FALSE PROPHET
Ryan Walters
Oklahoma State Superintendent of Public Instruction
As Oklahoma State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Ryan Walters continually uses his position to force his right-wing Christian beliefs into public schools. He claims that schools have drifted too far from "traditional schooling" and falsely asserts that students do not know the values of our founding fathers or the true history of America.
Walters is behind the effort to create the first publicly-funded Catholic charter school in America, which was subsequently rejected by the courts.
He has ordered teachers in Oklahoma public schools to teach students directly from the Bible, issuing instructional support guidelines that claim the Bible is among the documents that “are mandatory for the holistic education of students in Oklahoma. He’s also threatened what he calls “rogue” school districts which refuse Bible mandate, reportedly claiming that not having the Bible in classrooms would “rob children of a full and well-rounded understanding of the country’s history.” He also circulated "sample prayers" to encourage faculty to pressure students into engaging in Christian prayer.
He rejects the rights of trans teachers and students, even going so far as to sue the Biden-Harris administration over the changes made to Title IX to include trans women. Walters has also espoused xenophobic and fear-based claims, blaming migrants for problems in schools including drugs.