Oklahoma’s Trump-loving top school official announced he’s launching Turning Point USA Chapters in his state’s high schools after Charlie Kirk’s death.
Ryan Walters, the Oklahoma State Superintendent of Public Instruction and board chair, made the announcement Tuesday in a video posted to social media, nearly two weeks after Kirk, who founded the conservative organization, was assassinated in Utah. Walters made headlines last year for mandating Bibles in every Oklahoma classroom.
“For far too long, we have seen radical leftists with the teachers’ union dominate classrooms and push woke indoctrination on our kids,” Walters said. “They fight parents’ rights, they push parents out of the classroom, and they lie to our kids about American history.”
Walters continued: “What we’re going to continue to do is make sure that our kids understand American greatness, engage in civic dialogue, and have that open discussion.”
The superintendent threatened repercussions for schools that don’t comply.
“I mean we would go after their accreditation,” he told KOKH. “They would be in danger of not being a school district if they decided to reject a club that is here to promote civic engagement. Absolutely, they would be violating the law. They would be violating the rules set forth to them by our agency.”
Some school leaders, however, have already pushed back on the sweeping plans.
John Croisant, Tulsa Public Schools’ 5th District Board Member who is running as a Democrat for a Congressional seat, slammed the proposal as a political stunt.
“And he can’t make us,” Croisant told KGOU. “Because that’s not a part of accreditation.”
There are existing ways that allow students to create clubs, he added. “We have Fellowship of Christian Athletes, we have [See You At the Pole], we’ve got all sorts of clubs at schools that students can create on their own, but we’re not going to actively be pushing political organizations within our schools,” Croisant told the outlet.
Following Kirk’s death, Walters directed all public schools in the state to hold a moment of silence for Kirk. Last week, the Oklahoma State Department of Education said it was investigating a dozen districts that didn’t participate.
The right-wing political activist was shot dead September 10 during a speaking engagement for his “American Comeback Tour” at Utah Valley University. Authorities have accused Tyler Robinson, 22, of killing Kirk. He has not yet made a plea.
In the wake of Kirk’s death, his widow Erika was named CEO of Turning Point. President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and other prominent MAGA figures spoke at his memorial over the weekend. Vance called Kirk a “hero to the United States of America” and a “martyr for the Christian faith.”
