Oklahoma Superintendent Ryan Walters target of lawsuit filed in federal court

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. — The Oklahoma State Superintendent is the target of a lawsuit filed in federal court.

Former Oklahoma State Department of Education employees are suing State Superintendent Ryan Walters and his advisor Matt Langston after they were fired for releasing department communications to the media.

The lawsuits filed allege two employees were the victims of wrongful and retaliatory termination and that their First Amendment rights were violated.

“I couldn’t believe someone in public office would do that. Public office means you’re working for the public,” said Mark Hammons, the attorney for the former OSDE employees.

Hammons is representing Cheryl McGee and Matthew Colwell. Both used to work at the OSDE, and both were fired after sharing department communications.

McGee shared an email with members of the public while Colwell had talked with the attorney general’s office and a state lawmaker about concerns surrounding a proposed teacher pay plan. Hammons said his client’s First Amendment rights were violated.

“The federal government and the state governments have to abide by the first amendment—that applies to them directly,” Hammons said.

What Hammons takes specific issue with is an email sent by Langston last week, threatening termination if any employee spoke with the media.

“They can’t just say, ‘Well, we don’t like the consequence of the First Amendment protecting people, and so we’re going to ignore it,’” Hammons said.

The OSDE provided a short statement on Tuesday, saying they do not wish to comment on HR matters.

OSDE is the subject of a separate lawsuit concerning the violation of the right to free speech. Lawyers for Janessa Bointy announced Tuesday that she is suing for wrongful termination after she spoke about student mental health at a school board meeting.