Overview:
Oklahoma lawmakers and law enforcement are calling for transparency after explicit images were reportedly displayed on a TV in Superintendent Ryan Walters’ office during a State Board of Education meeting, prompting an official investigation.
Oklahoma lawmakers and law enforcement are calling for transparency and further investigation after reports surfaced that explicit images appeared on a television in Superintendent Ryan Walters’ office during an executive session of the Oklahoma State Board of Education.
While in office, Walters has been known to push for the implementation of education policies based on conservative values and what he refers to as an “America First” approach to classroom instruction.
The Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Office has launched a probe after a request from the Office of Management and Enterprise Services (OMES), which oversees human resources matters for the state government. The incident reportedly occurred during last Thursday’s board meeting held in Walters’ office, according to The Oklahoman newspaper of Oklahoma City, which cited members Ryan Deatherage and Becky Carson, who attended the meeting said they saw images of naked women on a TV screen.
“This is a bizarre and troubling situation that raises serious questions about the events and what took place during yesterday’s executive session at the Oklahoma State Board of Education meeting,” said Senate President Pro Tem Lonnie Paxton and state Sen. Adam Pugh, in a press release. “The accounts made public by board members paint a strange, unsettling scene that demands clarity and transparency.”
State Senator Adam Pugh, R-Edmond, echoed the need for openness. “The reports coming out of Thursday’s Board of Education meeting raise a number of questions,” he said. “This is a situation that warrants further explanation and transparency. Additionally, Superintendent Walters and those making the allegations deserve to be heard and give their side of the story.”
Walters, a conservative Republican, dismissed the accusations as “politically motivated attacks” in a statement Monday.
Last month, Walters introduced a new test to assess educators who are relocating to Oklahoma from other states with ” progressive education policies”. The assessment will evaluate teachers’ knowledge in areas such as U.S. Civics, Constitutional Principles, American History, and the biological differences between boys and girls.”
House Common Education Committee Chairman Dick Lowe, who also attended the meeting, told NonDoc that while he didn’t witness the images himself, he spoke directly with Deatherage and Carson. “Shocked would be maybe an understatement a little bit,” Lowe said. “That’s absolutely without a question not appropriate by any means for any state official, much less that state official.”
OMES has not publicly commented about the investigation.
