Lawmakers, Former Employees Frustrated with OSDE

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OKLAHOMA CITY – The latest topics of debate from the Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE) have left lawmakers shrouded in confusion. On Monday, department heads proposed rule changes to the Senate Administrative Rules Committee. The committee had 27 rules drafted by all state agencies to consider. The OSDE is responsible for 21 of them. 

State agencies are allowed to create rules that govern their respective departments. These rules must be approved by the state legislature to become law. No official votes have been taken. Instead, it was a preliminary meeting to hear suggested rules. 

OSDE has proposed many controversial rules in the past that have drawn criticism across the aisle. Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters has led the fight to dismantle “leftist indoctrination” in Oklahoma schools. One rule prohibits the changing of pronouns on school documents. This has led to one family to take legal action against Walters and his department. 

Ruling on Rules

In April 2023, Attorney General Gentner Drummond issued an opinion stating that rules the school board passes are null and void without action from the legislature. “Whether I agree or disagree with any particular rule in question is irrelevant if the Board does not have the proper authority to issue those rules,” said Drummond. “The Legislature is vested with policymaking authority. I will not allow any state agency, board, or commission to usurp the Legislature’s rightful role, even if they have the best of intentions.”

One of the rules proposed by OSDE on Monday’s committee agenda concerns voluntary prayer in school. The Establishment Clause of the US Constitution prohibits students from being led in prayer. Despite this, the OSDE continues to try and pass state-sponsored prayer initiatives.

Two committee members, Senators Mary Boren (D-Norman) and Michael Brooks (D-OKC) voiced their criticism of the submitted rules. Boren referenced the 2023 AG opinion about the department’s comfortability of creating rules with no legal standing.

At the end of Monday’s meeting, Committee Chair Sen. Michael Bergstrom stated, “Obviously, this has been the State Department of Education show.”

Wake of Mass Resignation

The internal turmoil of the OSDE is slowly starting to see the light of day. A former Walters appointee recently spoke with KFOR about her experience working under the administration. Pamela Smith-Gordon spoke candidly about her initial excitement to work for OSDE but how things quickly turned sour. Smith-Gordon has an accomplished three-decade career in rural school districts, including Superintendent of Caney Public Schools. 

When Walters first announced his bid for State Superintendent, their shared conservative values intrigued Smith-Gordon. Once Walters took office, he selected her to serve as Program Manager of Grant Development and Compliance. 

Over the coming weeks, Smith-Gordon asked to meet directly with Walters, but her request was repeatedly denied. Four months later, she resigned. 

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In March 2024, the department no longer had a lawyer on its staff. Lawyers and program managers are among many positions that have since been vacated.

Walters first took office in January 2023. Barely over a year later, the education department has lost 130 employees. Some have resigned, while others have retired. Many cite Walters’ leadership as a reason for departure. When the Oklahoman pressed OSDE spokesman Dan Isett about the nature of these resignations, he responded with, “The Oklahoman is fake news.” 

Disputing Negative Press

In typical Walters fashion, he took to social media to dispute claims against him. “I never read the ‘Wokelahoman’ frankly, I don’t know anyone who does,” Walters said in a video. “We’ve cut down on staff here. Absolutely, we’ve saved taxpayer dollars.” He goes on to say that the Oklahoman piece was to distract from the progress made in Oklahoma schools. Currently, Oklahoma still ranks 48th in the nation for education. 

At a press conference on Friday, Governor Stitt was asked his thoughts on the high volume of employee resignations. “So you’re telling me that we’ve lost 130 bureaucrats up here in Oklahoma City, and we’ve still got our education system rolling across the state? It sounds like a good thing to me.”

Before becoming State Superintendent, Gov. Stitt appointed Walters as the Secretary of Education. When former Superintendent Joy Hofmeister announced she was switching parties to challenge Stitt for governorship, Walters jumped on the opportunity to run for her seat. 

After narrowly defeating fellow Republican April Grace in an August runoff, Walters headed to the general election. He was up against Democratic candidate Jena Nelson. His advantage came from Oklahoma’s Republican super-majority, securing his win in the 2022 election with 56.8% of the vote.