State Superintendent candidates Ryan Walters and Jena Nelson square off in debate
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state superintendent debateOKLAHOMA CITY (KOKH) — State Superintendent candidates Ryan Walters and Jena Nelson joined Fox 25 on Tuesday in an exclusive debate ahead of the general election happening Nov. 8th.
Tuesday’s debate on FOX 25, the only televised debate between the two candidates, saw the two candidates vying to succeed current State Superintendent Joy Hofmeisterwho is running for governor against incumbent Kevin Stitt.
The two candidates were asked a wide array of questions, ranging from where they drew the line on books deemed offensive in school libraries, all the way to HB 1775, which is the State's anti-critical race theory law.
And while neither Walters nor Nelson has experience in school administration, both say they feel equipped to be the next State Super, with Walters serving as the present Oklahoma Secretary of Education and Nelson having been the 2020 Teacher of the Year, as well as serving on national and state level committees for mental health, career readiness, teacher retention, and child food insecurity.
Both Walters and Nelson went back and forth for an hour, with Fox 25's Wendy Suares and Dan Snyder, over issues with Oklahoma's public education system.
When asked about where the candidates would draw the line on books that are deemed offensive in school libraries, Walter's answer was simple: Pornography.
Pornography should not be in our schools. This is against state law. No parent should send their child to school and their child have access to graphic pornography. I mentioned two of the books tonight: 'Gender Queer' and 'Flamer'. There is no place in our school system for these books. This is grossly inappropriate and part of a bigger war that the radical left is fighting on our kids," Walters said. "The radical left has decided that our schools need to be places of indoctrination. We don't want kids to have access to pornography in schools. We don't want our kids to have access to indoctrination in our schools. What we want is our kids to have a good education so that they can go on and move into the workforce so that all of their potential is realized in the school systems.
As for Nelson, she says state should provide developmentally appropriate materials and ensure due process in disputes on books.
We want to make sure that we have developmentally appropriate books in our school libraries, and we have already things that are set up within our school districts that if a parent feels that something is inappropriate, that they can contact their schools of course, and then go through the administration - the schoolboard that is elected by families there in the communities, and then the Superintendent," Nelson said. "We have to make sure that everything is developmentally appropriate. But we have to also use some common sense and make sure that we're doing due process so that we don't get into situations that are going to harm our teachers, our families, and our children as well.
Another hot topic during the debate was that of school vouchers, or the education savings accounts.
Walters was in support of school vouchers.
I support anything that helps our young people. I stand with students, and I stand with parents. I believe that no one knows best for their child's education than their mom and their dad," Walters said. "For me it is a basic fundamental principle that I'm going to always stand with parents and I'm going to provide parents with those learning opportunities of their choice for their children. I support parents and I support kids, so of course I will [support vouchers].
Nelson came in with a slightly different view, saying that vouchers are a way of defunding public education.
[Vouchers] are a school-killer. What we know about our schools, is when you take a school and you have to close it, is that you're closing down a community, you're closing down small businesses, you're closing down real estate, you are closing down the heart and the soul of that community," Nelson said. "We've got to make sure that all of these families have the options. I love the choices we have here in Oklahoma... but the choice is going to be taken away from so many families when we start defunding our public schools with the voucher program.
A very big topic in Oklahoma lately has been revolving around HB 1775, the State's anti-critical race theory (CRT) law, which has affected both Tulsa and Mustang Public Schools accreditation status. Both candidates were asked if they believed the CRT laws were working as intended, or if they think a better appeal process for schools found in violation need to be in place.
Walters stood firm behind HB 1775, voicing how proud he was of the State for being one of the first state's in the country for banning CRT.
What we've seen is we've seen a law that has worked very well. We've seen a law that has allowed for parents to know that there's not going to be this radical indoctrination in their schools. We have two teachers that have been on camera admitting to violating the law, and saying they'd continue to violate the law. So those two teachers should be held responsible for that, and I've been very clear that they shouldn't continue to teach in the State of Oklahoma if they're going to continue to violate State law. One of them even admitted the only thing keeping him from being more open about the critical race theory he's pushing in his classroom is HB 1775," Walters said. "We have to make sure this isn't in our schools, and the law is doing a great job so far of holding those accountable of those that are breaking the law and pushing indoctrination instead of education.
When it came to appeals, Walters said the only issue is that the teacher's union and democrats are lying about the law, causing people not to fully understand HB 1775, saying that the law is made very clear.
Nelson countered Walters, saying a better appeals process was absolutely needed.
We have two school districts that didn't get due process and now they've lowered their accreditation which hurts their children, which hurts their districts, which hurts their families. I just want to make it very clear, the law talks about not teaching things about gender or race, and it doesn't say CRT. Critical Race Theory is an elective that is taught in college at the law school level. We have not, as educators, been teaching critical race theory. We don't have time to do that because we are focused on the Oklahoma standards," Nelson said. "There's this overall blanket, saying that teachers are indoctrinating, that we're somehow teaching these concepts. We're not. Teachers, for the majority of us, are changing and saving lives every single day, and we are constantly under threat. There are so many teachers right now who are afraid...that this law may somehow come back and get them even though they're not teaching anything but the history standards that are listed right there.
Another big talking point during the debate was that of bathroom policies when it comes to kids in school being transgender. Just last week, students in Norman staged walkouts over a transgender student being suspended for using the restroom she identified with.
Nelson said right now, there are laws in place, and she believes in following those laws. However, while she says she will follow the law, she does want to make sure every child is made to feel safe in their schools.
There shouldn't be a single child in the State of Oklahoma when they walk through our school doors that they don't feel safe. Everyone should feel safe as soon as they walk in," Nelson said. "For me, as State Superintendent, I believe in upholding the law, and so we have to do that. But we also need to be empathetic to everyone who is involved and try to find some common ground so everybody can have that safety and still feel like they're getting a great education.
Walters answer said the answer to the question was that of common sense.
Boys should not be in the girls bathroom. This is a common sense, easy question. The far left believes in radical gender theory, and they want to push this on our kids in the earliest of grades, and because of their ideological push, we now have students that are boys that are pushing their way into the girls bathroom, endangering the safety of the girls that are there. You don't allow boys in the girls bathroom, there are so many issues that come from that," Walters said. "This is a very common sense issue, a very common sense topic. I think it's outrageous, students safety is paramount in our schools, and I'll continue to fight that boys don't enter the girls bathroom's in our schools.
When prompted to clarify his answer, with Wendy Suares asking if transgender girls should be allowed in the girls bathroom, being that they identify as a girl. His answer:
There's boys and there's girls. A biological boy should not be entering the girls bathroom, I don't know how else to put it," Walters said. "There are two genders, there's boys and there's girls, the boys shouldn't enter the girls bathroom.
Other topics discussed include teacher pay, four-day school weeks, COVID relief funds, and federal funding in schools. You can listen to the full, unedited debate below.
Elections will be on Nov. 8th, so make sure you cast your vote for who you believe should take the title and replace Joy Hofmeister as State Superintendent.
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