Ryan Walters, the right-wing extremist who’s Oklahoma superintendent of public instruction, has a new big idea: Turning Point USA chapters in all the state’s high schools.
Turning Point USA is a far-right and deeply anti-LGBTQ+ organization founded by the late Charlie Kirk, who was assassinated at a speaking engagement September 10. It focuses on organizing students in high schools and colleges.
But Walters’s effort may be short-lived; media outlets are reporting that the superintendent, who has been criticized by both Democrats and his fellow Republicans, may resign his post.
Regarding Turning Point, in a video posted Tuesday on X, Walters said there has been an outpouring of interest in the organization from parents, teachers, and students. The group stands for “free speech, open engagement, dialogue about American greatness, a dialogue around American values.”
“For far too long, we have seen radical leftists with the teachers’ unions dominate classrooms and push woke indoctrination on our kids,” he said. “They fight parents’ rights, they push parents out of the classroom, and they lie to our kids about American history. What we’re gonna continue to do is make sure that our kids understand American greatness, engage in civic dialogue, and have that open discussion.”
However, while Kirk was willing to debate those who disagreed with him, he and Turning Point came down firmly on the side of a far-right vision of the nation. Kirk was known for numerous anti-LGBTQ+ statements, said passing the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was a mistake, and claimed that “Jewish donors have been the number 1 funding mechanism of radical, open border neoliberal quasi-Marxist policies, cultural institutions, and nonprofits.”
Walters recently said teachers who have made negative remarks about Kirk or refused to observe a moment of silence in his honor are under investigation. “Any teacher posting defamatory and egregious comments will NOT be teaching in Oklahoma classrooms and any school that refused to participate in a moment of silence and/or lower their flags for Charlie Kirk is currently under investigation,” said a press release from his office.
Through Oklahoma’s partnership with Turning Point, any public or private high school or homeschooler in the state can start a chapter of Club America, the group’s program for high schools, according to another press release from Walters’s office. Turning Point will provide assistance in establishing the clubs. When a local reporter asked Walters what would happen if a school did not want a chapter of Club America, he said it would be violating the law and his office would go after its accreditation.
There has been some pushback against the plan. “I don’t have any problem with a student club, if it’s initiated by students,” Nadine Gallagher, president of the Crooked Oak Association of Classroom Teachers, told Oklahoma TV station KOCO. “If a student were to pop up and say, ‘I would really love to start a club,’ then I’m all for it. If that’s what students are interested in and that’s what students need for whatever their reasons, for social or something that they need for schoolwork, but I don’t like forced anything.”
But Walters may not be around to see his plan through. Sources told online news outlet NOTUS and local TV station KOKH that he could resign as early as this week and that he may have found another job. KOKH’s story says his resignation is expected Friday and that his new job is in the private sector. Earlier, Walters said he was considering a run for Oklahoma governor in 2026 to succeed Kevin Stitt, who is term-limited, but he never announced additional plans.
Stitt, himself an ultraconservative Republican, has “soured” on Walters due to the latter’s “sensationalist style,” NOTUS reports. Also, while Stitt has tried to rein in state spending, the superintendent has channeled $100,000 to public relations firms “to promote Walters and his political agenda,” a KOKH investigation found.
Walters has so far not commented and the reports of his resignation.
He has made numerous headlines for outrageous statements and actions in recent years. He has frequently attacked the LGBTQ+ community, tried to put Bibles endorsed by Donald Trump into Oklahoma schools (he eventually walked back the effort), and announced a test for teacher applicants from liberal states to make sure they’re not “woke.”
In a July executive session of a state school board meeting, two board members said they saw full-frontal nudity on Walters’s office TV. Oklahoma House Speaker Kyle Hilbert, who is investigating the matter, said his preliminary findings indicate it was a “bizarre accident,” but the board members are not satisfied.
Walters then canceled the board’s August meeting and skipped the September 3 meeting. That has state legislators angrier than ever, with some calling for his impeachment.
Oklahoma ranks low in quality of education. A recent WalletHub study ranks the state 50th in the nation, while U.S. News and World Report has ranked it 48th.
This article originally appeared on Advocate: Ryan Walters wants Turning Point chapters in Oklahoma high schools — or will he resign before it happens?