Investigation inquiry underway after bombshell reports say board members saw naked women on Ryan Walters' office TV during meeting
Read The Oklahoman's full original report
Oklahoma State Board of Education (OSBE) board members Ryan Deatherage and Becky Carson told The Oklahoman Friday it happened inside Walters' office during the closed session portion of Thursday's monthly OSBE meeting.
As a family was appealing a school transfer denial before Walters and the board, Deatherage and Carson said they saw nude images of women playing on a TV mounted to the wall behind Walters.'I was just in shock,' Deatherage told The Oklahoman. 'I was being human and I didn't know what to think.'
Read NonDoc's full original report
Carson told The Oklahoman she, too, could not believe her eyes.'I was like, 'No, wait a minute. Those aren't naked, surely those aren't naked women,'' she told The Oklahoman. 'I saw them just walking across the screen, and I'm like, 'No.' I'm sorry I even have to use this language, but I'm like, 'Those are her nipples.' And then I'm like, 'That's pubic hair.' What in the world am I watching?'Deatherage told non-profit news outlet NonDoc it appeared the women in the video were on top of some sort of 'chiropractic table.'
'It looked like it was made in the '60s, maybe,' Carson told The Oklahoman.She said she immediately confronted Walters after the family left the room.
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'I was so disturbed by it,' Carson told The Oklahoman. '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!''Deatherage told The Oklahoman Walters immediately stood up and turned it off, never acknowledging or apologizing for what happened.
Carson told NonDoc Walters 'blew it off,' acting like he had 'just been caught' in an embarrassing situation.On Friday, Deatherage and Carson told The Oklahoman—given Walters' history of threatening to strip teachers of their certificates for much lesser offenses—they'd like to consider stripping Walters of his teaching certification.
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'If this had been a teacher, I'm pretty certain that they would have been immediately suspended and proceedings would have been brought to review it,' attorney and former OSBE member Tim Gilpin told News 4 on Friday. 'And then if it turned out to be true, they'd be dismissed.'News 4 found Oklahoma's state employment policies strictly prohibit state officials from accessing obscene or sexually explicit material on state devices.
The policy says failure to comply could 'lead to disciplinary action up to and including termination of employment.'
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On Friday, Oklahoma Senate President Pro Tem Lonnie Paxton (R-Tuttle) and Senate Education Chair Adam Pugh (R-Edmond) announced the state's Office of Management and Enterprise Services (OMES) has opened an investigation inquiry looking into the allegations.
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In a statement, Paxton told News 4:
'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 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.'
In another statement, Pugh told News 4:
'The reports coming out of Thursday's Board of Education meeting raise a number of questions. This is a situation that warrants further explanation and transparency. Additionally, Superintendent Walters and those making the allegations deserve to be heard and give their side of the story. I appreciate the efforts by everyone who are taking these allegations seriously. We'll be watching closely as more information comes to light.'
Oklahoma House Speaker Kyle Hilbert (R-Bristow) also called for an investigation and accountability on Friday.
In a statement, Hilbert told News 4:
'These are serious allegations made by two members of the State Board and an expeditious third-party review is warranted. I urge the State Superintendent to unlock and turn over all relevant devices and fully cooperate with an investigation. If no wrongdoing occurred, a prompt and transparent review should quickly clear his name.'
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House Democratic leader and 2026 Oklahoma gubernatorial candidate Cyndi Munson (D-Oklahoma City) called for accountability on Friday as well, telling News 4 in a statement:
'My main concern has always been and will remain on Oklahoma parents, teachers, and students and their right to free, quality public education. Anything that threatens to infringe on that right will be pushed back on, just as House Democrats have done in the past with several efforts to investigate the State Superintendent. Regardless of if recent allegations are true, Oklahomans are in dire need of new leadership at the Oklahoma State Department of Education. While we wait for more information, we will follow the guidance of the Speaker and trust that any alleged moral or criminal wrongdoings will be thoroughly investigated.'
News 4 reached out to Walters' office on Friday, but nobody responded.
However, The Oklahoman reports an OSDE spokesperson did respond to that outlet's request for comment, claiming their report was a 'junk tabloid lie.'The Oklahoman reported OSDE spokesperson Quinton Hitchcock sent the following statement:'Any number of people have access to these offices. You have a hostile board who will say and do anything except tell the truth, and now, the Woklahoman is reporting on an alleged random TV cable image.'News 4 reached out to both Deatherage and Carson.
Both told News 4 The Oklahoman and NonDoc's reports were accurate and truthful.
On Friday, Deatherage sent News 4 the following statement:
'As an appointed member of the Oklahoma School Board, it is my top priority to protect the well-being of Oklahoma students. We hold educators to the strictest of standards when it comes to explicit material. The standard for the superintendent should be no different.'Also in a statement Friday, Carson told News 4:'I was appointed to the State Board of Education to serve Oklahoma students to the best of my ability. The images that board members were exposed to yesterday in this meeting were inappropriate to say the least. There has to be accountability.'News 4 also heard from Governor Kevin Stitt Friday.
Stitt once endorsed Walters during his campaign for state superintendent, but has recently distanced himself.
Earlier this year, Stitt replaced several state school board members who supported Walters with new ones who are more critical of him, Deatherage and Carson among them.
In a statement Friday, Stitt told News 4:
'I trust and appreciate my board members. They are volunteers who are sacrificing their time to serve Oklahoma students. Should these allegations be true, all I can say is that I am profoundly disappointed.'
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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