State superintendent Ryan Walters announced he was resigning to take on a new position as CEO for the conservative group, Teacher Freedom Alliance, saying “We’re going to destroy the teachers unions.”
Walters made the announcment during a Fox News interview on Wednesday evening, Sept. 24, and said “We have seen the teachers unions use money and power to corrupt our schools, to undermine our schools.” Adding, “We are one of the biggest grassroots organizations in the country. We will build an army of teachers to defeat the teachers union once and for all.”
Earlier this week, in a video on X, Walters also announced a partnership with Turning Point USA, the conservative group co-founded by slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk and said that “radical leftists with the teachers union dominate classrooms and push woke indoctrination on our kids.”
Walters said “We will be putting TPUSA on every high school campus in Oklahoma. Charlie Kirk inspired a generation to love America, to speak boldly, and to never shy away from debate … we will fight back against the liberal propaganda, pushed by the radical left, and the teachers unions. Our fight starts now,” and added instructions to the state’s website on how to organize and start a chapter.
Here’s what to know about Walters and the Teacher Freedom Alliance
Who is Ryan Walters?
Ryan Walters, 40, is the Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction and previously served as the state’s Secretary of Education. He is a conservative Republican, known for wanting to “put God back in schools,” pushing to teach about the Bible in public school classrooms, and wanting to require that families prove their citizenship in order to enroll their kids in public schools, according to news reports.
Walters announced his departure from the Oklahoma State Department of Education to serve in the private sector as the new CEO of Teacher Freedom Alliance, which is a branch of the Freedom Foundation non-profit.
What is the Teacher Freedom Alliance?
The Teacher Freedom Alliance is an anti-union organization that aims to “provide educators with liability insurance, professional development opportunities, continuing education credit hours, and access to alternative curricula,” according to their website.
The alliance identifies as an alternative to teachers unions with a mission statement that states, “The Teacher Freedom Alliance exists to assist educators in their mission to develop free, moral, and upright American citizens.”
The organization said they were “entering a bold new era of leadership with Ryan Walters at the helm” in a message on its website, adding “Walters fearlessly fights the woke liberal union mob. TFA will take the fight straight to the unions and we will not stop. Together, we will build a national movement that is centered on freedom common sense, not on bullying and intimidation. Educators will now be able to break free.”
This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Who is Ryan Walters? What is the Teacher Freedom Alliance?