In the weeks since he was accused of showing explicit content on his office television, Oklahoma schools chief Ryan Walters has canceled a State Board of Education meeting and skipped a subsequent one on September 3, calling into question his ability to oversee public education and renewing threats to oust him from leadership. 

Walters has not commented publicly on his absence, but a spokesperson for him said in a statement, “Superintendent Walters is focused on tackling the big issues facing Oklahoma schools.” 

His decision to miss this week’s meeting, following his cancellation of the August session, has drawn attention to the multiple controversies he’s entangled in and reignited calls for his impeachment. His absence Wednesday reportedly marked the first time in decades that a superintendent skipped the board meeting.

In July, two education board members, Ryan Deatherage and Becky Carson, said they saw full-frontal nudity on Walters’ office TV during an executive session of the board. The state superintendent not only vehemently denied the claims but also accused the duo of spreading “falsehoods” about him in a coordinated attack spearheaded by Gov. Kevin Stitt, a fellow Republican with whom Walters has clashed.

An investigation into the July incident remains ongoing. However, Oklahoma House Speaker Kyle Hilbert said in August that his preliminary findings suggested that neither Walters nor the board members had acted improperly. Nudity did appear on Walters’ office TV, Hilbert said, but only because of a “bizarre accident involving a newly installed television defaulting to a pre-programmed channel.”

Tensions between Walters and the board members did not dissipate after Hilbert’s findings. Carson, in particular, said she was offended by the suggestion that she and her colleague would lie, and Walters fumed over the damage to his reputation.

About two weeks after the accusations, hundreds of protesters — members of Oklahoma’s new, independent Sooner State political party — rallied at the state capitol to demand his impeachment. The protesters raised concerns that Oklahoma ranked 50th in a report on public school quality across the country, a criticism that connects to a wider net of controversies involving Walters.

He announced this summer that Oklahoma students would receive free lunch although the state legislature hadn’t budgeted funding to public schools for such a massive undertaking, and a federal deadline lapsed that would have helped many school districts achieve this goal. He has also started requiring California and New York transplants who apply for Oklahoma teaching jobs to take an ideologically-driven “America First” test designed by conservative organization PragerU.

Due to his ongoing tensions with Stitt over issues including immigration — Walters wanted to question public school families about their legal status and the governor objected — the superintendent was not present when Education Secretary Linda McMahon visited Oklahoma as part of her nationwide “Returning Education to the States” tour in August. Stitt, however, did appear with the secretary. President Donald Trump had reportedly considered Walters for McMahon’s position after becoming president-elect in November. The state superintendent famously sparked a backlash in 2024 after trying to get Trump-endorsed Bibles in all Oklahoma public school classrooms to the tune of $3 million, a plan he later walked back.

Walters’ absence from the board meeting has increased scrutiny of his leadership. During Wednesday’s brief session, the board decided to hire a new attorney to replace its previous lawyer, who recently resigned. Board members and lawmakers say Walters’ cancellation of the August meeting and nonattendance at Wednesday’s means pressing issues aren’t being addressed. 

State Sen. Mark Mann, a Democrat from Oklahoma City, described Walters’ behavior to Oklahoma’s News 4 as “really just dereliction of duty.” He added, “That agency is barely functioning; it’s in the worst shape it’s ever been in.” 

State Rep. Ellen Pogemiller, also a Democrat from Oklahoma City, said it is not too late to pursue impeachment.

“As a taxpayer, I would have wanted my state superintendent to show up in a meeting like that,” she said. 

House Education Chair Dick Lowe, a Republican, said he is unhappy with Walters’ leadership, too. But he is not ready to oust the superintendent from office.   

The State Board of Education is scheduled to have its next regular meeting September 25.