Latest news with #StateBoardOfEducation
Yahoo
a day ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Oklahoma's Trump-Loving, Bible-Thumping Superintendent Faces Porn Probe
An investigation is underway in Oklahoma after a television screen in the MAGA state school superintendent's office reportedly showed a video of nude women during an executive session of the State Board of Education on Thursday. The images reportedly appeared on a screen in the office of Ryan Walters, Oklahoma's far-right Superintendent of Public Instruction. Walters previously told schools to teach the Bible and Ten Commandments, demanded students watch him pray for Donald Trump, and named transphobe Chaya Raichik to a state education committee. He also tried to use state money to purchase bibles for classrooms that matched the specifics of those marketed by the president and his family. As you might expect, Walters has led a crusade against 'pornography' in school libraries. Two members of the Oklahoma board of education said they were shocked at what they saw on the screen on Thursday. 'I was like, 'Those are naked women,'' board member Becky Carson told The Oklahoman. '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.'' '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? I didn't watch a second longer.' Carson told Walters to turn the video off. 'I was so disturbed by it, that I was like — very loudly and boastfully, like I was a parent or a teacher — I said, 'What is on your TV? What am I watching?' He was like, 'What? What are you talking about?' He stood up and saw it. He made acknowledgment that he saw it,' Carson said, according to NonDoc Media, an Oklahoma news website. 'And I said, 'Turn it off. Now.' And he was like, 'What is this? What is this?' So he acknowledged it was inappropriate just by those words. And he was like, 'I can't get it to turn off. I can't figure out how to turn it off.' And I said, 'Get it turned off.' So he finally got it turned off, and that was the end of it. He didn't address it. He didn't apologize. Nothing was said.' Carson and board member Ryan Deatherage said the video looked 'retro' and did not involve sexual intercourse. 'I don't know if he turned it off or switched the channel, I don't remember,' Deatherage told NonDoc. 'I was surprised that when he came back to the table, he was not apologetic. I didn't ever hear an apology for that being on, and he didn't seem to be fazed that it was on.' Republican state Senate President Pro Tempore Lonnie Paxton told Oklahoma Voice that the Office of Management and Enterprise Services is carrying out an investigation into the incident. '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,' Paxton said in a statement. 'The accounts made public by board members paint a strange, unsettling scene that demands clarity and transparency.' Walters said the claims were a distraction. 'Some of these board members are blatantly dishonest and cannot hide their political agenda,' Walters told KOKH Fox 25. 'It is disappointing that they are more interested in creating distractions than getting work done for Oklahoma families.' Walters' communications director, Quinton Hitchcock, called the story a 'junk tabloid lie,' according to NonDoc. 'Regardless of if recent allegations are true, Oklahomans are in dire need of new leadership at the Oklahoma State Department of Education,' Oklahoma House Democratic Leader Cyndi Munson told KOKH Fox 25. 'These are serious allegations made by two members of the State Board and an expeditious third-party review is warranted,' Republican House Speaker Kyle Hilbert said in a statement. '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,' he added. Last year, the Oklahoma State Department of Education's Library Media Advisory Committee — which includes Raichik, who runs the anti-trans Libs of TikTok social media account — attempted to ban The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini and The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls from Edmond high school libraries. The committee argued that the books are 'pornographic.' 'Edmond Public Schools not only allows kids to access porn in schools, they are doubling down to keep pornography on the bookshelves,' Walters said in a statement. 'Parents and kids should have the confidence of going to schools to learn. Instead of focusing on education, EPS has chosen to peddle porn and is leading the charge to undermine parents in Oklahoma.' The case went to the Oklahoma Supreme Court, which sided with Edmond Public Schools and allowed the books to remain on library shelves. The list goes on. In 2023, Walters reportedly emailed some Oklahoma lawmakers pornographic images, claiming they were available in schools. 'Don't just send me a bunch of graphic, sexually explicit photos without where it came from, or what did they do? That's kind of the problem I got with it,' state Rep. Mark McBride (R) told the local Fox outlet. More from Rolling Stone GOP Sen. 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Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Education boss who railed against sexual content in schools showed nude women on office TV during meeting, colleagues say
An Oklahoma education boss is under investigation after colleagues say he allegedly showed images of nude women on his office TV during a meeting. 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.
CBS News
25-06-2025
- Health
- CBS News
West Virginia parent sues seeking religious exemption from required school vaccinations
A West Virginia woman filed a lawsuit Tuesday seeking a religious exemption from required school vaccinations for her young child. Miranda Guzman alleges that the state's vaccine mandate violates a 2023 West Virginia law that stipulates the government would not be able to "substantially burden" someone's constitutional right to freedom of religion unless doing so "is essential to further a compelling governmental interest." Guzman sued the state and local boards of education and the county schools superintendent in Raleigh County Circuit Court. West Virginia was among just a handful of states that granted only medical exemptions from school vaccinations when Republican Gov. Patrick Morrisey issued an executive order in January allowing religious exemptions. However, the state Board of Education voted this month to direct public schools to ignore the executive order and instead follow long-standing school vaccine requirements that are laid out in state law. Also, two groups have sued over the governor's order, saying the Legislature, not the governor, has the authority to make such decisions. Guzman obtained a religious exemption to the vaccine mandate from the state health department and enrolled her child in elementary school for the 2025-26 school year. But on June 17, Guzman received an email from the Raleigh County school superintendent rescinding the certificate, according to the lawsuit. Guzman's attorneys said "the straightforward legal issue" in the lawsuit is whether enforcement of the state vaccine mandate violates the 2023 Equal Protection for Religion Act. West Virginia Board of Education spokesperson Christy Day referred to a June 12 statement from the board that its intent is to "do what is best" for public school students, educators and school service personnel. "This includes taking the important steps of protecting the school community from the real risk of exposure to litigation that could result from not following vaccination laws," the earlier statement said. A telephone message left with Raleigh County Schools Superintendent Serena Starcher wasn't immediately returned. West Virginia's school vaccination policy long has been heralded by medical experts as one of the most protective in the country for children. State law requires children to receive vaccines for chickenpox, hepatitis B, measles, meningitis, mumps, diphtheria, polio, rubella, tetanus and whooping cough before starting school. Morrisey, who is not a party to the lawsuit, held a news conference Tuesday in Beckley in support of Guzman. "This is not about whether or not about parents should vaccinate their children," Morrisey said. "This is about standing up for religious liberty." At least 30 states have religious freedom laws, including one signed by Georgia's governor in April. The laws are modeled after the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act, signed in 1993 by then-President Bill Clinton, which allows federal regulations that interfere with religious beliefs to be challenged.
The Independent
24-06-2025
- Health
- The Independent
A West Virginia parent sues seeking a religious exemption from required school vaccinations
A West Virginia woman filed a lawsuit Tuesday seeking a religious exemption from required school vaccinations for her young child. Miranda Guzman alleges that the state's vaccine mandate violates a 2023 West Virginia law that stipulates the government would not be able to 'substantially burden' someone's constitutional right to freedom of religion unless doing so 'is essential to further a compelling governmental interest.' Guzman sued the state and local boards of education and the county schools superintendent in Raleigh County Circuit Court. West Virginia was among just a handful of states that granted only medical exemptions from school vaccinations when Republican Gov. Patrick Morrisey issued an executive order in January allowing religious exemptions. However, the state Board of Education voted this month to direct public schools to ignore the executive order and instead follow long-standing school vaccine requirements that are laid out in state law. Also, two groups have sued over the governor's order, saying the Legislature, not the governor, has the authority to make such decisions. Guzman obtained a religious exemption to the vaccine mandate from the state health department and enrolled her child in elementary school for the 2025-26 school year. But on June 17, Guzman received an email from the Raleigh County school superintendent rescinding the certificate, according to the lawsuit. Guzman's attorneys said 'the straightforward legal issue" in the lawsuit is whether enforcement of the state vaccine mandate violates the 2023 Equal Protection for Religion Act. West Virginia Board of Education spokesperson Christy Day referred to a June 12 statement from the board that its intent is to 'do what is best' for public school students, educators and school service personnel. 'This includes taking the important steps of protecting the school community from the real risk of exposure to litigation that could result from not following vaccination laws,' the earlier statement said. A telephone message left with Raleigh County Schools Superintendent Serena Starcher wasn't immediately returned. West Virginia's school vaccination policy long has been heralded by medical experts as one of the most protective in the country for children. State law requires children to receive vaccines for chickenpox, hepatitis B, measles, meningitis, mumps, diphtheria, polio, rubella, tetanus and whooping cough before starting school. Morrisey, who is not a party to the lawsuit, held a news conference Tuesday in Beckley in support of Guzman. 'This is not about whether or not about parents should vaccinate their children,' Morrisey said. 'This is about standing up for religious liberty.' At least 30 states have religious freedom laws, including one signed by Georgia's governor in April. The laws are modeled after the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act, signed in 1993 by then-President Bill Clinton, which allows federal regulations that interfere with religious beliefs to be challenged.
Yahoo
07-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Nebraska Secretary of State announces re-election
LINCOLN, Neb. (KCAU) — Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen announced his re-election bid in Lincoln. He's served in his role since January of 2019. Evnen says if he's re-elected, he will work to make sure the state has free and fair elections, protect public safety on the Nebraska Board of Pardons, and cut the red tape for businesses. Story continues below Top Story: Local band to be featured on Saturday in the Park Main Stage Lights & Sirens: Part of roof collapses during fire at Dakota City boat dealer Sports: Falcons fly to history! West Sioux boys soccer wins first-ever IHSAA State title with 2-1 OT win against Van Meter Weather: Get the latest weather forecast here Evnen was previously a labor attorney and served on the State Board of Education for eight years. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
