Oklahoma state superintendent of schools Ryan Walters repeated Saturday that teachers’ unions are “Marxist” and “terrorist” organizations that are not advocating for students or teachers, but seeking power and financial gain for their leaders.
“Unions, including those in Oklahoma, have single-handedly destroyed the classroom,” Walters tweeted and linked to his interview with Fox News. “It is time to take our kids education back and put parents in charge.”
Walters said leaders of the teachers’ union in Oklahoma have complained to him that his outspoken views against them have cost them membership.
“And I said, ‘Well, here’s the reality. You’re going to be held accountable,’” he responded, explaining:
The teachers’ union advocated for school shutdowns. They’re advocating for Critical Race Theory to be taught in our classrooms. They’re advocating for radical gender theory to be in our classrooms. Here in Oklahoma, they’re fighting us on school choice. We’re about to get that done and give every parent an opportunity to choose the school of their choice here in Oklahoma, but the teachers’ unions fight parents every step of the way.
Walters said the power of the teachers’ unions comes through union dues they obtain through teachers’ paychecks, and that “they push people behind the scenes in secrecy,” and “lobby lawmakers even in red states like Oklahoma.”
“I’m tired of it,” the state superintendent asserted. “They’re not advocating for kids. They’re not advocating for, really, the teachers either. All they’re doing is lining their pocketbook so that union leadership gets richer and richer, and they continue to fight to keep education down. And I’m absolutely not going to negotiate with folks that take on terrorists means to get what they want, which is the destruction of our schools.”
Walters said “woke ideology” continues to pervade classrooms as government and the teachers’ unions attempt to place a wedge between children and their parents.
“If we continue to push parents out by not giving them transparency, rights, and choice, and we continue to allow the Biden administration to push this radical agenda by allying itself with the radical teachers’ union so that you’ve got this two- pronged approach,” he said. “You’ve got the federal government. You’ve got radical teachers unions trying to intimidate and terrorize lawmakers and parents. Those two forces are continuing to keep education down, and I am not going to stop fighting them. I’m going to continue to fight for parents and every single child here in the state of Oklahoma to get a great education.”
Thanks for having me on @foxandfriends !
“Teachers unions want to take the Constitution and Bible out of schools and replace them with Gender Queer and Flamer”
— Superintendent Ryan Walters (@RyanWaltersSupt) May 22, 2023
Walters said the current education bill that Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) is expected to sign into law this week is legislation that allows teachers to “make up to six figures, and stay in the classroom, because we want our great teachers to make more money.”
“Well, guess what, the teachers’ union isn’t for it because they’re Marxist and they want all teachers to make the same amount of money,” he continued. “We believe in the free market and capitalism. So, we believe that the best and brightest should make significantly more money.”
As Tulsa World reported Saturday, the education plan that increases public education funding is linked to a new school choice program that will allow parents of children who attend private schools to obtain tax credits of up to $7,500 per child.
School choice advocates are praising the legislation.
Comprehensive school choice puts parents back in charge. Oklahoma’s kids now have more paths to success. https://t.co/mm849Z7Yx7
— Superintendent Ryan Walters (@RyanWaltersSupt) May 20, 2023
Walters initially referred to teachers’ unions as “terrorist” organizations earlier in May when he testified during a state congressional hearing.
The Oklahoma Education Association (OEA), the state’s largest teachers’ union and one that is affiliated with the National Education Association (NEA), responded at that time, “Unprofessional attacks on these educators is not a strategy to improve outcomes for Oklahoma children.”
OEA's official response to the State Superintendent's "terrorist" comment.
"Unprofessional attacks on these educators is not a strategy to improve outcomes for Oklahoma children." #oklaed pic.twitter.com/ZcufZE1A8T
— OK Education Assoc. (@okea) May 1, 2023
“We have to take these teachers unions head on; they should not be allowed to continue to operate in the way that they have,” Walters continued in his remarks to Fox News. “And we’ve got to get school choice done. Every state should have school choice. Every single parent should have every option available to them to choose the school that best meets the needs of their child.”
Walters said as more states enact school choice, schools will compete for students and for the most competent teachers, an outcome that will ultimately show teachers “they don’t need a teachers’ union.”
“As a matter of fact, the teachers’ union just stood in the way from them being able to be more successful in the classroom,” the state superintendent observed. “So, if we continue to push back on the teachers’ unions and their ability to intimidate teachers, we get school choice done, and we fight the Feds and the Biden administration from trying to dictate their radical agenda into our classroom.”
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Susan Berry, PhD is national education editor at The Star News Network. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Oklahoma Superintendent Ryan Walters” by Ryan Walters.
