Oklahoma College Official Smears Educators In Rant

The controversial Oklahoma state superintendent of colleges advised, with out proof, that the state lecturers union and educators had been making a tradition that allowed for rampant sexual misconduct towards college students.

“What we now have seen is radical leftists and the lecturers unions turning our faculties into Epstein Island,” Ryan Walters mentioned at an emergency Oklahoma State Division of Training assembly final week, referring to the place Jeffrey Epstein, the late billionaire and sexual predator, would abuse kids.

“They’ve opened up our faculties and allowed sexual predators to focus on our youngsters unchecked, unwatched, and with out accountability,” he added.

The assembly had been referred to as due to sexual misconduct allegations towards a highschool trainer within the Western Heights faculty district in Oklahoma Metropolis. Earlier this month, a bunch often called the Oklahoma Predator Prevention accused the trainer of inappropriately texting with somebody he believed to be a minor. In response to KFOR 4, the trainer reportedly was not arrested. (The Oklahoma Metropolis Police Division informed HuffPost it did “not have something on that particular person that might be open document.”) OSDE suspended his instructing license on the assembly.

Walters claimed that there have been many issues about sexual predators within the state’s faculties, which he oversees. He mentioned he believes the overwhelming majority of colleges should not have points with sexual predators, however that the state faculty board was in search of to droop 17 extra licenses throughout Oklahoma.

When making his claims about predators being prevalent in state faculties, Walters singled out a number of particular districts, together with Western Heights, which Walters had beforehand focused. In September, OSDE introduced an investigation into the district after it was revealed {that a} faculty principal was moonlighting as a drag queen and he had prior fees of a kid sexual abuse materials dismissed. The varsity district responded by saying that the principal had handed a background test and had his lecturers license renewed by Walters himself.

“We’ve had some important points with sexual predators in our faculties,” he mentioned. “These lecturers have focused kids and violated dad and mom’ youngsters in a method that’s unimaginable.”

Walters went on to suggest new insurance policies that he mentioned would defend youngsters from predators. Nevertheless, the proposals — which haven’t been circulated to the general public or offered to board members but — are imprecise, and at this stage don’t present faculties with clear steering.

Walters mentioned the primary rule “clarifies what neighborhood requirements are in utility to a trainer certificates. If an individual can not uphold these neighborhood requirements…we are going to act to drag their instructing certificates.” However he didn’t say what these neighborhood requirements can be.

He additionally mentioned he would tie a college district’s accreditation to their capability to rent educators with “good” background checks and holding the district accountable for permitting faculty officers to go “unchecked.” He didn’t present additional steering on how faculties ought to maintain employees accountable for trainer misconduct.

The Oklahoma Training Affiliation declined to remark, citing the vagueness and lack of readability surrounding the proposed guidelines. Walters didn’t reply to a request for remark.

Walters has been focusing on educators since he grew to become head of Oklahoma faculties in January 2023, after serving as Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt’s secretary of training from September 2020 to April 2023. (Walters resigned from Stitt’s administration after Oklahoma’s legal professional common knowledgeable him it was unlawful to serve in each roles.)

Walters has referred to members of the lecturers union as “terrorists” who “indoctrinate” kids. He has additionally been a large proponent of the false declare that books with LGBTQ+ themes are express content material and are inappropriate for kids, and has repeatedly claimed that there’s pornography in Oklahoma faculties — though, when pressed by lawmakers, he was unable to supply any proof of this.

At an OSDE assembly final June, Walters performed a video that alleged that lecturers who spoke up for LGBTQ+ rights had been secretly defending little one sexual abuse. Educators mentioned the video made them concern for his or her lives, and even pushback from his fellow Republicans hasn’t pressured Walters to tone down his rhetoric.

The following state faculty board assembly is on Thursday, the place neighborhood members ought to count on to listen to extra concerning the proposals. In the meantime, Oklahoma is within the midst of a extreme trainer scarcity, regardless of the state’s try to lure educators with bonuses and elevated advantages.