Do Your Job Act would force State Supt. Ryan Walters to do his job

Oklahoma Republican State Superintendent Ryan Walters wants to tie a public school district’s accreditation to test scores, but at least one lawmaker believes accountability starts at the top. State Rep. Mickey Dollens (D-Oklahoma City) has filed the “Do Your Job Act.”

If passed, the Do Your Job Act would tie Supt. Walters’ pay to his performance outcomes on grant applications and other metrics.

Since being elected in November 2022, Ryan Walters has faced bipartisan criticism for treating his position at the Oklahoma State Department of Education as a political campaign.

Calling teachers unions “terrorists,” threatening to takeover Tulsa Public Schools, sharing a Libs of Tiktok video that led to several days of bomb threats against local schools, and allegedly misappropriating millions of federal dollars are just a few of the issues that motivated Rep. Dollens to take action.

 “If you’re going to tie the school’s accreditation to their test performance, then why isn’t your pay being tied to your performance,” Rep. Dollens told The Black Wall St. Times on Tuesday.

Do Your Job Act seeks accountability from Ryan Walters

Walters’ hate-mongering against what he calls “liberal indoctrination” and diversity initiatives have landed him on Fox News, but his office’s treatment of state lawmakers risks landing him in the dog house.

Rep. Mark McBride, R-Moore, has been one of the few Republicans outspoken against Walters’ attacks on public education and threats to usurp local control from school districts. He chairs the Appropriations and Budget Education subcommittee.

On Friday, Rep. McBride shared a message he received from OSDE spokesperson Matt Langston after repeatedly requesting information.

“Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me,” Langston, an out-of-state employee earning a salary from Oklahoma taxpayers, told McBride.

In response, Rep. McBride accused Walters of lacking transparency and cooperation.

“The Legislature cannot tell if anything we are hearing from OSDE about where and how dollars are being spent is true, because Supt. Walters and Sr. Advisor Langston refuse to answer the most basic inquiries,” McBride stated Friday.

“The only logical conclusion that can be drawn from their lack of cooperation are that they are either lying about where the money is going, or they are hiding something,” he added.

Impeachment not currently on the table

Despite Rep. McBride’s words, Republican House Speaker Charles McCall has indicated he won’t take more severe action.

Months ago, House Democrats called on Speaker McCall to establish a bipartisan committee to investigate allegations against Supt. Walters that could be grounds for impeachment.

“I am unaware of anything criminal that Ryan Walters has done in his official duties as Superintendent of Education in the state of Oklahoma,” Speaker McCall said in September.

According to Article VIII of the Oklahoma Constitution, elective state officers can be impeached for willful neglect of duty, corruption in office, habitual drunkenness, incompetency or any offense involving moral turpitude committed while in office.

With impeachment not currently on the table, Rep. Dollens is hoping his bill, the Do Your Job Act, will push his conservative colleagues to do more than publish press releases.

Rep. Dollens said he doesn’t expect his bill to pass in a chamber where Republicans hold a supermajority.

“But I do think it will raise concerns and I hope that it will bring more attention to the fact that Walters continues to do everything to promote himself and very little to nothing to actually help the students, the future of this state,” Rep. Dollens said.

Lawmakers will have an opportunity to vote on the Do Your Job Act once the second session of the 59th Oklahoma Legislature begins on Feb. 5 2024.