Oklahoma’s firebrand state schools superintendent Ryan Walters has officially resigned.
In a letter to Gov. Kevin Stitt and legislative leaders, Walters said he was stepping down effective Tuesday, September 30.
“Serving in elected office is one of the highest honors any citizen can be entrusted with, and I will always be grateful to the people of Oklahoma for granting me that responsibility,” he wrote in the letter.
Abegail Cave, a spokesperson for Stitt, said the governor received Walters’ letter at 4:19 p.m. Tuesday, six days after he announced on national television he would resign.
Stitt has not said who he will appoint as a successor for Walters, and he wasn’t expected to make an announcement on who the new superintendent will be on Tuesday.
In his letter, Walter listed what he viewed as his accomplishments and said, “While I am leaving this office today, I am not leaving the fight.”
Since taking office as state schools superintendent in January 2023, Walters has become a polarizing force known more for his far-right politics than for his education initiatives. He worked to insert conservative politics and Christianity into public classrooms at every opportunity, all while Oklahoma has remained at or near the bottom in most national education measurements. His actions drew more than 20 lawsuits in state or federal court.
But in recent months, after Stitt appointed four new members to the state Board of Education, Walters lost his control of that board, meaning he was no longer able to impose his political will on Oklahoma schools.
In July, two board members reported seeing images of naked women on a television set in Walters’ office during an executive session of the board. Walters vehemently denied anything happened and called on the board members to resign, but Oklahoma County Sheriff Tommie Johnson III said an investigation corroborated the accounts of the board members, while saying what happened – a 1985 Jackie Chan movie that included nudity showing on the television – was unintentional on Walters’ part. No criminal charges were filed in the case.
During an appearance on Fox News last Wednesday, Sept. 24, Walters announced he would step away from his elected office to become the chief executive officer of the Teacher Freedom Alliance, a new professional organization that touts itself as “an alternative to union membership” for teachers. It is a part of the Freedom Foundation, a far-right anti-labor union think tank.
State schools Superintendent Ryan Walters has sent his formal resignation letter to the governor.
The Teacher Freedom Alliance said the day after Walters’ announcement he’d begin his new job on Wednesday, Oct. 1.
A Democratic state lawmaker has asked the Oklahoma Ethics Commission to look into past use of state resources by Walters to promote the Teacher Freedom Alliance, which Walters touted with multiple news releases from his agency, the Oklahoma State Department of Education.
Using state resources, Walters in recent months has written multiple letters to Oklahoma parents. In a farewell letter sent Tuesday, Walters cited what he believes to be the major accomplishments of his tenure.
“Serving as your State Superintendent has been an honor,” he wrote. “Together, we have delivered the most historic education reforms in Oklahoma’s history, in record time. Now, as I transition from the Oklahoma State Department of Education, I want to share with you the progress we’ve made and thank you for trusting me to fight for your children. From day one, I promised to put parents back in charge of their child’s education and we did just that.”
Among his accomplishments, he listed the ending of “burdensome state testing,” although he didn’t have the authority to unilaterally stop those end-of-year standardized tests, which multiple legislative leaders have said will continue for the current school year, despite a mandate from Walters.
Walters also took credit for legislative initiatives, including the Oklahoma Teacher Empowerment Program, which provides merit pay and-or bonuses to some high-performing teachers, and the investment of $5 million for tutoring programs. Walters recently said $3 million of that amount would be divided between the state’s two largest districts, in Tulsa and Oklahoma City, and rural schools.
He also said he “proudly restored the Bible to classrooms, ensuring children learn the founding principles and God-given rights that shaped our nation.” Walters’ so-called “Bible mandate” faces a pending Oklahoma Supreme Court lawsuit that questions his authority to enforce such an order. That court already has paused Walters’ attempts to use $3 million of public money to purchase Bibles endorse by President Donald Trump.
“Parents, I want you to know this: we challenged the status quo and changed the course of education in Oklahoma,” he wrote. “We set a new standard with bold, unapologetic reforms that put families first, reward great teachers, and defend our American values.”
Read Ryan Walters’ resignation letter
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Ryan Walters officially resigns as Oklahoma superintendent, see letter