Oklahoma City, OK — A routine executive session of the Oklahoma State Board of Education has turned into a full-blown political crisis after two board members claimed they witnessed nude women displayed on a television inside Superintendent Ryan Walters’ office.

The incident allegedly occurred during a private meeting on July 24, and now lawmakers, board members, and agency officials are scrambling to determine whether Oklahoma’s top education official may have had explicit material displayed on government property — and why.

“This is a bizarre and troubling situation that raises serious questions,” said Senate President Pro Tem Lonnie Paxton (R-Tuttle) in a statement confirming an inquiry is now underway. The investigation is being led by the Office of Management and Enterprise Services (OMES).

Paxton added that he and Senate Education Committee Chair Adam Pugh (R-Edmond) were working to ensure a transparent review. “The accounts made public by board members paint a strange, unsettling scene that demands clarity,” Paxton said.

The two board members — Ryan Deatherage and Becky Carson — say they observed the explicit content during the executive session, though neither has gone on camera. According to The Oklahoman and NonDoc, the two reported seeing the images appear on a large TV inside Walters’ office while official board business was being conducted.

Rep. Dick Lowe (R-Amber), chair of the House Committee on Common Education, said he was present during the session but seated in a corner with no view of the television. He left during a break, before the alleged incident occurred.

Still, Lowe said he later spoke directly with both board members. “They were both clear — they saw nude women on the TV,” Lowe said. “When they asked Walters about it, he appeared surprised and said he needed to get it turned off.”

Lowe said he fully believes the incident occurred, although the broader context remains unclear. “How does that get there on TV?” he asked. “That’s not an out-of-line question.”

The House Speaker, Kyle Hilbert (R-Bristow), agreed. In a statement, his office said the allegations “warrant an expeditious third-party review.”

“I urge the State Superintendent to unlock and turn over all relevant devices and fully cooperate with an investigation,” Hilbert added. “If no wrongdoing occurred, a prompt and transparent review should quickly clear his name.”

Walters, however, lashed out at his critics late Friday, calling the claims politically motivated.

“Some of these board members are blatantly dishonest and cannot hide their political agenda,” Walters said. “It is disappointing that they are more interested in creating distractions than getting work done for Oklahoma families.”

Becky Carson, who was appointed to fill a recent vacancy on the board, could not be reached for comment Friday. Deatherage declined a full interview, but texted: “We hold educators to the strictest of standards when it comes to explicit material. The standard for the superintendent should be no different.”

Both Carson and Deatherage were recently confirmed by the state Senate following a controversial board shake-up ordered by Governor Kevin Stitt, who ousted three prior members over what he described as “needless political drama.”

Ironically, Superintendent Walters has made headlines for his campaign against pornography in schools, advocating for book bans and public crackdowns on what he deems explicit content. In June, he ordered districts to remove certain library books and videos, calling them “disgusting and dangerous.”

That contrast is not lost on critics now.

“The hypocrisy here is stunning,” said an anonymous educator who has clashed with Walters over curriculum restrictions. “He’s policing what kids can read — and now we’re talking about porn showing up in his office?”

Meanwhile, the Board of Education itself has been growing increasingly skeptical of Walters’ leadership. During Thursday’s session, members grilled him on a range of unilateral decisions, including:

• A controversial partnership with a private, online school in Arizona
• A plan to require teachers from New York and California to pass an Oklahoma-specific “patriotism” test
• A new school lunch directive that bypassed board input

Carson also publicly questioned why Walters withheld a resignation letter that had been addressed to both her and the board. “Why are we not being included in decisions that affect millions of students?” she asked.

The investigation now shifts to OMES, which is tasked with securing Walters’ devices and determining what content was displayed, how it got there, and whether it violated state policy or law.

The FBI is not currently involved, and no criminal charges have been filed as of Friday night. But lawmakers are watching closely.

“This isn’t about party lines anymore,” Rep. Lowe said. “It’s about basic accountability. If this happened in a classroom, we’d demand action. The same standard has to apply at the top.”