While Oklahoma tends to drift toward the very bottom ranking in national education, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters is currently at the top of news headlines regarding two recent investigations launched against him by the Oklahoma Ethics Commission. The commission is often regarded as an organization lacking in resources, but the State Ethics Commission launching two investigations while also proclaiming that it is in the “public’s interest” to know of Walters’ identity when most investigations are confidential points toward its intent. Initially, an ethics probe was launched in October regarding the Walters for State Superintendent 2022 campaign, “alleging violations of Campaign Finance Rules” and a subpoena was filed. This was followed in December by a second investigation regarding violations of social media usage in support of political candidates during an election while possibly having used state money, property and time to do so. Specifically, these violations concern Rule 2.12 “Posting of Material by Elected State Officers Indicating Positions on Issues” and Rule 2.16 “Use of Social Media Account by State Officer,” which both disallow one to “advocate the election or defeat of a clearly identified candidate for any elective office.”
Using the “Oklahoma State Superintendent’s personal account,” Superintendent Ryan Walters (@RyanWaltersSupt) made multiple posts during the election season in support of Donald Trump. Such posts include “Time to shut the border down: elect @realdonaldtrump and @jdvance” and “I just cast my ballot for President Trump.” Among the posts flagged by the Ethics Commission is a video Walters posted during an interview with Fox News Network in which he claimed “The biggest threat out there to our U.S. economy, our parents, our kids — is Kamala Harris.” In addition, a video was posted from the official account of the OK State Department of Education (@OKSDE) stating “The Oklahoma Department of Education sends notice to the office of the Vice President, charged with addressing the border crisis…” Furthermore, a press release in October titled “Walters Condemns Hamas War Against Israel” used official OSDE letterhead and placed blame on the Biden Administration for how the “US arms Israel’s enemies” while stating “Oklahoma schools do not teach terrorism as a legitimate means to political ends.”
Of course, this investigation into Walters’ conduct stands amidst a plethora of national headlines and controversies regarding Oklahoman education. These include proposals for implementing religious materials in public classrooms and his adamant support for President Trump’s anti-immigration policies and their enforcement in Oklahoma schools.
With religious neutrality rooted in the national ethos through the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, the breaching of the separation of church and state has resulted in great controversy. With Walters claiming that “Every teacher, every classroom in the state will have a Bible in the classroom and will be teaching from the Bible in the classroom,” the Bible mandate has only served to face criticism from all sides. With false piety melting away, even Republicans criticized Walters’ request for a total of $6 million when organizations would be willing to donate Bibles. Furthermore, the enforcement infringes on individuals no matter their religious background. Even amongst Christians, the requirement of a specific translation of the Holy Bible would alienate certain faith traditions and denominations in favor of others.
The U.S. Supreme Court agreed in January to hear two cases regarding the opening of the first religious charter school in the nation, St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School. Struck down by a 7-1 vote in the Oklahoma Supreme Court, St. Isidore’s status as a charter school would qualify it as a public school able to receive state funding. In direct violation of the Oklahoma Constitution, the school would violate both Section I-2 and Section II-5, stating, “Perfect toleration of religious sentiment shall be secured,” and “No public money or property shall ever be … for the use, benefit, or support of any sect, church, denomination, or system of religion.”
Finally, Walters has appeared on national news supporting what he called “the most aggressive deportation policy in our history.” With the Oklahoma State Board of Education unanimously voting for “Enhancing Enrollment Transparency,” every school district would need to provide students’ proof of citizenship or immigration status if passed by the state Legislature and governor. While many have voiced concerns about the legality and trauma of ICE raids against school children, even resulting in protests at the State Capitol, Walters remains adamant that this is what “the American people clearly support.”
This article appears in The OG Food Issue 2025.