Southwest Ledger Editor’s Note: This story is the first installment in a multi-part series about the fallout and impact of Ryan Walters’ tenure as Oklahoma’s State Superintendent of Public Instruction.
OKLAHOMA CITY – For more than two years, the Sooner State’s common education system was overwhelmed with political turmoil and infighting.
The reign of Ryan Walters as Oklahoma’s Superintendent of Public Instruction sparked nonstop infighting, right-wing politics, questionable policy changes, and a long-running political feud between Walters, other school officials, Gov. Kevin Stitt and members of the Oklahoma Legislature.
That battled ended on Oct. 2, 2025, when Ryan Walters officially resigned his post. But the fallout continues.
From admired teacher to far-right public official Records show that Walters began his career as a popular history teacher in McAlester. He was well-liked, thoughtful, and connected with his students. He taught Advanced Placement World History, U.S. history, U.S. government and other history classes, as well as special education and Advancement Via Individual Determination classes.
In 2016, he was a finalist for the state’s Teacher of the Year award and was known by his students to be a caring teacher who fostered debate and expected well-reasoned, factual arguments from his students.
Three years later, Walters left the classroom to head an education initiative for the Oklahoma State Chamber of Commerce. That program would evolve into Every Kid Counts Oklahoma. However, questions were raised about how the program spent $8 million in federal pandemic relief funds.
After serving briefly as Governor Stitt’s Cabinet Secretary for Education, Walters ran for the post of State Superintendent of Public Instruction and, at the same time, reached out to the far-right portion of the Republican Party.
Sources say that it was during this time Walters began to interact with Texas billionaire Tim Dunn, a right-wing oil exec who wanted the United States to become an openly evangelical Christian nation.
“Once Walters began to interact with Dunn, he changed from loving schoolteacher to rightwing radical,” said one source who asked not to be identified due to fear of retribution. “Walters absorbed what Dunn had to say, and by the time he was elected, he was as far right as you could get.”
Dunn’s influence would put Walters on a new path.
Oklahoma’s most controversial school superintendent Controversy followed Walters from the beginning of his term.
Shortly after taking office, he ordered the photographs from the Educator Hall of Fame removed. And, instead of trying to work with teachers, he called the Oklahoma Education Association – the state’s largest teachers’ union – a terrorist organization.
Walters also targeted books in school libraries and called for called for some teachers to be stripped of their state license because of their political statements. He also was the center of dozens of lawsuits, including those on wrongful termination and slander claims, policies over library books, Bible purchases and even academic standards.
By the end of his first year in elected office, many state lawmakers – including Republicans in the House of Representatives – began raising questions about Walters’ leadership of the Department of Education.
In August 2024, state Rep. Mark McBride, a Republican from Moore, circulated a letter signed by dozens of lawmakers – including 24 Republicans – calling for an investigation of Walters.
McBride said he’d been concerned about Walters’ actions for more than a year, adding that Walters’ moves in early 2024 pushed him to act. McBride said he was concerned that Walters wasn’t focused on improving the state’s educational system.
'I want a superintendent of public instruction to be at the office and making it better for our kids and teachers in the state of Oklahoma,' McBride told a Tulsa television station. 'I don't think we need a superintendent that's traveling around the states, Fox News and different things.'
McBride presented the letter to then-House Speaker Charles McCall, seeking help. But the letter, he said, didn’t go over well with the speaker.
“The speaker wasn’t happy about it, McBride said. “He ignored the Democrats’ signatures and told me I would have to have 51 GOP signatures to do anything.”
McBride said McCall, who had announced he was running for governor after his term in office ended, said he didn’t want a fight with Walters since he would be a candidate for office.
“He said we had to have 51 Republican signatures,” McBride said. “And then he told me I would never get that many signatures because he wouldn’t let it happen.”
McBride said McCall’s move effectively killed any real examination of Walters’ actions.
“He didn’t want to deal with the political fallout,” McBride said. “So, Walters got a free pass.”
McCall would later authorize a brief investigation of Walters by the Legislative Office of Fiscal Transparency. But that investigation, Mc-Bride said, was limited in scope and had little effect.
“Even though [we] turned over many documents, the LOFT investigation didn’t do anything,” McBride said. “A great deal of information was ignored.”
McCall, whose campaign for governor continues, downplayed the incident. In an email to Southwest Ledger, McCall’s campaign manager Evan Handy said McBride was unsuccessful in finding any criminal charges against Walters.
However, McCall’s statement did not address McBride’s claim that the former speaker shut down his investigation of Walters.
“Mr. McBride investigated Superintendent Walters and was unsuccessful in uncovering criminal charges,” Handy wrote. “Attorney General [Gentner] Drummond’s requested Multi-County Grand Jury found no evidence of wrongdoing on Walters’ part. The petition Mr. McBride circulated was nearly sixty days after the Legislature was out of session and only obtained thirteen signatures. Charles McCall is focused on the future, including better outcomes in education for Oklahoma kids.”
Walters would survive the political storm of 2024. But just a year later, that storm would become a hurricane.