OKLAHOMA CITY, OK - In a stunning rebuke of a statewide public official by senior leaders in his own party, the Oklahoma state budget signed today by Republican Governor Kevin Stitt - after being passed by a supermajority Republican legislature - undercuts State Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters’ authority. Alongside the budget, Gov. Stitt issued an executive order that meaningfully curtails the ability of the state superintendent to spend taxpayer funding on his own personal public relations. These significant legislative and executive steps come after months of Oklahomans demanding accountability for Walters’ failed leadership and dangerous rhetoric and policies - including but not limited to matters of LGBTQ+ equality.

SB 1122 includes a budget provision that increases legislative oversight of Walters and responds to the ways that he has abused the power of his office to raise his own political profile at the expense of Oklahoma’s schools. The rider lays out the Attorney General’s obligation to ensure the department is spending its funds appropriately and to intervene if they have reason to believe there may be issues. This could include criminal charges. Walters has faced a subpoena from the legislature requiring he turn over information about a state employee he hired - who had formerly served as his campaign manager - without an application or contract.

In addition, today Gov. Stitt issued an executive order alongside the budget rider. The order prohibits Supt. Walters and other Oklahoma officials from spending taxpayer dollars on personal public relations services. It also prevents them from working with companies who are engaged in running political campaigns or who employ registered lobbyists. This order comes after Walters has been widely criticized for using taxpayer dollars to hire an out-of-state PR firm to book him national media appearances, during which he spewed hateful messages about LGBTQ+ youth. A similar provision in the budget rider passed by the legislature applied only to Walters, which the Governor replaced with this order.

Governor Stitt line-item vetoed a third provision, passed by the Republican legislature, that would have forced Walters to ask for permission from legislature before making decisions that could imperil federal funds for Oklahoma schools. Ryan Walters has been under constant scrutiny over his refusal to apply for federal grants or comply with federal civil rights laws - including Title IX regulations - that could cause Oklahoma to lose hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding. Under the proposal he would have needed to seek permission from the legislature prior to taking any action that might imperil federal funds.

Walters made national headlines following the tragic death of Nex Benedict, (he/they), a 16-year-old nonbinary student of Choctaw heritage, who died one day after a brutal assault in a high school bathroom, which followed a year of experiencing harassment and bullying at their Owasso, Oklahoma, high school. Nex’s death has been mourned by people across Oklahoma and the country and exposed Walters’ history of discriminatory and bullying behaviors that created a culture of harassment for LGBTQ+ students–a history that includes appointing Chaya Raichik, a Southern Poverty Law Center designated “extremist,” to a state agency advisory committee. It also brought to light Walters’ tenure of incompetence, scandal, and mismanagement running Oklahoma’s public schools system–with Oklahoma K-12 education currently ranking 49th in the country.

In March, the Human Rights Campaign launched “Remove Ryan Walters,” a 360° campaign to hold Walters accountable for failing Oklahoma students, teachers, and schools. HRC worked closely with our partners on the ground to ensure the voices of Oklahomans’ tired of Walters’ bullying behaviors would be heard loud and clear. This work included:

• Triggering an investigation by the U.S. Department of Education into Owasso Public Schools and its failure to respond appropriately to sex-based harassment that may have contributed to Nex’s death. This was in response to a letter from HRC president Kelley Robinson. HRC has also asked the U.S. Department of Education to open an investigation into Ryan Walters and the Oklahoma State Department of Education.

• Writing to Attorney General Merrick Garland asking the U.S. Department of Justice to begin an investigation into Nex’s death. In addition Robinson wrote to Dr. Margaret Coates, superintendent of the Owasso school district in Oklahoma, calling for the superintendent to take advantage of the Human Rights Campaign’s Welcoming Schools program — the most comprehensive bias-based bullying prevention program in the nation to provide LGBTQ+ and gender-inclusive training and resources — and offering to bring experts to the district immediately.

• Mobilizing our Oklahoma members and supporters to make more than 3200 phone calls to their state legislators and the Governor.

• Collaborating with partners on the ground to hold events in Tulsa and Oklahoma City that allowed Oklahomans to register their anger and frustration with Walters’ failed leadership. The postcards Oklahomans wrote to their legislators were then dropped off at the state capitol following May’s board of education meeting.

• Launching a “Remove Ryan Walters” petition that has garnered over 57,000 signatures nationwide

• Creating RemoveWalters.com, a public pressure campaign site with more than 3 million impressions, that exposes Walters’ many failures and reports on his record of mismanagement and hateful rhetoric.

• Producing and promoting digital ads – reaching 10% of the voting age population with nearly 2.1 million impressions with targeted paid media, digital homepage takeovers, Google search, and digital billboards – to ensure Oklahomans understand how Walters is failing their kids and the state. This included powerful video testimony from Marley H., an Owasso High School grad and Oklahoman speaking to the culture of harassment and bullying she witnessed firsthand during her time in the Owasso school district, how it impacted her and her fellow students, and what she sees as the way forward for the district and state.

• Amplifying the voices of Oklahomans with widespread traction and over 2 million video views across social media — reaching and engaging those calling for justice for Nex, including on-the-ground advocates, Members of Congress, and other notable influential figures.

• Joining more than 350 national, state, and local organizations in an open letter to Oklahoma legislative leadership urging the immediate removal of Walters and an investigation into the Oklahoma State Department of Education.

The Human Rights Campaign is America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) people. HRC envisions a world where LGBTQ+ people are embraced as full members of society at home, at work and in every community.

Freedom Oklahoma is the state's only dedicated 2SLGBTQ+ advocacy organization and works each day to build a future where all 2SLGBTQ+ people have the safety to thrive.

Defense of Democracy educates the public about the value of inclusivity and the importance of emotional and physical safety for all individuals within the American public-school and library systems.

###