Ryan Walters Resigns As Oklahoma Education Superintendent 

Ryan Walters has generated a steady stream of controversy ever since becoming Oklahoma’s Education Superintendent in 2023. The man has made some bizarre moves, though his latest may take the cake, as Ryan Walters has announced his resignation as Oklahoma’s Education Superintendent. 

According to AP, Walters announced his resignation during a Wednesday night interview with Fox. Walters is stepping down as Oklahoma’s Education Superintendent to become the CEO of Teacher Freedom Alliance, a nonprofit that says it assists “educators to develop free, moral, and upright American citizens.” Which is just a long-winded way of saying they’re indoctrinating children to become Republicans. Teacher Freedom Alliance celebrated Walters becoming their new CEO in a post on X, saying Walters “fearlessly fights the woke liberal union mob.”

Honestly, I feel like all it takes to gain traction with modern Republicans is the ability to call everything you don’t like part of a “woke liberal mob.” 

“We’re going to destroy the teachers’ unions,” Ryan Walters said on Fox. “We have seen the teachers’ unions use money and power to corrupt our schools, to undermine our schools.” 

This is not the first time Walters has attacked teachers’ unions. He’s previously called them “terrorist organizations” and called teachers “Marxists” for having the absurd idea that they should be paid a living wage. 

Ryan Walters’ tenure as Oklahoma’s education superintendent was marked by numerous absurd lows as he applied the MAGA playbook to education. He called the separation of church and state “a myth” after ordering the Bible to be included in Oklahoma schools’ curriculum. He ordered public schools to show a video of him praying for President Donald Trump and blaming the “radical left” and “woke teachers unions” for “attacking” religious liberty. He also implemented an “America First” certification test for educators relocating from Democratic states to ensure their ideological purity. 

With a man like that in charge, it’s no wonder Oklahoma ranks dead last in education. 

Ryan Walters was no stranger to controversy and had a rather bizarre incident this summer, where lewd images were seen on his work TV. It’s unclear if his resignation is tied to that incident. One somewhat hilarious note to this story is that a video has gone semi-viral of Walters pulling a Maury and storming out of an interview with local news about his resignation. 

What’s crazy is that even Oklahoma Republicans don’t like Ryan Walters. “I would have thought he and I would have agreed on 80% of things. … His ego has gotten in the way of who he really is,” former Republican state Rep. Mark McBride told HuffPost in 2023. “I don’t have the luxury of fighting the culture wars,” McBride added. “I need to do my job. I’m focused on funding, on money.”

Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond released a statement celebrating Ryan Walters’ resignation, saying that ever since he became superintendent, Oklahomans “have witnessed a stream of never-ending scandal and political drama.” 

“It’s time for a State Superintendent of Public Instruction who will actually focus on quality instruction in our public schools.” Mind you, Drummond is a Republican and a candidate for governor in 2026. 

Farewell, Ryan Walters. From the looks of it, absolutely nobody is going to miss you. 

SEE ALSO:

OK Education Head Ryan Walters Investigated For Lewd Images On Work TV

Oklahoma Supreme Court Pauses New Education Standards

Oklahoma Requires Teachers From Democratic-Led States To Prove They Back ‘America 1st’

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