a sharp right turn during President-elect Donald Trump’s first term. That ideological shift resulted in the end of and the reversal of that gave federal agencies significant leeway to interpret the law. 

“We have a different court now,” said Sugarman of the Migration Policy Institute. “The court’s willingness to overturn legal precedent means that lots of things are on the table that we wouldn’t previously [have] thought were in play.”

Attorney general agreement

The education department has until March to submit the rule to the legislature, where both the House and Senate must approve the measure for it to pass. If they don’t take action, the package automatically goes to the governor to sign.��

Walters, who frequently clashes with Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond on issues like religion in public schools and education funding, has found common cause with his frequent opponent on the issue of seeking parents’ citizenship status. 

“The Attorney General has said he believes Oklahoma has the right to collect citizenship data in connection with government services,” said spokesman Phil Bacharach.

In a , Drummond, who announced his Monday, spoke about efforts to cooperate with the incoming Trump administration to deport undocumented immigrants who are committing crimes in the state. But he didn’t address education.

As “protected areas or sensitive locations,” schools have been off limits for ICE agents at least . Ignacia Rodriguez Kmec, an attorney with the National Immigration Law Center, said she wasn’t aware of any past ICE raids at U.S. schools. But that enrollment of Hispanic students in school drops, especially in the elementary grades, when ICE and local law enforcement partner to enforce immigration laws. Following a raid at a Tennessee meatpacking plant in 2019, in the local district were absent.��

For now, some districts have tried to reassure parents who might be hesitant to enroll their children or send them to school. Oklahoma City Superintendent Jamie Polk issued a statement saying the district’s schools “are a safe and welcoming place for all students, and our mission remains unchanged.”

But the state’s recommended rule is especially controversial in Tulsa, where conservative Board Member E’Lena Ashley told a Republican group that many English learners are undocumented and could pose a safety risk to other students.

Superintendent Ebony Johnson has tried to put families at ease, saying that rulemaking is a long, drawn-out process.

“There is a place for you and your children here,” Johnson said in a . “We want students here at school every day.”  

One thing is clear from the stories that populate this year’s list: Many of America’s schools are still grappling with the academic struggles that followed the pandemic – as well as the end of federal relief funds, which expired this fall. Student enrollments have yet to recover and many districts are facing – or will soon face – tough decisions about closures.

Meanwhile, some educators are testing innovative ways of teaching math, reading and science, hoping to gain back some of the academic ground lost since the COVID shutdowns. Technology is also playing a pivotal role in this post-pandemic world, with communities weighing the impact of cellphones and artificial intelligence on student learning and mental health.

November’s election – which featured debates over school choice, Christianity in public schools and the fate of the Department of Education – also made headlines here at The 74. And, as calls for cracking down on immigration grew even louder, we dug deep into the hurdles facing immigrant students and schools. 

Here’s a roundup of our most memorable and impactful stories of the year:

Exclusive: Thousands of Schools at Risk of Closing Due to Enrollment Loss

By Linda Jacobson

Long before districts close schools, enrollment loss takes a toll on staff and families, from combined classes to the loss of afterschool programs. This exclusive analysis by Linda Jacobson, based on Brookings Institution research, found that more than 4,400 schools lost at least one-fifth of their students during the pandemic — more than double the number during the pre-COVID period. The detailed look shows how the crisis is playing out at the school level and which districts face tough decisions about closures and cuts. 

Unwelcome to America’: Hundreds of U.S. High Schools Wrongfully Refused Entry to Older, Immigrant Student

By Jo Napolitano

The 74’s 16-month-long undercover investigation of school enrollment practices for older immigrant students revealed rampant refusals of teens who had a legal right to attend, shutting a door critical to success in America. Senior reporter Jo Napolitano called 630 high schools in every state and D.C. to test whether they would enroll a 19-year-old Venezuelan newcomer who had limited English language skills and whose education was interrupted after ninth grade. “Hector Guerrero” was turned down more than 300 times, including 204 denials in the 35 states and D.C., where high school attendance goes up to at least age 20. The 74’s investigation revealed pervasive hostility and suspicion toward these students in a particularly xenophobic era and a deeply arbitrary process determining their access to K-12 education.

Interactive: Which School Districts Do the Best Job of Teaching Kids to Read?

By Chad Aldeman

It’s not news that low-income fourth graders are years behind their higher-income peers in reading. But poverty is not destiny, and some schools and districts hugely outperform expectations. Working with Eamonn Fitzmaurice, The 74’s art and technology director, contributor Chad Aldeman set out to find districts that are beating the odds and successfully teaching kids to read. From Steubenville City, Ohio, to Worcester County, Maryland, and across the country, click on their interactive map to find the highfliers in your state. 

Whistleblower: L.A. Schools’ Chatbot Misused Student Data as Tech Company Crumbled

by Mark Keierleber

In early June, a former top software engineer at ed tech startup, AllHere, warned Los Angeles district officials and others about student data privacy risks associated with the company’s AI chatbot “Ed.” The LA Unified School District had agreed to pay AllHere $6 million for the chatbot and the spring rollout of Ed was highly publicized, with L.A. schools chief Alberto Carvalho calling the chatbot’s student knowledge powers “unprecedented in American public education.” But, as Mark Keierleber reported, red flags soon began to emerge. The company financially imploded and its founder Joanna Smith-Griffin left the company. In November, federal prosecutors indicted her, accusing of defrauding investors of $10 million.

America’s Most Popular Autism Therapy May Not Work — and May Cause Serious Harms

by Beth Hawkins

Today, a child’s new autism diagnosis is frequently followed by a referral to a variation of an intervention called applied behavior analysis, or ABA, and four decades of pressure from parents and advocates has created a sprawling treatment industry. Yet, even as providers and lobbyists jockey to strengthen ABA’s dominance, autistic adults and researchers increasingly say there’s alarmingly little proof it’s effective — and mounting evidence it’s traumatizing. In an exclusive investigation, Beth Hawkins spoke with families, teachers and scholars about the growing controversy surrounding autism’s “gold standard” treatment. 

A Cautionary AI Tale: Why IBM’s Dazzling Watson Supercomputer Made a Lousy Tutor

by Greg Toppo

In 2011, IBM’s Watson supercomputer crushed Jeopardy! champions, raising hopes that it could help create a powerful tutoring system that would rival human teachers. But the visionary at the head of the effort watched as the project fizzled, the victim of AI’s inability to hold students’ attention. As new educational AI contenders like Khanmigo emerge, what lessons can they learn from the past? The 74’s Greg Toppo took a look at how IBM’s failed effort tempers today’s shiny AI promises.

State-by-State, How Segregation Legally Continues 7 Decades Post Brown v. Board

by Marianna McMurdock

Seventy years after the Supreme Court outlawed separating public school children by race, Marianna McMurdock sought to answer a pivotal question: How are some of the most coveted public schools in the U.S. able to legally exclude all but the most privileged families? Last spring, she spoke with researchers at the nonprofits Available to All and Bellwether, which published a report that examined the troubling laws, loopholes and trends that are undermining the legacy of Brown v. Board in each state. The researchers called for urgent legal reform to offset the impact that one’s home address has on enrollment, particularly as many districts have started considering closures.

Being ‘Bad at Math’ Is a Pervasive Concept. Can it Be Banished From Schools?

by Jo Napolitano

Are you bad at math? If you are, it’s likely that self-fulfilling seed got planted early. Many math education leaders are trying to uproot that thinking, arguing that any student can master the subject with the right accommodations and tutoring. Changing the bad-at-math mindset in U.S. schools, however, will not be easy, others warn. “We use math as a means to sort kids by who gets to be at the top and who gets to be at the bottom,” one math equity advocate told Jo Napolitano. 

Hope Rises in Pine Bluff: Saving Schools in America’s Fastest-Shrinking City

by The 74 Staff

Pine Bluff, Arkansas, earned the unwelcome distinction in the 2020 census of being America’s fastest-shrinking city, losing over 12% of its population in one decade. Amid this exodus of families, students and taxpayers, its school district had to navigate school closures, budget pressures and a state takeover. Throughout last winter, members of The 74’s newsroom embedded in Pine Bluff to report on the region’s trajectory. Here are some of the powerful stories they came back with: 

Kids, Screen Time & Despair: An Expert in the Economics of Happiness Echoes Psychologists’ Warnings About Tech

By Kevin Mahnken

A prominent economist has joined the growing chorus of experts warning against the dangers posed to youth mental health by screens and social media, reported Kevin Mahnken. New papers released by Dartmouth College professor Danny Blanchflower, a leading expert in the burgeoning field of happiness economics, suggest that the huge increase in screen time over the last decade has made the young more likely to despair than the middle-aged. 

Why Is a Grading System Touted as More Accurate, Equitable So Hard to Implement?

By Amanda Geduld

As educators push for more transparency in grading policies post-pandemic, some are turning to standards-based grading. When done correctly, it separates academic mastery from behavior and more accurately reflects what students know. But misunderstandings of the model, a lack of proper training, and a rush to adopt it often leads to messy implementation. Associate professor Laura Link told Amanda Geduld that as schools look to fix learning gaps, “standards-based grading is one that seems like it can be a quickly adopted effort. But it could backfire — and does backfire — very easily.”

Texas Seeks to Inject Bible Stories into Elementary School Reading Program

by Linda Jacobson

Last May, a sweeping redesign of Texas’ elementary school curriculum that used Bible stories to teach reading was unveiled. At the time, state education Commissioner Mike Morath described the changes as a shift toward a “classical model of education.” But the revisions raised questions about potential religious indoctrination and bias. Nevertheless, in November, the Texas Board of Education approved the new curriculum in a close vote. Linda Jacobson followed the story closely.

The Political War Over the Department of Education Is Only Beginning

By Kevin Mahnken 

Fresh from their November victories, Republicans are already working to help President-elect Donald Trump achieve his promise of abolishing the U.S. Department of Education. But research suggests that, while perceptions of the agency are mixed, the public is unlikely to back a sweeping course of elimination. “Saying you’ll get rid of it reads generically as being anti-education,” one political scientist told Kevin Mahnken. “That strikes me as a very heavy albatross to hang around your neck come the midterms.” 

18 Years, $2 Billion: Inside New Orleans’ Biggest School Recovery Effort in History

By Beth Hawkins

In 2005, Hurricane Katrina destroyed 110 New Orleans schools. Displaced families could not return until there were classrooms to welcome their kids, but no one had ever tried to rebuild an entire school system. While many of the buildings were moldering even before the storm, federal funds couldn’t be used to build something better. Some of the schools had landmark status and were of great historical significance. Eighteen years and $2 billion later, Beth Hawkins took a look at seven schools that illustrate how the district accomplished the task.

As Ryan Walters’ Right-Wing Star Rose, Critics Say Oklahoma Ed Dept. Fell Apart

By Linda Jacobson

Oklahoma state education chief Republican Ryan Walters has acted as a one-man publicity machine, a performance that’s earned him venomous foes and ardent fans who follow him with a near-religious fervor. But one casualty of his approach might be a functioning state education bureaucracy. Even Republican lawmakers have grown impatient, calling for a probe into how Walters handles state and federal funds. As Rep. Tammy West, a GOP incumbent running for re-election, told reporter Linda Jacobson, “Regardless of party, citizens want transparency, accountability and communication.”

AI ‘Companions’ Are Patient, Funny, Upbeat — and Probably Rewiring Kids Brains

By Greg Toppo

A college student relies on ChatGPT to help him make life decisions, including whether to break up with his girlfriend. Is this a future we feel good about? While AI bots and companions like ChatGPT, Replika and Snapchat’s MyAI, can offer support, comfort and advice, experts are beginning to warn of potential risks. The 74’s Greg Toppo talks to researchers and policy experts about what we should be doing to help make them safer.

Indiana Looks to Swiss Experts to Create Thousands of Student Apprenticeships

By Patrick O’Donnell

Indiana officials have turned to experts at the Swiss version of MIT for help in becoming a national career training leader by making apprenticeships available to thousands of high school students across the state. Indiana is the latest state to work with ETH Zurich — where Albert Einstein once studied — to develop ways to break down barriers between educators and businesses so that career training can be a large part of a reinvented high school experience, reported Patrick O’Donnell. 

Investigation: Nearly 1,000 Native Children Died in Federal Boarding Schools

By Marianna McMurdock 

Nearly 1,000 Native American children died while forced to attend government-affiliated boarding schools, according to a report published last summer by the Interior Department. The children are buried in 74 unmarked and marked graves, reported Marianna McMurdock, as tribes assess repatriation of remains. Nearly 19,000 children were estimated to be kidnapped, often at gunpoint, and enrolled in the schools with the aim of assimilation. “We [were] never called by our name, we were all called by our numbers,” said one survivor. 

The Nation’s Biggest Charter School System Is Under Fire in Los Angeles

By Ben Chapman 

The nation’s largest experiment with charter schools is no longer growing. These days, Los Angeles charter operators say they are just trying to survive. With tough new policies governing co-locations, falling enrollment, and a hostile district school board, charter leaders say they’ve never faced stronger headwinds, reported Ben Chapman. With enrollment plummeting across the district, some charter networks have recently announced closures while others have stopped submitting proposals for new campuses. “Now, particularly in L.A., our focus is not on growing,” said Joanna Belcher, chief impact officer for KIPP SoCal. 

Florida Students Seize on Parental Rights to Stop Educators from Hitting Kids

By Mark Keierleber 

Late last year, Florida senior Brooklynn Daniels was called to the principal’s office and spanked with a wooden paddle “that was thick like a chapter book.” Like in many enclaves that dot the Florida panhandle, Liberty County permits corporal punishment as a form of student discipline. But her flogging, the honors student said, went much further: She alleged sexual assault and filed a police report, reported Mark Keierleber. Daniels joined a student-led movement to change Florida law that has latched onto the GOP-led parental rights movement. 

Interactive: See How Student Achievement Gaps Are Growing in Your State

By Chad Aldeman

In 2012, then-President Barack Obama freed states from the accountability provisions of No Child Left Behind in exchange for reforms related to standards, assessments and teacher evaluations. That relaxing of school and district accountability pressures corresponded with a decline in student performance across the country that is still being felt — achievement gaps are growing across subjects and all across the country. To illustrate these alarming discrepancies, contributor Chad Aldeman and Eamonn Fitzmaurice, The 74’s art and technology director, created an interactive tool that enables you to see what’s happening with student performance in your state.

Left Powerless: Non-English–Speaking Parents Denied Vital Translation Services

by Amanda Geduld

Flouting federal laws, K-12 public schools routinely fail to provide qualified interpreters to non-English-speaking families. Parents must instead rely on Google translate, their own kid or a bilingual staff member who isn’t a trained interpreter for issues as simple as their child’s absence for a day or as complex and intimidating as a special education meeting or a school disciplinary hearing. The problem is pervasive and vastly underreported, experts told Amanda Geduld. School leaders say they are trying their best, but lack the money and staffing to meet the need. 

Failed West Virginia Microschool Fuels State Probe and Some Soul-Searching

By Linda Jacobson

The West Virginia treasurer’s investigation into a microschool, funded with education savings accounts, offers a glimpse into an emerging market that has mushroomed since the pandemic. When the program shut down after a few months, parents were left demanding their money back and scrambling to find other arrangements for their children. The example, experts say, shows that it takes more than good intentions to provide a quality education program. As one parent told Linda Jacobson, “I should have seen the red flags.”

In the Rush to Covid Recovery, Did We Forget About Our Youngest Learners?

by Lauren Camera

The country’s youngest elementary school students suffered steep academic setbacks in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic – just like students in older grades. But new research shows that they aren’t catching back up to pre-pandemic levels in reading and math the way older students are. And when it comes to math, many are falling even further behind. “We were shocked when we first saw the data,” Kristen Huff, vice president of assessment and research at Curriculum Associates, told Lauren Camera.

OKLAHOMA CITY — A new office within the Oklahoma State Department of Education will promote expressions of religion and patriotism in public schools.

The head of the agency, state Superintendent Ryan Walters, announced Tuesday he established the Office of Religious Liberty and Patriotism. He said the new division will align with incoming President Donald Trump’s aim of protecting prayer in schools.

The office will investigate alleged abuses against religious freedom and patriotic displays, according to a news release from the Education Department.

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Walters cited a September 2023 incident in which a from a classroom at the urging of the Freedom From Religion Foundation, which contended it was unconstitutional for a public school to allow religious displays. At the time, Walters said the removal was “unacceptable.”

The that students and public school employees are permitted to pray on school grounds, but school employees cannot lead students in prayer or other religious activities while doing their jobs. The Court in public schools, finding it a violation of the U.S. Constitution’s prohibition of government-established religion.

Walters said public schools have been “ground zero” for erosion of religious liberty. While calling church-state separation a “myth,” he , sought to and advocated for opening a in the state.

“It is no coincidence that the dismantling of faith and family values in public schools directly correlates with declining academic outcomes in our public schools,” Walters said in a statement Tuesday. “In Oklahoma, we are reversing this negative trend and, working with the incoming Trump Administration, we are going to aggressively pursue education policies that will improve academic outcomes and give our children a better future.”

A group of 32 parents, students, teachers and faith leaders from Oklahoma to block Walters’ Bible education mandate and to stop the use of state funds to buy Bibles. The plaintiffs are represented by multiple national legal groups, including the Freedom From Religion Foundation.

“Superintendent Ryan Walters cannot be allowed to employ the machinery of the state to indoctrinate ���������dz���’s students in his religion,” foundation co-president Annie Laurie Gaylor said last month. “Thankfully, Oklahoma law protects families and taxpayers from his unconstitutional scheme to force public schools to adopt his preferred holy book.”

Since the Nov. 5 election, Walters has been paving the way in the state Education Department for major policy changes from the next Trump administration, including the potential closure of the U.S. Department of Education. Trump has proposed eliminating the federal agency and sending education funds in block grants to states.

Among other policy goals, Trump has advocated for more patriotic education and giving parents a greater role in the public school system, including in the hiring and firing of principals.

Walters said Monday he is convening an advisory committee of Oklahoma education leaders and policymakers to implement the Trump education agenda.

The state superintendent similarly has supported pro-America education and patriotic displays. He invited right-wing policy advocates and conservative media personalities, most of whom live out of state, to help .

In August, Walters issued guidelines instructing all districts to develop a policy for displaying the U.S. flag. He did so while criticizing Edmond Public Schools, which had asked a high school student to remove an American flag from his truck.

The Edmond district did so because it had an existing policy prohibiting students from bringing flags of any kind to school. The district displays the American flag in front of every school and in each classroom, it said in a statement.

Walters quickly took aim at Edmond, saying “no Oklahoma school should tell students they can’t wave the American flag.”

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Oklahoma Voice maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Janelle Stecklein for questions: info@oklahomavoice.com. Follow Oklahoma Voice on and .

The investigation, prompted by complaints from districts and the public, and led by the GOP-led House, cleared Walters of any misconduct and found no missing funds. 

But Walters and his staff frequently put off asking for clarification when issues were ambiguous, often took months to correct mistakes and left districts in the dark about accessing funds. 

The department “could have allayed districts’ concerns with communication in advance of delays or as soon as a problem was identified,” the report said.

Critics say the Republican state chief has neglected his duties, focused on culture war controversies and prioritized his own political career as top officials left the department.

Much of the back-and-forth between lawmakers and agency staff focused on what districts viewed as an in getting preliminary estimates of Title I funds for high-poverty schools. In previous years, districts received those figures in the spring, allowing them time to recruit and hire staff. The drawn-out timetable left districts “understandably upset,” said the report, describing Walters’ staff as “overconfident” in their position that there was no delay. 

 Walters, however, took a defiant tone during a two-hour session before the oversight committee Tuesday.

“This is a waste of time for the people of the state of Oklahoma,” he said. “We have been transparent in everything that we do.”

He attributed the hold-up to fraud prevention efforts and cited the department’s success in stopping one unnamed district from using federal dollars to renovate a “fourplex” owned by the superintendent. Dan Isett, department spokesman, did not respond to a request for more details.

State officials informed districts of the extra fraud precautions by email, Walters said. 

“We can’t make them read emails,” he said. 

Democrats, however, seemed dissatisfied with the superintendent’s explanations.

“I wonder if the concerns cited by our districts will continue to be met with derision, to be quite frank,” said Rep. Melissa Provenzano, who represents Tulsa, home to the state’s largest school district.

The investigation sought to understand the “breakdown of communication,” said Regina Birchum, the oversight agency’s interim director. “All we wanted to do was try to bridge the gap.”

The agency surveyed districts about their concerns, but only about a third responded — proof, to Walters, that most districts have no complaints with the department. But Birchum added that some superintendents declined to complete the survey for fear of retribution.

Provenzano pressed Walters on whether he would follow the recommendations of the report, which include promptly reviewing legislation to identify potential confusion and improving communication to districts. He only said his office was reviewing them.

Thoughts on answers at the LOFT hearing:

It wasn’t my fault.
Everyone else is lying.
Blame the feds.
The legislature was unclear.

Am I missing anything?

— Rick Cobb (@grendelrick)

Request to attorney general

While the report focused on five programs that districts and lawmakers complained about, including funds for and emergency , another Democrat, Rep. Meloyde Blancett, wants the oversight committee to expand its investigation into other issues. Those include for political purposes and which are receiving funds through the state’s tax credit scholarship program.

Republican Rep. Kevin Wallace, a co-chair of the committee, said he’ll leave that request up to new leaders in the legislature. 

Blancett, however, has also asked Attorney General Gentner Drummond to offer a legal definition of “malfeasance” to “clarify the conditions under which legal action may be warranted.” 

Drummond’s office has not yet responded.

The report also examined what happened with $150 million in school security funds lawmakers approved last year in response to the mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas. 

While it took six months to do so, the department initially told districts they could roll over unused funds from one year to the next in case they were reserving the money for a large security upgrade. Then the department reversed that guidance, sparking complaints to lawmakers. 

It took an opinion from Drummond, issued in August, to clear up the matter, but Walters’ lack of urgency in seeking clarity and miscommunication within the department were among the issues the oversight agency found “problematic.” 

“Agency departments were not communicating clearly with each other, which resulted in incorrect communications to school districts,” the report said.

Provenzano’s questioning also pointed to one area where there still seems to be a misunderstanding among Walters’ top aides. She asked whether payroll savings would be used to purchase Bibles for classrooms — something Isett, the department spokesman, told reporters. 

“We’ve never stated that,” Walters said.

She also asked whether communication with districts might improve if the department filled vacant positions. But that seems unlikely. 

“Our goal,” he responded, “is to shrink government.”

In fact, following the meeting, he issued another demand in keeping with what he has as his “aggressive, offensive agenda.” In , he insisted Vice President Kamala Harris turn over $475 million as reimbursement for educating immigrant students in Oklahoma, even though prohibits denying an education to non-citizens. 

Harris’ office did not respond to a request for comment.

The state’s Republican attorney general twice accused Superintendent Ryan Walters of ignoring laws on and , actions he called “deeply troubling.” Members of Walters’s own party said he’d fallen down on his responsibility to get funds to school districts on time. And a series of media reports pointed to his role in a botched release of state test data: While it appeared student performance had skyrocketed, in reality the state had dramatically lowered the bar for success. 

But if Walters was feeling the heat, it didn’t show.

On the morning of Aug. 22, a phalanx of supporters waited for a chance to congratulate him for his headline-grabbing push to put a Bible in every state classroom. One even brought him a gift — a paperback copy of .

“We raise you up in prayer all the time,” another told him. “I thank you for what you’ve done.” 

Taking his seat in the cramped state Board of Education chambers, the 39-year-old Walters picked up a coffee mug with a Latin phrase that evoked his days as a small-town history teacher: Si vis pacem, para bellum. “If you want peace, prepare for war.”

In his 21 months as state chief, Walters has taken the battle to an array of foes. He labeled the state teachers association a “,” blocked from press conferences and moved to the licenses of “” teachers. He’s acted as a one-man publicity machine, a performance that’s earned him venomous foes and ardent fans who follow him with a near-religious fervor.

But in his focus on the culture war, his tenure has eschewed many of the mundane, unglamorous tasks of a typical superintendent. By summer, it appeared that one casualty of this approach might be a functional state education bureaucracy. Some pointed to inattention from Walters and the exodus of at least two dozen for a series of damaging missteps, from having to return in grant money to the federal government to keeping districts in suspense about .

Walters, who did not respond to requests for an interview, is used to fielding . But increasingly, he’s under fire from fellow Republicans.

The most visible sign of GOP impatience is an investigation sparked by House Republicans into whether Walters misappropriated state and federal funds. 

“Regardless of party, citizens want transparency, accountability and communication,” said Rep. Tammy West, a Republican running for her third term. “It’s their tax dollars. This is not the government’s money. This is not an agency’s money.”

The legislative probe comes on top of an August that required “urgent attention” in over 30 different areas. And earlier this month, a found “pervasive mismanagement” in the handling of two pandemic relief programs for students, one of which Walters administered.

The grand jury report shows “he’s not competent or qualified to handle millions of dollars, let alone … $4 billion,” said GOP Rep. Mark McBride, referring to the size of the state education department’s annual budget. McBride, who oversees the department’s finances and is one of Walters’s more persistent critics, said he expects the upcoming legislative report, due Oct. 29, to show “further examples of the incompetence of the department of education under his leadership.”

Even some of those who have supported Walters are openly saying that the steady drumbeat of controversy is not only hurting schools, but Republican chances at the polls in November.

Kendal Sacchieri is a former high school Spanish teacher now running as a Republican for state Senate. Like West, she is anti-abortion and pro-parental rights. Such views would typically place her firmly in Walters’s camp. But she said she was “floored” by his recent budget request for $3 million to purchase Bibles for schools.

“If Ryan Walters is trying to get a point across that we need to be teaching more Christian values, then he needs to go about it a different way,” she said. “Ryan Walters is not doing Republicans any favors.”

‘Talent drain’ 

Critics say he’s been busy building a national brand, fueled by he used to hire a publicist responsible for elevating his profile in conservative media. He is a frequent guest on and right-wing , where he’s opined on hot-button national issues seemingly far afield from running ���������dz���’s schools, like the war in and illegal traveled at taxpayer expense to Phoenix for a retreat with the in March and in July attended the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee

If his primary aim is self-promotion, he’s been “highly successful,” said Deven Carlson, a political science professor at the University of Oklahoma. 

“Everywhere you look, you see him gaining media opportunities and speaking engagements that no other secretary of education in the country has ever gained,” Carlson said.

Walters has said he inherited a   from predecessor Joy Hofmeister when he took office almost two years ago. But as students headed back to school in August, signs that the state’s school machinery was sputtering were hard to miss.

Services for many students with disabilities were disrupted for about a month when teachers and therapists couldn’t access with special education plans. The state also $250,000 for emergency inhalers to combat asthma, a condition suffered by about 10% of Oklahoma students. The education department blamed a software update for the technical glitch, while confusion over how to write for inhalers held up that purchase for a year. 

When confronted, Walters frequently gets personal. That’s what happened in a spat over Title I funding, a perennial responsibility for state chiefs across the country. It’s a particular concern in Oklahoma, where 1 in 5 children live below the poverty line and districts rely on $225 million in federal funds for tutoring and afterschool programs. Districts typically get estimates in the , allowing them time to recruit and hire staff for the fall.

When late July came without a word, Rob Miller, superintendent of the Bixby, Oklahoma, schools, couldn’t suppress his frustration any longer. , he attributed the delay to Walters falling down on the job amid a “talent drain” under his leadership. More than — over a third of the staff — have left or been fired under his watch, according to local news reports.

At a press conference four days later, Walters called Miller “a clown and a liar” and pointed — without evidence —to “all kinds of financial problems” in his district. 

The name-calling didn’t phase Miller, a former Marine major who participated in the 1991 operation to recapture the Kuwait airport from Iraqi forces during Operation Desert Storm. But the accusation of mismanagement rankled: The district had just received a . 

“We’ve checked with his folks, and they don’t know what he’s talking about,” said Miller, who calls himself a Reagan Republican. “It was obviously a false claim, and he’s made no attempt to retract it.” In turning down a request for comment for this article, department spokesman Dan Isett cited Walters’s “very busy schedule.” 

Responding to the controversy, a local business “I Stand with Rob” T-shirts, and former military members in the state House in a statement that they couldn’t “stand by while a respected leader and veteran is insulted and demeaned for simply doing his job.” 

Miller, meanwhile, has filed a , seeking at least $75,000 from Walters. The state ed chief has called the suit “frivolous,” adding that he should be immune from such litigation because he was acting in his official capacity.

‘Left-wing apparatus’

In with Blaze News Tonight, a conservative talk show, Walters made no apologies for promoting his priorities over maintaining a bureaucracy has turned schools into “state-sponsored atheist centers.” He said state employees who were fired or quit were part of a “” that has tried to undermine his agenda. He even plans to use from their departure to help defray the multimillion-dollar costs of his Bible initiative. 

It’s talk that has some appeal in Oklahoma, where two-thirds of voters chose Donald Trump in 2020 and many sympathize with the former president’s rhetoric about the bureaucratic “deep state” and “swamp” in Washington. 

And there are some lawmakers who haven’t lost faith in Walters’s ability to turn around an education system that consistently ranks among the worst in the nation. Rep. Chad Caldwell, a Republican from Enid, north of Oklahoma City, said career educators and the local media have treated Walters unfairly, accusing him, for example, of allowing political ambition to interfere with his job when spent over a year of her second term on a failed bid for governor.

He pointed to Walters’s announcement earlier this year that schools across the state had made enough academic progress to be removed from a list of 191 low performers — news, he noted, that his own local paper didn’t even cover.

Walters first connected with Caldwell over text.

The lawmaker was sponsoring a bill to eliminate the statewide salary schedule for teachers and let districts set their own rates. The plan was highly unpopular with teacher groups, who argued they would lose automatic raises. But Walters, no fan of unions, reached out to show his support.

During pandemic lockdowns, Caldwell worried about his kids falling behind academically as they learned from home. His thoughts turned to Walters, previously a popular AP history teacher from the southeastern Oklahoma town of McAlester and a 2016 finalist for state Teacher of the Year. Caldwell convinced his twins, then in high school, to log in to one of the award-winning teacher’s virtual classes. 

“My son, after one class, said, ‘Mr. Walters is the type of teacher that makes you want to go to school,’ ” Caldwell said. “I’m not a teacher, but I would think that’s about the best compliment that you could ever hope for.” 

But even he said he is eager for the release of the House investigation to separate suspicions of wrongdoing from actual misconduct. 

“I would have concerns if … he was intentionally thwarting the will of the legislature,” he said.

Caldwell was not among the 20-some House Republicans who signed a letter in August calling for an impeachment investigation into Walters. House Speaker Charles McCall rejected that idea, saying he would not “overturn the will of the people.” But he OK’d the into department finances. 

To some, such conflicts are evidence that Walters is enmeshed in a “spiritual battle.”

“He’s doing the right thing, and sometimes the right thing gets you bad press,” said Jackson Lahmeyer, who leads Sheridan Church and founded . Lahmeyer, who calls pro-LGBTQ positions “demonic,” met Walters when he was running for superintendent in 2022. At a church service in June, he thanked Walters for his push to put Bibles in every public school classroom — a plan that’s now the subject of from parents, teachers and faith leaders.

“I know it feels like … the world is against you right now,” Lahmeyer told the superintendent as Walters’s three youngest children clung to his side. The pastor while the congregation stretched their hands toward the altar. 

In October, news emerged that suggested the narrative of Walters’s Bible push may not be completely inseparable from his political ambitions. that the only versions of the Bible that would fit Walters’s criteria were those endorsed by Trump and his son, potentially stifling competition from other vendors. The former president earns endorsement fees from the God Bless the USA Bible, which costs $59.99. He’s taken in $300,000 in sales, according to a recent .

A week after the article was published, the department to allow more companies to bid.

A department ‘in transition’ 

One member of the education department exodus under Walters was Matt Colwell, who served as director of school success until the superintendent fired him for exposing internal emails intended to clamp down on staff members talking to the media. He’s and a top aide for wrongful termination. 

To Colwell, episodes like the Title I blowup fit a familiar pattern. “His strength is threatening; his weakness is administration,” he said of Walters. “There were tons of comments like, ‘I’ve directed my staff to do A,B,C and D on curriculum.’ And then I’d talk to the curriculum people, and they’re like, ‘We haven’t heard a thing.’ ” 

Staff turnover, he said, likely explains the sheer volume of findings in the recent federal audit. By the end of summer 2023, almost no one who had been overseeing federal grants was left. Staff that remained “didn’t know who to ask” when federal officials posed questions, Colwell said. “Each department would know their little slice of how that money was being spent, but nobody had the big picture.” 

The departed include those who once celebrated Walters’s ascent. , a veteran educator and conservative Christian, said she appreciated his focus on “the basics” and believed ���������dz���’s standing in national education rankings would improve under his watch. She was eager to join his administration and took a position in charge of monitoring grants in 2023. 

But she quickly grew disillusioned. He wouldn’t meet with her, Smith-Gordon said, and she was locked out of computer programs she needed to do her job. She recalled waiting weeks, sometimes in vain, for his signature on grant applications. Smith-Gordon said her only glimpse of him before quitting four months later was when she looked out the window one morning and saw him walking to his car. 

In a statement following her resignation, she described Walters as a “dictator” who publicly scolds and humiliates districts and said he spent more time “with cameras instead of in the halls of a struggling [department] in transition.”

‘Wear us down’

One of Walters’s frequent targets has been the LGBTQ community. A principal in the Western Heights district, for example, after an anonymous letter revealed that he performed in drag on the weekends. Walters called repeatedly for his removal. drove in from across the state and stood outside school board meetings and the principal’s school with signs that read “Got AIDS yet?” and “Homo sex is sin.” 

“It was terrifying for the kids,” said Nicole McAfee, executive director of Freedom Oklahoma, an LGBTQ advocacy group. “I think that teachers see that and worry that anything that might be perceived as supportive of queer kids could make them the next target.”

Some of his forays have run afoul of the courts. In June, the state  accused him of operating with “unauthorized quasi-judicial authority” when he and his like-minded state board against library materials with sexual content. He had tried to force the to remove by Khaled Hosseini and by Jeannette Walls from high school libraries. Some members of the community found the books too sexually explicit, but state law leaves those decisions up to districts. 

Walters responded to the ruling with a familiar counterpunch, “the face of pornography in schools.” 

Such rhetoric has contributed to an environment of “fear” and “exhaustion,” said Leslie Briggs, legal director at the Oklahoma Appleseed Center for Law and Justice. She represents a transgender student over his preventing districts from changing a student’s sex or gender in student records without the state board’s OK. 

Until recently, most district leaders were cautious about publicly criticizing Walters, and in Facebook groups, teachers warn each other to keep their social media accounts private. 

“Obviously,” Briggs said, “it’s to his benefit if he can wear us down or wear the community down.” 

‘A tough position’ 

No one has felt Walters’s wrath more than the Tulsa Public Schools, the state’s largest district, with 33,500 students. He demanded that Tulsa “stop emphasizing woke policies” like . And he pushed for former Superintendent Deborah Gist , which she ultimately did in an effort to preserve the district’s accreditation and avert a .

For a year, he required Tulsa’s new leaders to drive the hour and a half to Oklahoma City to give monthly updates on their progress in academics, teacher training and financial management. So when he visited Tulsa’s Will Rogers High School in April, with only a couple days’ notice, and asked to teach a lesson, district leaders were apprehensive. 

“It’s a tough position,” said Stacey Woolley, Tulsa’s school board president. “But we live in a place where making him angry certainly feels as though our students will potentially suffer.”

She watched him walk into an AP World History class that day and comfortably slip into his former role as teacher. In under 11 minutes, Walters packed in an analysis of political cartoons and seamlessly wove together perspectives on imperialism from Rudyard Kipling, Theodore Roosevelt and Thomas Jefferson. Surrounded by students sitting three or four to a table, he urged them to play the game Risk to better understand world domination and explained why America’s founders took a different path. 

Every other country was “trying to be big and powerful and take over other countries,” he said, according to a recording of the lecture provided to The 74. “But America had this Declaration of Independence, so we’re going to protect people’s rights.”

It was a strange moment. Being in Walters’s , Woolley said, has been stressful for staff and families. But she couldn’t deny his expertise.

“He is a teacher, a very good one,” she said. “I sat there in a state of cognitive dissonance.”

That day, Walters showed a side of himself that few have seen since he entered politics. It was the same enthusiasm for teaching that first impressed Rep. McBride when he met him six years ago. A home builder, McBride was new to education policy in 2018 when House Speaker McCall appointed him to chair the appropriations subcommittee on education. He wanted to better understand teachers’ concerns, so he reached out to Walters after catching him on the radio.

“Walters was such a breath of fresh air,” the lawmaker from Moore, south of Oklahoma City, told The 74. “He was just happy to be a teacher.”

Now, they regularly spar in the media, with Walters counting McBride among the “liberal Republicans” who “ in your kids’ schools” and McBride saying it’s his responsibility to search for “.” Those nightly soundbites, however, don’t reflect their complicated relationship. 

“We don’t hate one another,” said McBride, who will in November after serving the maximum six terms. During an exchange earlier this summer, he said Walters asked when they were getting together for biscuits and gravy. He agrees with some of the superintendent’s positions, like having fewer strings tied to federal funds. But as a “practical” Republican charged with monitoring the department’s fiscal affairs, he said he’s grown weary of Walters’s “political theater.”

“You can’t have that kind of ego and not eventually get caught up in your own self-worth,” he said. “You know it says in the Bible, ‘Pride comes before the fall.’ ”

OKLAHOMA CITY — A group of Oklahoma parents, students, teachers and faith leaders have asked the state Supreme Court to block a and keep a copy of it in classrooms.

Thirty-two plaintiffs filed on Thursday, contending the mandate violates the Oklahoma Constitution’s ban of state-established religion. They asked the justices to deem the requirements unenforceable and stop the use of taxpayer funds to buy Bibles.

The Oklahoma State Department of Education is to place in public school classrooms. State Superintendent Ryan Walters ordered public schools to incorporate more instruction on the Bible, particularly in fifth through 12th grade history courses.

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Walters has said his aim is for schools to teach the historical and literary importance of the Bible, not to proselytize.

“It is not possible for our students to understand American history and culture without understanding the Biblical principles from which they came, so I am proud to bring back the Bible to every classroom in Oklahoma,” Walters said in a statement Thursday.

The plaintiffs and their attorneys contend Walters is wrongfully prioritizing his own Christian faith over other beliefs.

Several school districts have said they have no plans to add more instruction on the Bible other than what the Oklahoma Academic Standards already require. The state standards don’t mention the Bible by name, but they mandate districts to teach about major world religions and the role of religion in the founding of American colonies.

Walters, the Oklahoma State Board of Education and officials from the Office of Management and Enterprise Services, which oversees procurement for the state government, are listed as defendants in the lawsuit.

All 32 plaintiffs are Oklahoma residents of various faiths or no religion. They each objected to the state using their tax dollars to purchase Bibles.

They contend the Education Department failed to follow state requirements for purchasing and rulemaking when implementing the Bible order. Neither the agency nor the state Legislature have changed the state academic standards to justify it, the plaintiffs said.

Most said they have children attending public schools and feared school-based Bible instruction would interfere with the religious or moral teachings they apply at home.

One family reported their child had to take a quiz at a public school about God and Biblical lessons, which they said made the non-religious student “feel marginalized and unwelcome at school.”

The Rev. Mitch Randall, a Baptist pastor from Cleveland County, urged the Supreme Court to strike down the Bible mandate and uphold the separation of church and state — a legal concept Walters has called a myth.

“As a Christian, I’m appalled by the use of the Bible — a sacred text — for Superintendent Walters’ political grandstanding,” Randall said in a statement.

Oklahoma City pastor the Rev. Lori Walke also is a plaintiff. Walke, of Mayflower Congregational United Church of Christ, said the state violates religious freedoms when requiring schools to teach one particular religious text.

“The government has no business weighing in on such theological decisions,” Walke said in a statement.

Attorneys from Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the American Civil Liberties Union, the Freedom from Religion Foundation and Oklahoma Appleseed Center for Law and Justice are representing the plaintiffs.

Walke and most of the legal organizations involved in the case have sued the state of Oklahoma before on religious liberty grounds. They filed a lawsuit last year hoping to block the opening of the nation’s first Catholic charter school in Oklahoma.

The after Attorney General Gentner Drummond argued against the concept of a publicly funded religious school.

ACLU of Oklahoma executive director Tamya Cox-Touré said church-state separation is a “bedrock” of the nation’s founding principles.

“All families and students should feel welcome in our public schools and we must protect the individual right of students and families to choose their own faith or no faith at all,” Cox-Touré said in an announcement of Thursday’s court challenge.

Walters referred to the legal organizations involved in the case as “out-of-state, radical leftists who hate the principles our nation was founded upon.”

“I will never back down to the woke mob, no matter what tactic they use to try to intimidate Oklahomans,” he said.

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Oklahoma Voice maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Janelle Stecklein for questions: info@oklahomavoice.com. Follow Oklahoma Voice on and .

OKLAHOMA CITY — A Multi-County Grand Jury investigation determined Gov. Kevin Stitt’s administration and state Superintendent Ryan Walters carried out “grossly negligent handling” of federal pandemic aid funds, but grand jurors found insufficient evidence for criminal indictments.

At the request of Attorney General Gentner Drummond, the grand jury reviewed evidence and heard witness testimony over the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund. The GEER Fund was a $39.9 million aid package from the federal government that Stitt could apply to education-focused programs of his choosing during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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The grand jury Tuesday, finding the Stitt administration had an “irresponsible, disappointing and indefensible” lack of internal controls over some GEER programs, including one Walters designed.

However, the grand jury said the evidence was insufficient to prove any willful corruption or criminal act.

Spokespeople for Stitt and Walters blamed the failures on a vendor hired to help administer one of the GEER programs, though the grand jury found the state was at fault.

The Governor’s Office also accused the attorney general of weaponizing the grand jury.

“Ultimately, this was an inappropriate and unlawful use of a grand jury, all to pursue a headline in the attorney general’s campaign for governor,” said Abegail Cave, communications director for Stitt.

The report reflects many of the complaints raised in state and federal audits of the GEER Fund. The federal government already in questioned costs.

The Oklahoma State Auditor and Inspector’s Office that the state’s poor oversight of GEER initiatives led to the misspending of $1.7 million. State auditors questioned another $6.5 million spent on private school tuition assistance.

Grand jurors said the misspending could have been avoided had the Stitt administration chosen the Oklahoma State Department of Education to administer all of the GEER programs.

Instead, the Governor’s Office relied on two unvetted and unqualified private citizens, including Walters, rather than a state agency with extensive experience in federal grant management, according to the report.

“The evidence shows state officials, though perhaps well-intentioned, disregarded available administrative safeguards in favor of advancing a political and philosophical agenda,” the grand jury stated.

The grand jury recommended the state implement mandatory grant management training for all state agencies with federal funding of at least $10 million and require those agencies to establish written policies for grant management.

It also encouraged the Oklahoma Legislature to enact new laws limiting the delegation of authority over federal funds to private individuals.

State leaders must use available resources and experience “regardless of political and philosophical differences,” grand jurors said.

The Education Department, which state Superintendent Joy Hofmeister led at the time, received $8 million from the GEER Fund and spent all of it appropriately, auditors and grand jurors found.

But prior policy differences between Stitt and the Education Department led the Governor’s Office to rely instead on two school choice non-profit leaders to run key GEER programs funded with millions of federal dollars.

The Governor’s Office did so despite the governor’s then-secretary of state and education, Michael Rogers, advising Stitt to have the Education Department handle all of the GEER programs, according to the grand jury report.

The two chosen school choice advocates were Walters, who at the time was the director of Every Kid Counts Oklahoma (EKCO), and Jennifer Carter, of the American Federation for Children-Oklahoma.

“Evidence was presented that this selection was attributable, in part, to representations made by the EKCO Director (Walters) that EKCO had the staffing and expertise necessary to administer a federal grant program,” the report states. “However, at that time, the EKCO Director was the sole employee of EKCO and had no federal grant experience. Basic due diligence by the State would have uncovered this glaring lack of qualifications.”

The Governor’s Office wanted to use GEER funds to launch a pilot program for private school vouchers, an idea that became the Stay in School Fund, according to the report. Grand jurors found the Stitt administration made an unfounded assumption that the Education Department wouldn’t agree to manage private-school-focused programs.

The administration tapped Carter to run the Stay in School program, which was meant to give $10 million in private school tuition assistance to families experiencing financial hardship because of the pandemic.

However, state auditors found individuals from five private schools received preferential treatment when they were allowed to apply early and received funds in excess of students’ tuition obligations.

More than 1,000 students, accounting for over half of the program’s funds, received Stay in School support despite their families attesting they suffered no financial hardship from the pandemic, according to the state audit. Meanwhile, more than 650 qualifying students from low-income families were rejected because funds ran out.

Evidence presented to the grand jury showed Carter had a spreadsheet with applicants’ personally identifiable information, which the panel said it found concerning.

Even “more disturbing,” grand jurors said, was that the spreadsheet contained information that families didn’t put on their applications, like their political party registration and voting district.

“This indicates that, unbeknownst to families, their information was being collected and processed for purposes other than that for which it was disclosed,” the report states.

Carter did not immediately return a request for comment.

Walters developed and led an $8 million program, called Bridge the Gap Digital Wallet, that offered $1,500 grants for families to spend on education-related costs while their children learned from home, according to the report.

The grand jury, along with federal and state auditors, determined the Bridge the Gap program was rife with misspending because Walters chose not to apply available guardrails on purchases and did not ensure anyone checked the items families bought.

As a result, grant recipients spent $1.7 million on gaming consoles, Christmas trees, doorbell cameras and other non-educational expenses.

Walters has since tried to distance himself from the program and blamed a company managing the program’s online platform for not stopping the improper purchases.

“Superintendent Walters has prioritized carefully and efficiently using taxpayer funds,” Walters’ spokesperson, Dan Isett, said. “Unfortunately in this case, the vendor involved did not adhere to the same standards.”

The grand jury disagreed that any vendors were responsible. The report instead attributed “ill-advised” decisions to Walters and Carter but found the state bears the ultimate responsibility for misuse of funds.

“This mismanagement prevented the most vulnerable Oklahomans from getting help they desperately needed during a global pandemic,” the grand jury stated. “Citizens deserve more from their government.”

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Oklahoma Voice maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Janelle Stecklein for questions: info@oklahomavoice.com. Follow Oklahoma Voice on and .

OKLAHOMA CITY — The Oklahoma State Department of Education’s request for bids from Bible suppliers, which many speculated would result in the purchase of Bibles affiliated with former president Donald Trump, has been changed at the urging of another state agency.

The Education Department’s original request for 55,000 King James Version Bibles to place in Oklahoma classrooms would have accepted only products bound in leather or a leather-like material that also contain the Pledge of Allegiance, the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights and the U.S. Constitution. 

The agency announced Tuesday it amended its request for proposal, called an RFP, to allow the extra documents to be bound separately from the Bible when provided to schools. The new RFP also adds “price” to the evaluation criteria.

The Office of Management and Enterprise Services, which oversees RFPs and state contracts, requested the changes. The Education Department and its head, state Superintendent Ryan Walters, said they are “pleased to make” the amendments. OMES did not return a request for comment.

Reporting by found few Bibles would have met the original RFP requirements, but two products matched the criteria — both of which are Bibles endorsed by the Trump family.

Trump has earned a name, image and likeness fee for his endorsement of Lee Greenwood’s $60 God Bless the USA Bible. A similar $90 product, called the We the People Bible, has been endorsed by Donald Trump Jr.

Walters has endorsed the former president for reelection. 

He ordered all public school districts in Oklahoma to keep a copy of the Bible in classrooms as a historical reference and to incorporate the Christian text into their lesson plans, especially for history courses.

Walters said the bid process wasn’t targeted at any particular vendor. Doing so would be illegal.

“There are numerous Bible vendors in this country that have the capacity to fulfill this request,” he said in a statement Tuesday. “The purpose of the RFP process is to find a vendor that can provide the product we need, of reasonable quality, at the best value. There are numerous state employees engaged and committed to a process to determine who that best vendor will be, and I have no involvement in that process, as it should be.”

Vendors have until Oct. 21 to submit bids under the amended RFP. The winning bidder will be awarded a one-year contract to ship 55,000 copies of the Bible to Oklahoma schools two weeks after receiving the contract.

Walters said his agency set aside $3 million to pay for the Bibles and from the state Legislature next year. A spokesperson for Walters said the agency is using money saved from administrative and personnel costs. Rep. Mark McBride greets state Superintendent Ryan Walters before a House education budget hearing Jan. 10 at the state Capitol. (Photo by Nuria Martinez-Keel/Oklahoma Voice)

Rep. Mark McBride, R-Moore, about whether the Education Department can move funds from one budget category to another without legislative approval. McBride, who leads a House committee on education funding, also asked whether this expense would require approval from OMES and the governor’s secretary of education.

The amended RFP requests the extra founding documents to be bound in durable material when provided separately from the Bible. The Bible is not allowed to contain study guides nor additional commentary, according to the RFP documents.

“My number one goal is to ensure that our classrooms have copies of the Bible so that it can be utilized as an appropriate tool to properly and accurately teach Oklahoma students of its important influence in the history of our country and its secular value. Period,” Walters said.

However, several district leaders have said they have no plans to incorporate the Bible into their school curricula beyond what is required in Oklahoma Academic Standards.

The academic standards already mandate that schools teach about world religions and the role of religion in the establishment of American colonial governments. Oklahoma law allows districts to decide how they teach state standards.

A school-focused law firm in Oklahoma City, The Center for Education Law, predicted Walters’ Bible mandate is “likely” to end up in court. A coalition of civil rights organizations, including church-state separation advocates and the American Civil Liberties Union of Oklahoma, has requested public records explaining the $3 million budget and the Bible mandate.

“Diverting millions of taxpayer dollars to purchase Bibles is nothing more than a blatant attempt to divide Oklahomans along religious lines and undermine the public-school system,” said Dan Mach, director of the ACLU’s Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief.

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Oklahoma Voice maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Janelle Stecklein for questions: info@oklahomavoice.com. Follow Oklahoma Voice on and .

While it looked like the number of students scoring at the lowest level dropped by over 12%, the reality was more complicated. 

“Comparing 2023 to 2024 is challenging,” David Johns, an associate superintendent, . In conjunction with the unveiling of new standards last year, the state for proficiency and performance levels. Below basic became “developing” and basic, “approaching.” 

“It’s not exactly apples to oranges, but it’s like apples to apple juice,” he said.

Wisconsin isn’t the only state that recently instituted changes that effectively boost proficiency rates. Oklahoma and recently made similar adjustments. lowered passing or “cut” scores in reading and math last year, while and are considering such revisions.

Changing standards and proficiency targets is a routine process for states that some say offers a reflection of what students know. But given the cataclysmic effects of COVID on student learning, experts say now is not the time to tweak how we measure performance. 

“Many parents are already underestimating the degree to which their children are ,” said Tom Kane, a Harvard researcher who has been tracking students’ recovery from COVID learning loss. “Lowering the proficiency cuts now will mislead them further.”  

Even Jill Underly, Wisconsins’s education chief, confessed to some bewilderment about the process last year.

“The crummy thing is, I am an educator and I don’t understand it — so how are parents supposed to understand this too?” she wrote in a June 2023 email. “For example, what does Proficient mean vs. Advanced? That they are at grade level vs. the next grade level? I just hate this stuff so much.”

The conservative Institute for Reforming Government, which obtained the email through a public records request and shared it with The 74, is pushing the state to level with parents about poor student performance in the aftermath of COVID. 

Shifting the goal posts “sends a message that we are accepting post-pandemic levels for student performance and shows a lack of belief in every student,” said Quinton Klabon, the think tank’s senior research director.

Chris Bucher, a spokesman for the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, said Underly’s comments show she was “doing her job” by asking the department’s experts tough questions in an effort to make the complex calculations more transparent. To help explain the changes, the department released a of how it altered standards and cut scores. 

‘An outlier’

The scoring changes in Wisconsin and other states are likely to fuel fresh criticism of the “honesty gap” — the chasm between the disparate, conflicting measures states use to determine student progress and the , uniform standard for proficiency set by the National Assessment of Educational Progress. 

Known as the Nation’s Report Card, NAEP defines proficiency as “solid academic performance” and “competency over challenging subject matter.” It’s a higher bar than merely being on grade level and one that has long triggered debate. Education researcher Tom Loveless, formerly with the Brookings Institution, calls it “,” and one of international tests showed that many students in high-performing countries couldn’t reach it.

But it’s a goal many states were striving toward just prior to the pandemic, when several commentators first about the “honesty gap,” and one some experts think states shouldn’t abandon. 

“It is the only common yardstick that is available to compare student achievement across states and across the large urban districts,” said Lesley Muldoon, executive director of the National Assessment Governing Board, which sets policy for NAEP. “From the board’s perspective, standards are not going to be lower for [kids] when they enter college or the world of work.”

Frustrated with test standards in New York, Ashara Baker, a Rochester mother and state director of the National Parents Union, created her on student outcomes. While she included state data, broken down by race, she also cited NAEP proficiency rates as a comparison.

“When you’re lowering these cut scores, clearly the goal is to show some sort of growth,” she said. “But I think we’re getting away from the actual goal of why we do assessments. They should really demonstrate where kids are struggling or where there is a gap.” 

Christy Hovanetz, a senior policy fellow at ExcelinEd, a think tank, added that unlike grades on assignments and homework, state assessments should provide parents “objective” information on how their children are doing. Schools also use them to determine which students are eligible for extra help. Lowering the bar, she said, means some students who need aid might not get it.  

“These assessments are how we help identify students for extra support and assistance,” she said. “Now there will be a lot of kids that aren’t going to be getting those high-dosage tutoring sessions or who aren’t going to be getting that additional support in math that they might need.”

As with most states, New York’s threshold for proficiency lines up with NAEP’s basic level, defined as “partial mastery” of fundamental knowledge and skills, according to a from the National Center for Education Statistics. The report showed that at the time, Wisconsin had some of the toughest standards for reading and math in the country, which meant that a higher percentage of students fell short compared with other states.

That made Wisconsin “an outlier” Bucher said. 

“Our previous test scores made it appear kids were performing worse on standardized assessments than they actually were,” he said. “We listened to a group of experts — educators who are in the classroom each day teaching kids — who recommended we use cuts that align to our standards and take us closer to grade-level expectations.”

Next month, NCES is expected to update its 2021 report with a new comparison of states’ proficiency cut scores and NAEP, one that is likely to renew criticism of the way states measure student performance. 

“States that have been more ambitious are now sticking out like sore thumbs,” Klabon said. “It’s kind of a race to the bare minimum, rather than a race to the top.”

‘A sense of urgency’

One state that is choosing to stick out is Virginia. Rather than calling it unrealistic, the state, under Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin, is hoping to reach the ambitious NAEP standard.

The governor to the honesty gap in 2022, announcing sweeping changes to the state’s testing regimen that include stricter standards, assessments and cut scores. A new , which takes effect in 2025-26, is expected to label a majority of schools off track or in need of “intensive support.” 

“We are not telling parents, students, teachers, policymakers and citizens the truth about where our children really are on mastering content,” state education Secretary Aimee Guidera told The 74. “Why isn’t there a sense of urgency?”

The 2021 NCES report showed that Virginia had the lowest standards for proficiency in reading. Virginia education officials pin its poor showing on decisions made by previous Democratic governors. In 2014, under former Gov. Terry McAuliffe, the state passed a law requiring students to . And under former Gov. Ralph Northam, the State Board of Education in reading and math.

accuse the Youngkin administration of fueling a negative perception of schools in order to  private school choice, including education savings accounts, which in the state legislature last year. 

Virginia saw the largest decline in the nation in fourth grade reading on the 2022 NAEP test, dropping from an average score of 224 to 214. But 32% of students were proficient — same as the national average. On several other , including the SAT and exam, Virginia students have historically ranked near the top.

Advancing school choice was a “mandate for Youngkin and he has pursued it with dogged determination,” said Cheryl Binkley, president of 4PublicEducation, a Virginia advocacy group. He has appointed school choice advocates to the state board, she said, and pledged to increase the number of .

But Guidera points to increases in and over $400 million the state provided to as evidence that leaders aren’t trying to “tear down” public schools.

Under a different Republican administration in Oklahoma, the opposite scenario is playing out. As The 74 reported last month, the state education department, led by Superintendent Ryan Walters, made its state tests less challenging, especially in reading. In third grade, for example, 51% of students scored proficient or better, compared to 29% last year. 

Richard Cobb, superintendent of the Mid-Del district, near Oklahoma City, said district leaders know student performance has improved, but the department’s changes had the effect of artificially inflating the magnitude of the gains.

The move represented a break from work led by Walters’s predecessor, Joy Hofmeister, to align the state with NAEP’s stronger proficiency targets. In 2017, over 70% of students on average were performing at the proficient level through elementary and middle school on state tests, but only a quarter went on to earn a competitive score on the ACT test in 11th grade.

“The whole idea was trying to get an honest indicator of student readiness as early as third grade when kids start testing,” said Maria D’Brot, a former deputy superintendent in Oklahoma who traveled across the state with Hofmeister to explain the honesty gap to local superintendents. 

Their message wasn’t well received.

“Joy’s adjustment to the cut scores was wildly unpopular and demoralizing,” said Cobb, who has led the district since 2015. “NAEP should not be our target, and many superintendents told her that.”

But in the summer of 2017, 121 educators met at the Cox Convention Center in Oklahoma City to determine tougher cut points for each performance level. Just as the public, plummeted. The in third grade reading, for example, dropped from 72% to 39%.

Hofmeister, who was reelected in 2018, remains proud of that work, which she said would make students better prepared for college and a competitive job market.

“I remember feeling like this is worth it if it means I’m a one termer,” she said. 

Oklahoma school districts got some shocking, but welcome news this month when the state released results of student tests from last school year. 

Student performance, especially in English language arts, appeared to have skyrocketed. A highlight: An impressive 51% of third graders scored proficient or better, compared to 29% last year. The reported jump came a full eight years before the majority of Oklahoma students are expected to reach proficiency under the to meet federal accountability laws.

But elation quickly turned to disbelief as local officials took a closer look at the data. 

“Nobody makes jumps of that size,” said an assessment director from a school system near Oklahoma City. The official asked not to be named because she does not want to “put a target” on her district.

To put the outsized gains in perspective, The 74 asked Andrew Ho, a leading testing expert at Harvard University, to review the results.

Math progress in Oklahoma, where student performance has long trailed , was two to 10 times that of , depending on grade level, he said. In reading, gains were 10 to 20 times greater.

“If this is true, … the average fourth grader will be reading and writing like last year’s average sixth grader,” said Ho, a former member of the National Assessment Governing Board, which sets policy for the federal test widely known as “the nation’s report card.”

As Ho surmised, ���������dz���’s purported gains are largely illusory.

Interviews with those familiar with the state’s testing process, as well as emails and other documents shared with The 74, reveal that the scores don’t reflect true growth, but a decision by the state, under the auspices of Superintendent Ryan Walters, to lower the bar for proficiency.

“Last year, you needed to know more to get proficient,” said a source familiar with the work of a Technical Advisory Committee the state convened this summer to examine proficiency targets. But the source, who asked not to be named because of ongoing work with the state, said “this year, using the same items, you didn’t need to know as much and you’re still considered proficient.”

It is not uncommon for states to massage results of large-scale assessments, particularly after they institute new standards. This past spring was the first time Oklahoma students took tests reflecting a 2021 update to language arts standards and 2022 math overhaul. But states often accompany such complex shifts with attempts to communicate, first to districts, and then to parents, how they were made and what they mean. 

“Historically, I understand that [the department] has handled these types of changes with media events where the department has invited news organizations to help support the communication of changes to the system,” a member of the Technical Advisory Committee wrote in May to Catherine Boomer, the department’s assessment director, according to an email shared with The 74. 

Boomer referred questions to the department. As of Wednesday evening, a spokesman for the department had not responded to calls or emails from The 74.

In a press conference following Thursday’s monthly state Board of Education meeting, Walters  the results had been released, despite the fact that the state posted scores on its website Aug. 1. He called media reports “gaslighting” and “fan fiction.” He said his office had yet to make a “big announcement” about the new scores because staff was still working with districts to “make sure the context is there.”

But districts say the state has offered no communication about how to interpret the results. A statement from the Tulsa Public Schools, the state’s largest school district, said the department has not yet issued guidance on how to compare the data to previous years, a “technical guide” on the scoring changes or any indication of how the results will affect low-performing schools.

An email dated Aug. 14 showed the department was moving in that direction. Julie DiBona, the vice president of program management at Cognia, the state’s testing vendor, told the technical panel that education department officials were asking for a meeting to discuss scores. On the agenda: “How to lead public discourse around comparing the results of the new tests with the old tests. “

A spokesman at Cognia declined to comment. 

But that meeting hasn’t happened. In fact, Walters recently praised early results in Tulsa but made no mention of the internal machinations over scoring. The district demonstrated a remarkable 16 percentage point increase in students scoring proficient or advanced in grades 3 through 5.

“The numbers are tremendous,” Walters said at a state Board of Education last month. 

The disconnect has left many local officials at a loss.

“I am not alone in believing that the gains demonstrated on [the state test] would be nearly, if not completely, statistically impossible” in a normal year, Stacey Woolley, the Tulsa district’s board president, told The 74.

In the Moore Public Schools, for example, almost two-thirds of third graders scored proficient or advanced in reading, compared to 38% last year. In Stillwater, about an hour north, the percentage of fourth graders in those top tiers jumped 21 points. 

Some put the blame for the communication breakdown on Walters, who has spent the summer mired in messy political brawls and controversial academic initiatives. In June, Walters drew national scrutiny by requiring all public schools to teach the Bible. , citing a lack of transparency and failure to distribute funds to districts, at least two dozen Republicans said they’d be seeking an impeachment investigation against him. And on Tuesday, a by the U.S. Department of Education said his department needs to improve financial management, and called it out of compliance in areas such as testing and handling Title I funds. Walters the previous administration for some of the concerns. 

“There are red flags all over the place,” said Erika Wright, leader of the Oklahoma Rural Schools Coalition, who called the lack of communication from the state part of the superintendent’s “dismal track record on honesty and transparency.”

‘Moving the goalpost’

Parents rely on testing data to understand what their children are learning, and the resulting proficiency rates help establish school grades in the state accountability system. Officials use those figures to determine which students and schools get extra academic support. 

That’s one reason why calibrations like the one in Oklahoma are common.

In May, Clare Halloran, a researcher at Brown University, confirmed the updates to the state’s standards with Alyssa Tyra, who oversees English language arts at the Oklahoma education department. Halloran works on tracking state assessment data. 

“They confirmed that 2024 is a new baseline and not comparable to prior years,” Halloran said. When states change standards, “a lot of times you’ll either see a big drop or a larger increase than normal. It’s essentially because they’re moving the goalpost a little.” 

Teachers analyzed test items and recommended how much content students needed to learn to place in each of the four performance ranges, from below basic to advanced. On a 200-400 scale, 300 is the cut point for proficiency. Emails show the advisory committee was uneasy about leaving the scale as is, but the state decided not only to keep 300 as the proficiency cut off but that students didn’t need to get as many correct items to reach that level.

The official with the Oklahoma City-area district said the data has left her wondering how much progress students actually made.

“It would have been nice to celebrate that we made gains, instead of just feeling that this is not accurate,” she said. “It’s not representative of the hard work we’ve been doing.”

���������dz���’s top education official has dared the state House to begin impeachment proceedings against him.

Standing outside the House chamber at the Capitol, state Superintendent Ryan Walters said recent calls for an investigation into his leadership at the Oklahoma State Department of Education are mere political attacks by lawmakers eying higher office.

He urged House lawmakers to begin the impeachment process Monday morning by presenting any evidence against him to the state Senate. He said doing so would give Oklahomans clarity and put an end to lies about him.

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“We do not need to wait on an investigation,” Walters said after abruptly calling a news conference Friday afternoon. “It is time to start the proceedings immediately.”

House Speaker Charles McCall, R-Atoka, rejected the idea of impeaching an elected official.

“I will not overturn the will of the people, regardless of any demands made,” McCall said in a statement Friday.

Walters’ fellow Republicans in the Legislature have been openly critical of the state superintendent in recent weeks, complaining that the Education Department is withholding funds for school security, asthma inhalers and teacher maternity leave.

They also objected to a lack of responsiveness by the Walters administration to their requests for information and to his staff blocking lawmakers from entering private meetings of the state Board of Education, despite legislators having legal authority to attend.

Walters denied any lack of transparency. He said lawmakers have publicized baseless lies about him.

He specifically called out Rep. Mark McBride, R-Moore, who asking for an investigation into whether Walters committed impeachable offenses.

Walters accused McCall and McBride of trying to impeach him for political gain, despite

Walters claimed the speaker plans to run for governor in 2026 and said McCall aimed an attack on “his biggest political opponent” in that election.

“The speaker wants to impeach me for political advantage in the 2026 governor’s race,” Walters said. “So then, let’s start the impeachment proceedings.”

McCall has not announced a gubernatorial run. Walters said he personally couldn’t care less about future elections.

McBride did not immediately comment Friday afternoon.

McCall said Thursday he agreed to allow a state watchdog agency, the Legislative Office of Fiscal Transparency, at the state Education Department.

LOFT is the “ideal entity” to examine state agency spending rather than the Legislature calling a special session to look into financial disputes, McCall said. The agency reports to the state Legislature with budget recommendations.

“While Superintendent Walters may desire a path toward his own impeachment, my focus is firmly on the LOFT investigation into the Oklahoma State Department of Education,” McCall said. “This investigation is about ensuring taxpayer dollars are properly allocated, not targeting individuals. It is essential we understand why school districts are not receiving their required funding. My advice to Superintendent Walters is to prioritize getting resources to Oklahoma schools and improving our state’s education rankings, rather than engaging in political theatrics.”

The state Senate wasn’t involved in initiating the LOFT investigation, but it won’t stand in the way of it, the chamber’s leader President Pro Tem Greg Treat said Friday.

“While senators will need to recuse themselves from the investigation to avoid a potential conflict of interest if we have to act on the findings, I fully respect Speaker McCall’s desire to move forward with an inquiry and I will not be an impediment,” said Treat, R-Oklahoma City. “It is my hope the House moves forward expeditiously. The Senate will stand ready to respond to any of the findings.”

House Democrats have urged the Republican supermajority five times to convene a committee investigation into Walters. On Friday, they again demanded answers to fiscal and operational concerns with the state Education Department.

House Minority Leader Cyndi Munson, D-Oklahoma City, said “we need an investigative committee charged with holding (Walters) accountable to his willful neglect to do his job as state superintendent.”

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Oklahoma Voice maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Janelle Stecklein for questions: info@oklahomavoice.com. Follow Oklahoma Voice on and .

OKLAHOMA CITY — Several House Republicans have signed a letter asking for an investigation into “alarming” actions from state Superintendent Ryan Walters and the Oklahoma State Board of Education and asked for an inquiry into whether the “failures” justify impeachment.

Rep. Mark McBride, R-Moore, wrote the letter and sent it to House Speaker Charles McCall on Tuesday, along with 16 co-signing lawmakers. McBride’s office said four more lawmakers have signed the letter since he submitted it to the speaker.

The letter, which Oklahoma Voice obtained, marks the first time that public calls for an impeachment inquiry have come from within Walters’ own Republican Party. House Democrats have made similar requests since last year.

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Walters said the lawmakers who signed the letter are “liberal Republicans” who have “joined the far-left Democrats to try to thwart the will of Oklahoma voters.”

“Their calls are baseless and have no merit,” Walters said in a statement. “They reek of political desperation from those who are failing in their misguided attempts to stop the positive education reforms that parents and voters have demanded from their elected leaders.”

McCall said he would not consider the letter’s request until 51 or more Republicans sign it, according to a response he sent to his caucus.

He said criminal investigations should be handled by the Attorney General’s Office, not the Legislature, and the financial concerns listed in the letter could be answered in public budgetary meetings with officials from the Oklahoma State Department of Education.

“I take elections very seriously, and anyone who was duly elected by the people of this state should not be removed from that office, given to them by the people unless absolutely required by the Constitution,” McCall said.

He his chamber wouldn’t initiate impeachment proceedings against Walters unless “somebody puts forth an allegation of something criminal (in) nature.”

Many of the co-signers, like McBride, sit on education-related committees, including the Common Education Committee leader Rep. Rhonda Baker, R-Yukon, and the committee’s vice chair, Rep. Mark Vancuren, R-Owasso.

McBride, who has long been an outspoken critic of Walters, listed six concerns that arose since the 2024 Legislative Session ended on May 30.

First on the list is the state Board of Education’s . State law grants permission to legislators who sit on related committees to attend a board’s closed-door executive sessions, which are kept private from the rest of the public.

Multiple lawmakers have said in recent months the private meetings.

McBride also cited a lack of responsiveness from Walters’ administration to lawmakers’ requests for information and to open records requests from the public. The education funding committee leader also referenced a “failure to comply” with the Legislature’s budgetary directives on school security funds and funding for childrens’ asthma inhalers.

The variety of complaints add up to a “pattern of overreach, disregard for legislative oversight and policy making, and lack of concern for student safety and budgetary stability,” McBride wrote.

The letter calls for a special investigative committee on the state Department of Education. The committee’s responsibility would be to investigate “internal and external failures” to follow the law by Walters and the state Board of Education.

It also would look into whether those failures amount to willful neglect of duty or incompetency, which the Oklahoma Constitution says are grounds for impeachment.

“It saddens me that I must make such a request of you,” McBride wrote to the speaker. “However, I believe that all other remedies have been exhausted. I hear daily from constituents from my district and taxpayers from across the state pleading for this body to take action and hold the superintendent and the state Board of Education accountable for their rogue behavior.”

The House speaker would have to agree to create such a committee. McCall will be in office until he is term-limited in November.

The House is responsible for drawing up articles of impeachment and presenting the case to the Senate, which would act as a “court of impeachment,” according to the state Constitution.

House Minority Leader Cyndi Munson, D-Oklahoma City, said her caucus has made five unheeded calls for impeachment proceedings against Walters. She said on Tuesday she is glad members of the Republican supermajority are now on board.

“Republicans hold the power in both legislative chambers and the Governor’s mansion,” Munson said. “It is time for them to use their power to hold the state superintendent accountable to the people of Oklahoma. We have all waited long enough.”

Vocal discontent from Republican lawmakers escalated this week, even among those who didn’t sign McBride’s letter.

The next House speaker who will succeed McCall, Rep. Kyle Hilbert, R-Bristow, echoed other lawmakers’ objections to the Education Department’s untimely responses and refusals to allow legislators into executive sessions.

Hilbert did not sign the letter requesting an investigation. Instead, he issued a statement Tuesday urging the rhetoric toward educators to “not only be toned down, but reversed.”

“This past week my daughter started kindergarten in a public school where I know she is loved and supported by phenomenal teachers and support staff,” Hilbert said. “School districts across the state are back to school but instead of talking about the excitement of a new year, we are discussing these issues due to the statements being put out by (the state Education Department).”

Two of the lawmakers who signed the letter, Rep. Ty Burns, R-Pawnee, and Rep. Josh West, R-Grove, also voiced frustration over Walters’ “disparaging comments” about the superintendent of Bixby Public Schools.

Burns and West joined Rep. Chris Banning, R-Bixby, in a statement Monday defending Bixby Superintendent Rob Miller, a former marine. The three lawmakers also are military veterans.

Miller had complained the state Education Department has been slow to provide estimates for Oklahoma schools’ annual Title I funding. Walters responded by calling Miller a “liar and a clown.”

Burns, West and Banning said the name-calling is “unbecoming of any leader, especially the highest-ranking person in the Oklahoma public school system.”

“As elected officials, paid with taxpayer dollars and entrusted with the future of our state, we must hold ourselves accountable to Oklahomans and have the integrity to admit when we are wrong,” they wrote. “We had hoped Walters would eventually grow into his role, but after two years of problematic leadership tactics, our patience is wearing thin.”

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect additional lawmakers who signed McBride’s letter after initial publication and responses from McCall, Walters and Hilbert.

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Oklahoma Voice maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Janelle Stecklein for questions: info@oklahomavoice.com. Follow Oklahoma Voice on and .

OKLAHOMA CITY — New guidance from Oklahoma City Public Schools regarding a state mandate to teach the Bible requires teachers to reference the text’s historical and literary aspects only in the “specific instances” that state academic standards allow.

In issuing the guidance on Wednesday, Superintendent Jamie Polk also advised teachers to document detailed lesson plans and not to stray from district-approved curriculum materials.

The Bible must “not be used for preaching or indoctrination,” and Oklahoma City schools, the state’s second largest district, must maintain “absolute neutrality and objectivity” when referencing it, Polk said.

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“Our goal is to provide a balanced, objective approach that respects diverse beliefs by adhering to both state requirements and federal laws and regulations,” she said in a memo to teachers, who returned to work this week.

Last month, state Superintendent Ryan Walters starting in the 2024-25 school year.

His mandate also includes a provision that all classrooms keep a copy of the Bible, the Ten Commandments, the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution.

Walters’ order aims to add extra guidelines to the state academic standards, which are a lengthy list of topics and concepts that Oklahoma public schools must teach.

The Bible is not mentioned in the existing standards for social studies, English language arts, fine arts or music — the subject areas Walters identified for Bible instruction. However, the social studies standards require schools to teach about major world religions and the role of religion in the establishment of some American colonial governments.

Walters’ guidelines seek a much deeper exploration of the Bible, including analysis of biblical passages, instruction on its influence in Western civilization and American history, and references to it in literature and fine arts.

“To ensure our students are equipped to understand and contextualize our nation, its culture, and its founding, every student in Oklahoma will be taught the Bible in its historical, cultural, and literary context,” Walters said in a statement on the mandate.

The order quickly became controversial over concerns for church-state separation and local control of school curriculum. Leaders of multiple school districts have since said their districts won’t implement more instruction on the Bible outside of what state standards already require.

Polk said her guidance is meant to give legal cover to teachers in case one of them faces a complaint.

“We have to protect teachers, and when this came out, one of the first things we did was we rallied together as a team, and I had the curriculum department at the table and I had the legal department at the table,” Polk said in an interview with Oklahoma Voice. “I asked the legal team, ‘If one of our teachers got in trouble because of the Bible, what would you need to defend them?’”

Documenting lesson plans, including the way teachers present the information to students, will be “essential,” she said.

The Center for Education Law, an Oklahoma City law firm that provides legal counsel to OKCPS, raised doubts over the viability of Walters’ Bible mandate. Any attempt by the state to direct how Oklahoma schools teach academic standards would infringe on local district authority and is “invalid under Oklahoma law,” the law firm wrote in a letter to schools.

Polk’s statement to teachers on Wednesday also referenced another, similarly polarizing announcement from Walters asking schools to provide a cost analysis of educating undocumented students. Walters said his administration would release guidance on the matter in the coming weeks.

Families don’t have to provide information on their immigration status to enroll their children in public schools. The Oklahoma City district doesn’t ask for these details, and Polk said it doesn’t plan to start doing so.

The recent orders created a tricky start this summer to Polk’s tenure as Oklahoma City’s superintendent, but after 36 years in education, she said she knows “there’s always something” that will stir debate.

She said she still aims to maintain a working relationship with the state Education Department to ensure students “receive what they need in order for them to have a diploma in one hand and a plan in the other as they walk across the stage.”

“The topics change, but there’s always conflict,” Polk said while looking back on the national controversies that erupted over past decades. “But as Americans, how do we navigate problems?

“How do we come to the table then and let me hear your voice so I can accept your viewpoint, but you too then get to hear my voice?”

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Oklahoma Voice maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Janelle Stecklein for questions: info@oklahomavoice.com. Follow Oklahoma Voice on and .

OKLAHOMA CITY — ���������dz���’s top education official on Thursday ordered all public schools in the state to incorporate the Bible into their curriculum as a historical text.

State said he wants the Bible kept and taught in every Oklahoma classroom, particularly how it is referenced in America’s history and founding documents.

“We’re going to be looking at the Mayflower Compact (and) other of those foundational documents to point to and say, listen, here’s conceptually what the founders believed,” Walters said while speaking with news reporters on Thursday.

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State academic standards for social studies already require schools to teach students about the impact of religion on U.S. society and government.

The academic standards are a lengthy list of topics Oklahoma public schools must teach. Local school districts are allowed the freedom to decide their own curriculum, or how they teach the standards.

Walters’ announcement drew quick opposition from Democratic lawmakers and groups advocating for separation of church and state.

The Oklahoma chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations said the order would further marginalize religious minorities in public schools and violate religious freedom. The Muslim civil rights organization has advocated against adding specific religious teachings to the classroom.

“Although we and the American Muslim community recognize the important historical and religious significance of the Bible, forcing teachers to use it and only it in their curriculum is inappropriate and unconstitutional,” said Adam Soltani, director of the Oklahoma chapter. “We adamantly oppose any requirements that religion be forcefully taught or required as a part of lesson plans in public schools, in Oklahoma, or anywhere else in the country.”

State Sen. Carri Hicks, D-Oklahoma City, said the matter could end up in court, costing the state taxpayer dollars. Meanwhile, she said it fails to “provide solutions to the real problems facing our schools,” like the teacher shortage and falling below the regional average in public education funding.

Oklahoma already has been grappling with the role of religion in public schools. The state Supreme Court on Tuesday that was weeks away from opening in the state. The Court found the concept of a religious, state-funded school is unconstitutional and a violation of state law.

Attorney General Gentner Drummond led the legal challenge against opening the Catholic charter school, called St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School. But when reached for comment Thursday, his office did not raise alarm bells over Walters’ order on Bible teaching.

“Oklahoma law already explicitly allows Bibles in the classroom and enables teachers to use them in instruction,” the AG’s spokesperson, Phil Bacharach, said.

Walters has been a vocal supporter of St. Isidore. He called the Court’s ruling on the Catholic charter school “one of the worst” of its decisions and said the concept of separation of church and state is “a myth.”

Oklahoma Catholic leaders indicated they intend to appeal the ruling. A meeting agenda for the school’s Board of Directors states St. Isidore will “delay opening to students at least until the 2025-2026 school year, as it seeks review by the United States Supreme Court.”

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Oklahoma Voice maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Janelle Stecklein for questions: info@oklahomavoice.com. Follow Oklahoma Voice on and .

A first-of-its-kind public Catholic school proposed for Oklahoma students is unconstitutional and can’t open, the state Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday, scuttling plans by the Catholic Archdiocese of Oklahoma this August to open a virtual K-12 charter school named for the patron saint of the internet.

St. Isidore of Seville Virtual Charter School was already recruiting staff and registering students, officials said earlier this month — and it was awaiting about $1.2 million in state funds, due next week. But in a closely watched 6-2 ruling, the state’s high court said the Statewide Virtual Charter School Board’s vote last year to approve the school violates both the Oklahoma and U.S. constitutions, as well as state law, which requires public schools to be nonsectarian.

“Enforcing the St. Isidore Contract would create a slippery slope and what the framers warned against — the destruction of Oklahomans’ freedom to practice religion without fear of governmental intervention,” the justices wrote.

The court directed the board to rescind its contract with St. Isidore, but the case will almost certainly be appealed, possibly as far as the U.S. Supreme Court. 

In a , the Archdiocese said the ruling was “very disappointing for the hundreds of prospective students and their families from across the state” hoping to attend the school this August.

The Archdiocese said it will consider its legal options, but that it remains committed to its belief that St. Isidore “could still be a valuable asset to students, regardless of socioeconomic, race or faith backgrounds.”

It said the school has received 200-plus applications for admission.

Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond, who sued last October to stop the school from opening, said Tuesday’s decision was “a tremendous victory for religious liberty,” ensuring that Oklahomans “will not be compelled to fund radical religious schools that violate their faith.”

The framers of both the U.S. and state constitutions “clearly understood how best to protect religious freedom,” Drummond said: “by preventing the State from sponsoring any religion at all. Now Oklahomans can be assured that our tax dollars will not fund the teachings of Sharia Law or even Satanism.”

In a court hearing on the school in April, Drummond said members of ���������dz���’s Virtual Charter School Board “betrayed their oath of office” in June 2023, when they voted 3-2 to approve a charter with the Catholic church to open the school.

Drummond told the justices he couldn’t get behind the state’s plan to begin transferring public funds, in what would have been a matter of days, to St. Isidore. “On July 1,” he said, “we will violate the law.”

The attorney for the school said St. Isidore is a private entity, and signing a contract with the state did not turn it into a public one. 

It’s not clear what Tuesday’s ruling means for a second court case brought by a coalition of parents and advocates, including the ACLU, which is seeking to block the school from opening or receiving public funds. 

In that case, slated for a July 24 hearing in an Oklahoma County district court, opponents argue that the school will discriminate against LGBTQ students and those with disabilities, as well as families and staff who don’t follow Catholic teachings. 

Charters ‘may not be religious institutions’

Tuesday’s ruling represents a huge, but perhaps temporary, victory for those who maintain that charter schools are public schools, subject to traditional separation of church and state.

Eric Paisner, acting CEO for the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, said the ruling affirmed “the unconstitutionality of religious public schools,” calling it “a resounding victory for the integrity of public education” that protects families’ constitutional rights.

, a law professor at the University of South Carolina, called the ruling “a masterclass in cutting through the rhetoric that has muddied legal waters in recent years. The Court makes clear that charter schools are not private schools and must comply with the federal constitution like any other public school.”

Black said the court also offered important historical nuance: While proponents of religious schools claim bans on funding them are born of “religious bigotry,” he said the Oklahoma high court explained that ���������dz���’s original constitutional limit on funding religion “was really an attempt to prevent government from sinking its teeth into religion.”

Supporters of the school say that since it’s a school of choice, the state isn’t forcing any student to attend, so it isn’t establishing religion. And they maintain that public funding of charters can’t exclude religious schools.

Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt said government agencies “can’t choose who gets state dollars based on a private entity’s religious status.”

He said the decision “restricts the choices available to Oklahomans,” but that he remains “hopeful the U.S. Supreme Court will hear the case and grant St. Isidore the right to establish their school.”

John Meiser, director of the Religious Liberty Clinic at Notre Dame Law School, which is representing St. Isidore in the lawsuit, said the school is considering its legal options. He said the court’s “decision to condone unconstitutional discrimination against religious educators and the children they serve is one that the school will continue to fight.”

St. Isidore, he said, “merely seeks to join Oklahoma’s diverse array of charter schools, bringing educational choice and opportunity to communities and families in need.”

The controversy over the school takes place amid a larger effort by Oklahoma officials to ensure that public school students whose parents approve receive religious instruction during the school day. Stitt earlier this month signed a law saying districts can allow students to take up to three religious-related classes each week and receive elective credit.

But Oklahoma State Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters, a supporter of the effort, has sought to cut access to such classes by non-traditional religious groups. He warned that the , which plans to make its available to students, is not welcome. In 2019, the Internal Revenue Service granted the temple tax-exempt status, but Walters has said he doesn’t consider satanism a religion.

In a statement, Walters said the high court “got it wrong,” misunderstanding key cases involving the First Amendment and discrimination against Christians based on their faith. “Oklahomans have demanded school choice, not religious targeting,” he wrote.

Walters said contracting with a charter school doesn’t violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, adding that enrollment demand for St. Isidore proves that Oklahoma parents “want more choices for their kids’ educations — not fewer.”

74 senior writer Linda Jacobson contributed to this report.

“If you love the Lord and you are excited about teaching …  we would love to talk to you,” Misty Smith, principal of St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School, says in to prospective educators.

But with the school’s future still tied up in court, and legal disputes likely to continue, it’s unclear whether taxpayers will be picking up the cost this fall. Church leaders are having an “ongoing conversation” about whether to launch the online program as a private school if a court blocks it from receiving state funds, said Brett Farley, executive director of the Catholic Conference of Oklahoma, a public policy organization.

Opponents argue that the charter, approved a year ago by a state board, violates both Oklahoma and federal laws against the government funding of religion. As the principal said in another video, the school plans to provide education through “a Catholic lens.” With rulings in two separate cases against the school pending, however, families are still stuck in limbo. Of the 218 applications the school received as of last week, over 160 have enrolled and another 35 are deciding whether to accept a seat in the school’s inaugural class.

“There are so many things up in the air,” said Joy Stevens, whose daughter Chloe secured a spot through the application lottery. As a contingency plan, Stevens registered her daughter in the Velma-Alma public schools, near their small farm south of Oklahoma City. “I don’t know if we can afford private.”

The state Supreme Court has yet to rule on a lawsuit by Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond it heard in April. It’s unclear whether that decision will come down before state funds are set to be distributed to the school in August — an estimated $1.2 million, according to the virtual charter school board that approved the application. 

In the second case, an Oklahoma County district court on July 24 will hear from a coalition of parents and advocates seeking an injunction to block the school from opening and receiving those funds. They argue that the school will discriminate against LGBTQ students and those with disabilities as well as families and staff who don’t follow Catholic teachings. 

They celebrated last week when the judge in the case ruled can move forward. 

Judge Richard Ogden denied most of the claims made by defendants who wanted him to dismiss the case. The defendants, including Republican state Superintendent Ryan Walters and the state board of education, assert that the school has promised not to discriminate. 

They argue that the school doesn’t violate laws against the government establishing a religion because St. Isidore is a private organization that will exist with or without the charter.  In addition, parents don’t have to enroll their children.

“No student is required to attend St. Isidore or adopt its beliefs,” they wrote in their motion. “St. Isidore is thus not forcing anyone to ‘submit’ to religious instruction or conditioning education on any ‘religious test.’”

‘A slippery slope’

The state, however, wants to make sure that all public school students receive religious instruction during the school day if their parents wish, as long as they’re not missing core classes. Gov. Kevin Stitt last week clarifying that districts can allow students to take up to three religious-related classes each week — and receive elective credit.

Ohio-based Christian nonprofit Lifewise Academy, for example, provides “evangelical Bible education” and of the Oklahoma law. The organization will expand to offer classes in 23 states this fall, but some opponents say allowing students to leave school during the day is disruptive and puts them further behind academically. 

Walters, however, quickly warned the , which plans to make its available to students, that it is not welcome. In 2019, the IRS granted the temple , just like other churches. But Walters doesn’t consider satanism a religion.

“I know that you guys like lying, and that’s the central part of your belief system,” Walters addressed the organization in . “But you will not be participating with our schools.”

Interest from the Satanic Temple shouldn’t necessarily come as a surprise to Walters or Stitt. Drummond predicted that state leaders would open the door to non-Christian organizations if they pushed for more religious freedom in public schools.

In an opinion last year, he said a religious charter could “create a slippery slope” and obligate the state to spend public dollars on charter schools “whose tenets are diametrically opposed” to the beliefs of many Oklahomans.

St. Isidore, meanwhile, is preparing to open and is “ordering what is needed for students and staff to be successful,” said Lara Schuler, senior director of Catholic education for the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City, which applied for the charter along with the Diocese of Tulsa. 

Teacher contracts won’t start until Aug. 1, and according to the school’s website, leaders are still looking for a fourth grade teacher and high school math, physics and chemistry teachers. At this point, the school is still well under its first-year capacity of 500 students. 

Stevens said she’s been in touch with staff to ask how her daughter can meet other incoming students and “study partners” over the summer. The school is planning two “all-school masses” during the year, according to its , and will form local parish hubs for additional worship and in-person gatherings, like field trips, for students. 

Stevens said Chloe, who has been attending public school, is worried about whether St. Isidore will be academically tougher than what she’s used to.

“Her only concern has been how rigorous the education looks. She’s worried she’s not going to be third in her class or second in her class,” Stevens said. 

Some involved in the litigation, however, think the school should delay its opening until the legal matters are settled.

“I think it’s unsettling to enroll and start students in a school, which is under court review — just seems impractical,” said Robert Franklin, chair of the Oklahoma Virtual Charter School Board. Though a defendant in the case before the state Supreme Court because of his position, he voted against the charter application. “Using students and families as chess board pieces seems unnecessary.”

Updated March 13

The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Oklahoma has ruled Nex Benedict’s death a suicide caused by a combination of antihistamines and an antidepressant. A full toxicology report is expected by the end of the month.��

Updated Feb. 27

More than 350 civil rights groups, LGBTQ advocates and high-profile figures are of Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters and calling for a U.S. Department of Education investigation into the Feb. 8 death of a transgender student following an altercation in a school bathroom. The organization coordinating the push, the Human Rights Campaign, had previously called for a . 

“Long before Nex Benedict’s tragic death, Superintendent Walters’s troubling history of transphobic and racist behavior consistently put ���������dz���’s students, staff and teachers at risk,” Kelley Robinson, the group’s president, said in a statement. “Now, his callous response to Nex’s death makes it clearer than ever that he is unfit for the role — and is in fact a danger to ���������dz���’s youth.”

���������dz���’s Rainbow Youth Project said it had received nearly 1,000 calls from LGBT youth experiencing mental health crises — almost all of them in the last week, after national news outlets reported Nex’s death. The organization pointed out that the number of such contacts has mushroomed in the months since Walters circulated and other claiming transgender students pose a danger to schools. In a statement following a groundswell of national attention to Nex’s death, Walters accused the “radical left” of . 

Owasso, Oklahoma, police officials had said preliminary autopsy reports found the 16-year-old’s death was not the result of “trauma” but later they did not mean to suggest that the fight, which happened , was not the cause.

On Feb. 7, a 16-year-old nonbinary student at Owasso High School in Oklahoma was involved in an altercation in a girls’ bathroom. On Feb. 8, Nex Benedict, who used they/them pronouns and whose family claims roots in the Choctaw Nation, was pronounced dead at a local hospital. 

Nearly two weeks later, after a flurry of social media posts from small LGBTQ publications, the U.S. edition of The Independent with Sue Benedict, Nex’s mother, who said Nex had endured months of bullying at school over their gender identity. Benedict said Nex told her they and another transgender student had been in a fight in the bathroom with three older girls and that Nex hit their head on the floor. 

Within 24 hours of the interview’s publication, numerous news outlets had begun sifting through an avalanche of often contradictory statements from school officials, law enforcement and the Benedicts’ friends and neighbors.

While the facts will likely take a long time to establish, advocates say one thing is clear: The legislative assault on LGBTQ rights in Oklahoma over the last two years — including the 2022 passage of a bathroom bill that forced Nex into a space considered unsafe for trans youth — has left students to fend for themselves in schools that feel increasingly hostile. 

Benedict said she was called to the school the afternoon of Feb. 7 and told that Nex had been suspended for two weeks. There were visible bruises and scratches on the teen’s face and head. Benedict drove to a hospital, where she asked for help filing a police report. The school should have called both an ambulance and the police, she said.  

In issued after the news story’s appearance, the Owasso Public Schools said Nex had been examined by the school nurse and that Benedict had been advised to have them examined at a medical facility. The other students did not need care. District policy is to inform parents of students involved in fights that they have the option of filing a police report, the statement added.

Officials with the Owasso Police Department this week said preliminary autopsy results showed Nex did not die as a result of “trauma,” in a search warrant filed Wednesday that they “suspect foul play.” A police spokesperson that the department had video from a camera in the school hallway showing Nex before and after the incident. There was no word at the time of publication about what the video showed.

On Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona decried the incident on social media, calling for safer schools.  

I can’t put into words the grief that I feel for Nex, their family, and their community. As an educator and father, I’m devastated. Violence has no place in school. It is our responsibility to protect all students by creating spaces where they feel safe to be their true selves.

— Secretary Miguel Cardona (@SecCardona)

The teen’s death is the latest in a string of incidents in Oklahoma, which over the last two years has enacted at least four laws restricting the rights of LGBTQ youth. The 2022 bathroom law requires students to use the restroom that corresponds to the sex they were assigned at birth, mandates that schools discipline those who don’t comply and reduces state funding by 5% the following fiscal year for any district that does not impose consequences. 

In 2022, Chaya Raichik, who runs the far-right X account Libs of TikTok, posted a video of one of Nex’s teachers expressing support for LGBTQ students. “If your parents don’t love and accept you for who you are this Christmas, f***,” former eighth-grade teacher Tyler Wrynn said in his own TikTok post. “I’m your parents now. I’m proud of you.” The teacher after his post became a flashpoint because of its pro-LGBTQ stance. 

In August, Superintendent of Education Ryan Walters came under criticism for about a Tulsa librarian that was blamed for a bomb threat against the elementary school where she worked. Last month, he appointed Raichik to a state committee tasked with screening school library materials for “pornographic” and “woke” content — a move he said was part of an effort to “make schools safer.” Raichik this week accused “” of politicizing Nex’s death.

According to the Williams Institute at UCLA, there are about 2,000 transgender youth in Oklahoma. 

Whether exactly what transpired in the Owasso High School bathroom may never be determined, Nex’s death has fueled the ongoing debate over the impact a wave of “hostile” laws has had on queer students’ safety and schools’ willingness or ability to protect them, says Cait Smith, the director of LGBTQI+ policy at the Center for American Progress. Of the 667 bills introduced throughout the country in 2023 seeking to curtail rights based on sexual orientation or gender identity, 63% specifically targeted young people, she says. 

“There is a larger concern here, a larger trend that we have to be talking about,” says Smith. “We often call these hostile school climate bills. Schools in states where they have these laws passing [are] having to deal with policies that make it harder for them to create schools that are safe and affirming — let alone schools that allow students to thrive and feel comfortable enough to love school and do well at school.”

Though the U.S. Supreme Court in 2021 declined to that found students are entitled to use the restroom that matches their identity, trans bathroom use has continued to face challenges in legislatures and courts. At least seven bills restricting trans bathroom access passed last year, Smith says. Five of them were school-specific.

Supporters of bathroom bans say they are needed to protect cisgender girls and women from assault by trans people. 

LGBTQ students’ fears of poorly monitored school spaces such as locker rooms, stairwells and lunchrooms predate the current ideological firestorm. In a survey of LGBTQ youth experiences conducted in 2021 — just as the wave of anti-LGBTQ legislation was beginning to sweep statehouses — the advocacy group GLSEN found that 68% of queer students felt unsafe at school. Bathrooms topped the list of places they avoid, with 45% saying they feared using the restroom. 

The has linked a lack of bathroom access to increased mental and physical health issues among transgender youth and adults. Nearly 6 in 10 avoid using public restrooms out of fear, and 14% say they have been assaulted in bathrooms.

, the number of students who reported hearing negative remarks from teachers about sexual orientation doubled between 2019 and 2021, to 69%. The number who said they heard pejorative comments from adults about trans people rose from 46% to 80% during the same time period. Only 1% reported not hearing slurs from classmates.

Fourteen percent reported being physically assaulted in school because of their sexual orientation and 13% over their gender expression. More than half said they did not report the harassment or violence to school administrators, whom only 16% of LGBTQ students perceive as supportive. Only 6% believe their school’s anti-bullying policies include sexual orientation and gender identity. 

The ACLU of Oklahoma has and four school districts, charging the bathroom law is discriminatory and violates students’ educational rights. The case is pending in federal court.