More than two dozen Oklahoma House Republicans are calling for an impeachment investigation into the state’s superintendent of public instruction, Ryan Walters. They cite concerns over his leadership and adherence to state laws and legislative directives.
Walters, a right-wing extremist, has waged a war on all things he considers “woke,” is accused by some advocates of creating a hostile environment for LGBTQ+ students in the state, and mandated that the Bible be taught in public schools.
The current move, led by Rep. Mark McBride, marks a severe escalation of the ongoing tensions between Walters and his fellow Republicans, reflecting deep divisions within the party over the future of education in the state.
Related: Federal investigation opens into Owasso Public Schools after death of Nex Benedict
In a letter addressed to Oklahoma House Speaker Charles McCall on Tuesday, McBride outlined a series of grievances against Walters, accusing him of overreach, disregard for legislative oversight, and failure to comply with state laws. McBride, who chairs the Appropriations and Budget Subcommittee on Education, expressed his frustration with what he described as Walters’ “unprofessional” conduct and lack of transparency, which he believes has harmed the state’s education system and jeopardized student safety.
“Since Superintendent Walters took office 18 months ago, I have grown increasingly concerned about the budget performance, spending priorities, and transparency surrounding the Department,” McBride wrote. “Conditions at the Department, the manner in which the Superintendent and the Board of Education have treated members of the Legislature from both parties and from both the House of Representatives and the State Senate has been, to say the least, unprofessional, beneath the dignity of a statewide elected official, and most importantly, contrary to the best interest of the taxpayers and students of the State of Oklahoma.”
Related: After Nex Benedict’s death, 350 LGBTQ+ groups, activists, and celebs urge Oklahoma superintendent’s removal
The letter, which at least 24 Republican lawmakers have signed, lists several specific issues that have arisen since the legislature adjourned in May. Among the allegations are Walters’ refusal to allow legislators into executive sessions of the State Board of Education, delays in responding to legislative questions, failure to comply with budgetary directives related to school safety, and violations of the Open Records Act, which led to threats of civil and criminal action from the state’s attorney general.
McBride also cited a unanimous opinion from the Oklahoma Supreme Court that Walters and the State Board of Education had attempted to exercise unauthorized authority by invalidating some administrative actions.
The Tulsa World reported that the case arose when Edmond Public Schools filed a lawsuit against Walters and the State Board of Education, asserting their authority over book selection in school libraries. The court ruled that local school boards, not the state superintendent or state board, have the statutory discretion to determine the content of school libraries based on community standards. The court’s decision, which also issued a writ of prohibition preventing the state board from taking action against Edmond Public Schools, was a significant rebuke to Walters’ attempts to impose stricter controls over educational content at the local level. McBride argues it’s part of a broader pattern of overreach and incompetence that warrants a full investigation.
In his letter, McBride called on McCall to establish a Special Investigative Committee to “investigate to the fullest the internal and external failures of the Superintendent and State Board of Education to follow the law, to address budgetary concerns, and to make recommendations to the Legislature for the upcoming session regarding safeguards, reforms, and additionally, investigate any possible willful neglect of duty or incompetency on the part of Superintendent Walters.”
Walters, who was elected with strong support from conservative voters, has dismissed the calls for an investigation as a politically motivated attack by moderate Republicans in league with Democrats, the Oklahoma Voice reports.
Walters’ tenure has been marked by significant controversy, particularly regarding his actions related to LGBTQ+ students in Oklahoma. According to GLAAD’s Accountability Project, Walters has made repeated false claims about “gender ideology” and has enforced policies that negatively impact LGBTQ+ students. These include leading the Oklahoma State Board of Education in approving a rule restricting schools from altering sex or gender designations in student records without board authorization, regardless of the student’s or guardians’ wishes.
Sarah Kate Ellis, president and CEO of GLAAD, issued a statement condemning Walters’ leadership, telling The Advocate, “Superintendent Ryan Walters has made school less safe for Oklahoma students. His reign of terror on 2SLGBTQ+ (Two Spirit, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer+) students must be stopped. Walters has spent his tenure attacking the very students he is supposed to be protecting and curated an environment so dangerous that the late Nex Benedict said there was no point in reporting bullying at school because nothing would be done about it. Walters’ toxic and self-promoting, self-enriching record is so reprehensible that his colleagues on both sides of the aisle are rightly calling for his removal. Oklahoma’s students can’t wait for Walters to term out. Walters must be removed immediately for the safety of all students.”
The impact of Walters’ policies and rhetoric has also been reflected in a sharp increase in crisis calls from LGBTQ+ students in Oklahoma. The Rainbow Youth Project USA, a national organization dedicated to supporting LGBTQ+ youth, tells The Advocate that since February, the group has received over 1,000 monthly crisis calls from Oklahoma alone, making it the leading state for such calls. This marks a significant increase from the average of 352 monthly calls the organization received from Oklahoma before Walters took office. According to the organization, 63 percent of these callers specifically named Walters as a source of their distress, and 84 percent reported being bullied both in school and through social media. The organization says it is currently providing mental health counseling to 184 LGBTQ+ teens in the state and represents several students in Title IX claims.
This rise in distress among LGBTQ+ youth is also connected to a broader climate of fear and discrimination that has been exacerbated during Walters’ tenure. After the tragic death of 16-year-old bullied transgender student Nex Benedict in February, more than 350 LGBTQ+ organizations, activists, and celebrities signed an open letter calling for Walters’ removal, accusing him of fostering “a climate of hate and bigotry.” Benedict’s death, which happened after a reported altercation with other students in a school restroom, sparked widespread outrage and led to a federal investigation by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights into the Owasso Public Schools district’s handling of harassment and discrimination complaints.
The investigation, prompted by a formal complaint from the Human Rights Campaign, aims to determine whether the school district’s response to harassment contributed to the conditions leading to Benedict’s death. The incident has highlighted the dangerous environment faced by transgender, nonbinary, and gender-expansive students in Oklahoma, with many advocates pointing to Walters’ policies as exacerbating these risks.
“Ryan Walters’s tenure as Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction has been devastating not just for LGBTQ+ youth in Oklahoma, but for every school-age child in the state as he has tried and failed again and again to get famous in the MAGA-sphere on the taxpayer dime,” Laurel Powell, spokesperson for the HRC, told The Advocate. “Legislators in his own party held him accountable once by taking away his ability to use public dollars as a personal PR piggy bank. We’re glad to see they’re continuing to take his antics seriously.”
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Publish date : 2024-08-15 06:07:00
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