Records obtained by The Oklahoman show that 16 Oklahoma Department of Education employees are actually working as substitute teachers in the Tulsa Public School District.
The employees are part of a project launched by State Schools Superintendent Ryan Walters to help Tulsa school officials temporarily fill some vacancies in the district's schools. State Department of Education employees teach in schools within the district. District officials said the group will need about three weeks to prepare, including training and background checks.
The records, which The Oklahoman received Wednesday, list each employee's name, where the employee is stationed and the number of days the employee will be stationed there. Thirteen of his state Department of Education employees are assigned to elementary schools. The other three are attending high school.
U.S. Department of Education denies investigating OSDE following previous reports
This week, after Oklahoma City television station KFOR aired a report that the federal Department of Education conducted a “limited investigation” into OSDE because some of the employees sent to Tulsa were paid with federal funds. , several organizations raised questions about the program.
On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Education denied it was investigating Oklahoma state agencies. In a statement to The Oklahoman, the department said what was characterized as an investigation in the KFOR report was merely routine surveillance.
“The U.S. Department of Education's Office of Special Education Programs is not investigating the Oklahoma State Department of Education for misuse of federal funds,” a federal agency spokesperson said. Oklahoma State Department of Education Monitoring. OESE is currently working on finalizing its report and will communicate its monitoring results directly to ODE. ”
The state has been in turmoil since Walters took over as state superintendent in January 2023. Walters' actions while serving as the state education secretary before he was elected superintendent are also under scrutiny.
more:Why Oklahoma Democrats are calling for a third House investigation into Ryan Walters
Mr. Walters' critics say that since becoming superintendent, Mr. Walters has used the state Department of Education's accreditation responsibilities as a weapon to reduce accreditation in school districts that have drawn his ire, including Tulsa, Western Heights and Edmond. Or they claim they are threatening to cancel it. He has been especially tough on Tulsa Public Schools, requiring the district's top officials to give lengthy presentations at monthly State Board of Education meetings.
Dan Isett, a spokesperson for the state Department of Education, and Walters posted a message on I will receive it.''
