Education boss who railed against sexual content in schools showed nude women on office TV during meeting, colleagues say
Republican Ryan Walters, the Superintendent of Public Instruction, hosted a meeting on Thursday where two State Board of Education members claim they saw the explicit images.
Walters has flatly denied the accounts, claiming they are the result of a political agenda'.
But board members Ryan Deatherage and Becky Carson told The Oklahoman that they couldn't quite believe their eyes.
Carson told the outlet: 'I was like, "those are naked women", and then I was like, "No, wait a minute. Those aren't naked, surely those aren't naked women.
'Something is playing a trick on my eye. Maybe they just have on tan body suits. This is just really bizarre".'
She added that it then became clear what she was watching, and that it had left her 'disturbed'.
Carson said: 'I was like, "What is on your TV?" I was very stern, like I'd been a mother or a classroom teacher. And I said, "What am I watching? Turn it off now!".'
The two said that Walters, who has four children to with his wife Katie, had his back to the TV at the time and that he did not apologize or offer any explanation as he turned off the TV.
An inquiry is now underway into the incident, according to state Senate President Lonnie Paxton.
Paxton said in a statement: 'This is a bizarre and troubling situation that raises serious questions about the events and what took place during yesterday's executive session at the Oklahoma State Board of Education meeting.
'The accounts made public by board members paint a strange, unsettling scene that demands clarity and transparency.
'Senator (Adam) Pugh and I appreciate the quick action by OMES to help coordinate through this situation to get details on exactly what happened. More transparency is essential before strong conclusions can be drawn.'
On Friday, Walters issued a defiant statement suggesting that both Deatherage and Carson had made the whole thing up.
He said: 'Some of these board members are blatantly dishonest and cannot hide their political agenda.
'It is disappointing that they are more interested in creating distractions than getting work done for Oklahoma families.'
During his tenure as State Superintendent he has railed against sexual material, labeling some books as 'pornography' while attempting to ban them from schools.
In October of last year, he mandated that every public school classroom in the state must have a Bible.
Offering specifics, the Bibles must include a text of the Pledge of Allegiance, the US Constitution and other historical documents not typically associated with the text.
The only Bible that fit the bill was county music star Lee Greenwood's God Bless the USA Bible, which is endorsed by President Donald Trump.
Trump received royalties for their sales, according to The New York Times, with disclosure reports from last August showing he made $300,000 from endorsing it.
In March the state Supreme Court blocked the attempt, Walters filed a motion this week to lift a stay that pauses the purchases of the Bibles for the approaching school year.
A former public school teacher who was elected to his post in 2022, Walters ran on a platform of fighting 'woke ideology,' banning books from school libraries and getting rid of 'radical leftists' who he claims are indoctrinating children in classrooms.
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