{"id":752329,"date":"2025-10-30T07:01:00","date_gmt":"2025-10-30T12:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oklahomawatch.org\/?post_type=newspack_nl_cpt&p=752329"},"modified":"2025-10-29T15:42:10","modified_gmt":"2025-10-29T20:42:10","slug":"education-watch-new-superintendent-rolls-back-walters-initiatives","status":"publish","type":"newspack_nl_cpt","link":"https:\/\/oklahomawatch.org\/newsletter\/education-watch-new-superintendent-rolls-back-walters-initiatives\/","title":{"rendered":"Education Watch: New Superintendent Rolls Back Walters’ Initiatives"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n
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This article was originally delivered to subscribers of our Education Watch newsletter. Sign up<\/a> now to receive Education Watch directly in your inbox.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Oklahoma Department of Education, under new Superintendent of Schools Lindel Fields, has been busy rolling back a number of initiatives started by his predecessor, Ryan Walters. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fields notified educators last week that state testing will proceed as normal this year, quelling the confusion created by Walters’ Aug. 8 announcement that schools would switch to using benchmark assessments for grades 3-8 and allow alternative tests for high schoolers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The agency last week asked a court to dismiss a lawsuit brought by two teachers who received a $50,000 bonus in error<\/a>. Under the terms of the dismissal, the agency will end efforts to take back the money, and the teachers will drop their defamation claims against Walters, reports The Oklahoman<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And Fields said he intends to restart the process of reviewing the social studies standards \u2014\u00a0obtaining public input and presenting a draft to the Board of Education and the Legislature, according to Oklahoma Voice<\/a>. The Oklahoma Supreme Court temporarily blocked the version adopted under Walters. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One action Fields said he can’t undo? The large unexplained payouts Walters doled out to preferred staff members in recent months. Those included a $15,000 bonus to his executive assistant, Lexie Flanagan and an extra $10,000 to press secretary Madison Cercy, who never once responded to News 4 or Oklahoma Watch during her time in the role. Walters gave his chief of staff, Matt Mohler, and chief policy advisor, Matt Langston, nearly $30,000 each in the final days before they all left the agency, reports News 4<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I’ll be sitting down for an interview with Fields this week. What should I ask him? Let me know via email<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 Jennifer Palmer<\/p>\n\n\n

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