Ryan Walters, the superintendent of Oklahoma, who made national headlines for pushing an ultra-conservative religious agenda in public schools, is stepping down from his job to lead a conservative nonprofit.
Walters said he would transition to lead the nonprofit, Teacher Freedom Alliance, a day after announcing that he would mandate Turning Point USA chapters in the state’s high schools.
“I’m excited to announce I’ll be stepping down as Oklahoma state superintendent and taking on the role as the CEO of the Teacher Freedom Alliance,” Walters told Fox News Wednesday evening.
Teacher Freedom Alliance is a conservative nonprofit that aims to serve as an alternative to teachers' unions. Approximately 2,700 teachers are enrolled in it, according to its website.
“We’re going to destroy the teacher unions,” Walters told Fox. “We have seen the teacher’s unions use money and power to corrupt our schools, to undermine our schools.”
Walters, who closely aligns himself with President Donald Trump, has served as Oklahoma superintendent since 2023 and made it his mission to promote prayers and God in schools while combating what he believes is left-wing propaganda in education. After Trump won the election, Walters posted a video asking students to join him in prayer for the president-elect.
His efforts have inspired ideas that led to national controversy, such as mandating schools to incorporate the Bible as well as the Ten Commandments. Initially, Oklahoma had ordered the Trump-endorsed “God Bless the USA Bible” that included the Declaration of Independence and Constitution. But later, the state amended that to allow typical Bibles.
He forced teachers coming to Oklahoma from New York and California to complete an “anti-woke” exam, designed by the conservative nonprofit PragerU, before being hired.
He also supported the state enacting the first publicly-funded religious charter school, which the Supreme Court prevented from receiving public funds earlier this year.
In the past week, Walters said all Oklahoma high schools should have a chapter of Turning Point USA, the right-wing nonprofit youth group co-founded by Charlie Kirk – the conservative activist who was assassinated earlier this month.
Walters, who shared many beliefs with Kirk, also instructed all Oklahoma schools to observe a moment of silence for Kirk on September 16.
Walters tenure has been marked by contentious relationships within his state.
In July, Walters was accused of playing explicit content on his office TV during a meeting. In the wake of the scandal, he canceled a State Board of Education meeting in August and did not show up to one at the beginning of September, raising concerns about the agency’s ability to function.
Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond praised Walters’ decision to step down, saying it’s been “a stream of never-ending scandal and political drama” since Walters was appointed to lead the state’s public education system.
“From the mishandling of pandemic relief funds that resulted in families buying Xboxes and refrigerators to the latest squabbling with board members over what was or wasn’t showing on TV, the Stitt-Walters era has been an embarrassment to our state,” Drummond wrote.
“Even worse, test scores and reading proficiency are at historic lows.”
