Oklahoma director threatens to suspend teachers who “pologise” for Charlie Kirk’s death
Oklahoma’s public leadership superintendent Ryan Walters “celebrating or praise” his teacher on Wednesday, September 10th, killing Charlie Kirk at a college event in Orem, Utah.
The recently announced partnership between the Oklahoma Department of Education and Turning Point USA raises questions about the initial amendment regarding the legality of government resources used to promote partisan political activity, particularly in schools.
“We are excited to announce that all Oklahoma High Schools have a Turning Point USA chapter,” Oklahoma’s public coach Ryan Walters said in a video posted on X on September 23rd. It is unclear whether his departure from civil servant on October 1st will affect his new partnership.
USA Today has contacted Turning Point USA, the Oklahoma Education Association and the National Education Association for Comment.
Here’s what you need to know about the partnership and its potential first amendment:
Do all high schools need the Turning Point USA chapter?
No, according to Walters. Reflecting a written statement issued by his department, Walters told USA Today in a September 24 interview that the chapter will be started by students.
He said his claim that all high schools will have a Turning Point USA chapter was based on the level of interest seen by students, parents and teachers in the wake of Kirk’s death.
“We already have numbers,” Walters said. “It’s going crazy. We get hundreds of requests a day. This is a transaction that’s completed. It’s about ensuring that the school allows it and is allowed.”
Walters said all schools in the state expect a timeline of about two months to have chapters.
What does a partnership do?
Turning Point USA already provides guidance to high school students interested in starting chapters on campus.
The advantage of the partnership, Walters said, is that it helps the nation to help set up students of interest with Turning Point USA resources and encourage new local chapters.
But, according to Walters, the bigger problem is “fighting the union to allow this to happen.” He said he thinks they are trying to fight students who want to start the chapter, reflecting previous comments from the state teachers union that suggested it would “stymie our children,” and comparing them to “terrorist organisations.”
The director recently announced he will leave office to lead an advocacy group designed as a conservative alternative to the teachers’ unions, which he perceives as a liberal threat to education.
Walters told Kokh Fox 25 in Oklahoma City that if the district rejects a request to commence a campus chapter, his department will “be certified” and “stalked the certificate.”
The Oklahoma Education Association, the state’s largest teachers’ union, described his previous comments as “abhorrent” and “non-expert” at the time, Oklahoman reported.
The union did not respond to requests for comment on his announcement of USA Today’s Turning Point USA Partnership.
Is it legal?
According to Franklin Rosenblatt, a professor of law at the University of Mississippi, the fact that government agencies promote certain political organisations among students can lead to point-based discrimination claims.
“I’m not saying this is a fragrant offence,” Rosenblatt said. “I think those who do that are putting their own government system at risk,” he said.
He referenced the Supreme Court case since the 1940s. The court ruled that public schools could not prevent students from paying tribute to the American flag.
“If there is a fixed star in our constitutional constellations, it cannot prescribe civil servants, high or trivial things that are orthodox in matters of politics, nationalism, religion, or other opinion.
Students are not forced to participate in the Turning Point USA chapter in Oklahoma, but the two cases have similar themes, Rosenblatt said.
“The fact that national actors say they’re going to do what we can and bend backwards to help one political affiliation puts him at risk,” he said. “Not everyone is happy when they’re not treated the same way.”
Will Creeley, legal director of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (Fire), said there was “uniqueness” in the partnership between the school board and political organisations, saying he “just never saw it.”
“It really raises my eyebrows about the situation and certainly guarantees more detail and observation,” Creeley said.
However, until more is known about what the partnership actually looks like, he said it is unclear whether its mere existence violates the initial amendment.
Walters said the notion that partnerships are unconstitutional is “hate.”
“No one is forced into that,” he told USA Today. “If the kids want to participate, they can. They’re not told they have to participate.”
What was the response?
Walters described the partnership as “one of the key solutions” to combat political violence, and received support from other leaders elected after his announcement.
For example, Indiana Lt. Col. Micah Beckwith said in the X-Post September 23rd:
Florida Attorney General James Usmierer also said his office would “have legal action against schools and districts that are preventing TPUSA clubs from being present on campus.”
Others, including Nadine Gallagher, president of the Crooked Oak Association of Classroom Teachers and John Croisant, an executive at Tulsa Public Schools, criticized the partnership in interviews with local media.
“We have all sorts of clubs in our schools that students can create themselves, but we are not going to actively promote political organisations within the school,” Croisant told Kosu 91.7 FM.
What else did Walters do?
The Turning Point USA Partnership is not the first time Walters has sparked controversy.
A few days before the September 23 announcement, the Walters Bureau had launched an investigation into dozens of school districts accused of not lowering the flag or holding a moment of silent, as Walters ordered, Oklahoman reported.
He previously was asked to display 10 commandments in classrooms, ordered school districts to use the Bible in their curriculum, and implemented what he described as an “America First” certification for California or New York teachers who wanted to work in the state.
President Donald Trump praised Walters in June 2024, describing him in a true social post as “strong, decisive, knowing his “thing””.
Walters’ announcement of the Turning Point USA Partnership was the day before he announced that he would step down from his position to take on the job as CEO of the Teacher Freedom Alliance, an organization he describes as a “viable alternative to the union.”
“Walters fearlessly fights the awakened liberal union mob,” the organization’s website said following the announcement. “The (Teacher Freedom Alliance) will straighten the battle to the union and we will not stop.”
A Walters spokesperson did not reply to USA’s request for comment today on whether Walters’ departure would affect the partnership.
Brieanna Frank is the first amendment reporter for USA Today. Contact her at bjfrank@usatoday.com.
Reports on the First Amendment issue for USA Today are funded through collaborations between the Freedom Forum and Journalism’s fundraising partners. Funders do not provide editor input.
