Legal experts, superintendents, legislators say Walters’ mandate schools show politically-charged video crosses numerous lines
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) — Legal experts say it was unlawful for State Superintendent Ryan Walters to require public schools this week to show students a video of him making politically-charged statements and praying for President-elect Donald Trump. Many superintendents say they won’t show it. Some state lawmakers say it’s beyond time for the legislature to do something about Walters.
As News 4 previously reported, Oklahoma State Superintendent Ryan Walters sent superintendents in school districts across Oklahoma an email Thursday, telling them they were required to play a video for all students and parents.
In the video, Walters can be seen and heard making politically-charged, opinionated statements and unsubstantiated claims about teachers unions and liberals, followed by a prayer for President-elect Donald Trump.
The video, titled ‘Supt. Walters Announcement Regarding the Department of Religious Freedom and Patriotism,' begins with Walters facing a camera while sitting at the desk in his office.
A mug sits on the desk next to Walters’ hands.
Printed on the mug is the Latin phrase “si vis pacem para bellum,” which translates to “if you want peace, prepare for war.”
Walters begins the video by making an announcement.
“We’re excited to announce a new office here in the State Department of Education, that will be the Office of Religious Freedom and Patriotism.” Walters begins the video saying.
Without citing any examples, Walters then goes on to make politically charged statements about people on the political left.
“For too long in this country, we’ve seen the radical left attack individuals’ religious liberty in our schools,” Walters says. “We will not tolerate that in Oklahoma. Your religious liberties will be protected.”
Then, once again without citing any examples, Walters makes politically charged statements aimed at teachers unions.
“We’ve also seen patriotism mocked, and a hatred for this country pushed by woke teachers unions.” Walters says. “We will not tolerate that in any school in Oklahoma. We want our students be patriotic. We want our students to love this country. And we want all students’ religious liberty to be protected.”
Then, Walters invites students watching the video to join him in a prayer.
He makes it clear students are not required to pray with him.
“I will now say a prayer—and to be clear, students, you don’t have to join—but if you so wish, I’m gonna go ahead and pray,” Walters says.
Walters then bows his head and begins to pray.
“Dear God, thank you for all the blessings you’ve given our country,” Walters says. “I pray for our leaders to make the right decisions. I pray, in particular, for President Donald Trump, and his team, as they continue to bring about change to the country. I pray for our parents, teachers and kids—that they get the best education possible, and live high-quality lives. I also pray that we continue to teach love of country to our young people, and that our students understand what makes America great, and that they continue to love this country. Amen.”
The video ends immediately after Walters ends the prayer.
Mid-Del Public Schools Superintendent Rick Cobb told News 4 he couldn’t believe it when he got Walters’ email on Thursday.
“I was in a meeting yesterday with two of my leadership team when it came in and I said, ‘hold on, I'm going to read this to you,’” Cobb said. “And then we watched the video and we made the decision right away that we're not sending this out to our students and parents.”
Numerous other superintendents came to that the same conclusion.
Superintendents in Bixby, Edmond, Moore, Mustang and numerous other school districts all say they will not show it.
On Friday, News 4 could only find one school district that opted to share the video, Freedom Public Schools.
The district posted a link to the video on its Facebook page, writing “Attached is video from Oklahoma Superintendent Ryan Walters. We were instructed to make accessible for all parents and students.”
Cobb said his decision to not show the video was a no-brainer.
“When we receive something from the State Department of Education saying you are required to share this, and there's no statutory requirement for us to do that, we have to evaluate whether it's actually appropriate to share,” Cobb said. “It has no instructional value. It has no relevance to what we're trying to communicate to our staff. We just decided it wasn't something that we needed to get out to everybody.”
Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond’s Office coming to a similar conclusion.
A spokesperson for Drummond sent News 4 the following statement:
There is no statutory authority for the state schools superintendent to require all students to watch a specific video. Not only is this edict unenforceable, it is contrary to parents’ rights, local control and individual free-exercise rights.
Oklahoma Attorney General’s Office
“The attorney general statement is correct, and it makes common sense. There is no authority for the state superintendent to do this,” said Tim Gilpin, a Tulsa-based attorney and former Assistant Oklahoma Attorney General. “There is no practical reason for him to do this.”
Gilpin said, if schools were to show the video to students at Walters’ direction, they could possibly open themselves up to legal problems.
"There are a lot of legal issues raised by [Walters] doing this, and even more if a school district showed it to their students,” Gilpin said. “It is indoctrination. It is a state official pushing their political and religious beliefs off on the rest of us… I suspect that if this video was shown in classrooms and students and their parents were disturbed by it, that they could bring a lawsuit against maybe Mr. Walters and also the school district.”
Gilpin said this is unlike anything he can ever remember an Oklahoma politician doing.
“At some point, you have to wonder what's going on with Superintendent Walters,” Gilpin said. “I have never seen this before— a state officer doing such things. It's going to be a lot of trouble as we move on down the road, because it seems to be escalating with State Superintendent Walters… If you look back in our history, while we've had very colorful politicians, I can't remember anything like this. So this is new. This is different. And at some point, even those of us of faith have got to wonder what in the world is going on?”
State Rep. Melissa Provenzano (D-Tulsa) is a parent and former middle school principal in Tulsa Public Schools.
For her, the issue is personal.
“The way we teach our children to pray is a right that belongs to parents and not the superintendent of our schools,” Provenzano said. “For him to attempt to supersede Oklahoma parents and their right to raise their children in their religion and the way they best see fit and is not his job.”
She agrees, Walters’ choice to require schools to show students the video is not one that would hold up in court.
“It's not lawful, and it just smacks of a clear abuse of power,” Provenzano said. “It's very concerning.”
Provenzano feels there are larger motives at play for Walters.
“I have to wonder if his heart's in it,” she said. “It's almost laughable, and it just desperately seems like he's very much trying to get the attention of [President-elect Trump].”
News 4 reported earlier this week Walters’ name has been floated as a possibility for U.S. Secretary of Education during President-elect Donald Trump’s second term in office.
“It seems like [Walters] is supercharged now that Trump is the president-elect and possibly gaining his attention might be to Mr. Walters’ benefit.”
Provenzano said, once again, she thinks it’s beyond past time for the legislature to take action to hold Walters accountable.
“How much longer are we going to let this gentleman continue on to use this office for personal gain? That's my big question,” Provenzano said. “And will we ultimately step up?”
News 4 reached out to OSDE on Thursday and asked a spokesperson if OSDE’s legal staff approved the email and video.
News 4 also asked if Walters would consider the required video a form of political indoctrination, and if he doesn’t, why?
So far, News 4 has not received a response.