Wednesday, July 31st 2024, 5:36 pm
Tensions were high and the agenda was packed for July's State Department of Education meeting. Board members discussed the revocation process of four Oklahoma teachers, voting unanimously to move forward with hearings.
“We will do our jobs to keep our schools safe,” said State Superintendent Ryan Walters.
The teachers in question were Scott Renken, Alison Scott, Anthony Deason, and Regan Killackey.
Deason is accused of child exploitation in the Eastern District Court, and his case is set to be heard in a federal grand jury trial in October.
Meanwhile, two other teachers are making headlines for their social media posts.
“Nobody will be allowed to teach in the state of Oklahoma if they advocate the assassination of President Trump or any elected official,” said Walters.
A Facebook post from Ardmore teacher Alison Scott first gained national attention on a popular X account, "Libs of TikTok" in a post that's now been viewed millions of times.
In the post, Scott commented on a Facebook post as if upset that the attempted assassination of Trump was unsuccessful.
Scott wrote, "wish they had a better scope.”
“We can’t tolerate behavior like that and we’re not going to in the state of Oklahoma,” said Walters.
Ardmore City Schools released a statement last week saying they are investigating the matter and quote "strongly condemn acts of physical violence and any words that seek to encourage it, no matter their target." "To be clear it’s inappropriate if it was President Biden, no matter what elected official it is,” said Walters.
The second teacher first made headlines when he sued the state over the highly controversial House Bill 1775. Regan Killackey was one of multiple plaintiffs in the case, joining the ACLU and BERT.
Last week a 2019 Instagram post from the Edmond teacher resurfaced. “We had images of knives being held to President Trump's throat,” said Walters.
The post, depicting Killackey holding a toy knife up to a mask of Trump, was made years ago, before the July shooting.
Still, Walters says it’s not appropriate for Oklahoma schools. “We cannot allow these individuals to continue to teach in the state of Oklahoma,” said Walters.
News 9 has not been told why Scott Renken is being investigated.
Board members voted unanimously to have a hearing officer investigate each teacher, where the officer will decide whether revoking their teaching license will be necessary.
The teachers are not suspended at this point.
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