Oklahoma State Board Of Education Meeting To Discuss Teaching Certifications

The Oklahoma State Board of Education met on Thursday morning for their regular monthly meeting.

One of the big items on the agenda was the possible suspension of teaching certifications for 16 Oklahoma teachers. One of those includes Kimberly Coates who was arrested in August and accused of drinking alcohol in her Payne County classroom.

The more than four-hour meeting began with a public comment. Some people thanked the board, but most people had strong words against state Superintendent Ryan Walters.

The public comment was heated, one man talking about the appointment of Chaya Raichik, the woman behind the “Libs of TikTok” account to OSDE’s Library Media Advisory Committee.

Another woman claimed she was abused by a teacher 20 years ago and demanded change.

The board also adopted new accreditation rules, that would put more focus on academic success, as well as new gender rules.

Walters and the board did take action on took action against 16 teachers, many accused of abuse in schools, suspending their teaching certificates.

Walters said this is the most aggressive action taken by the board, against more than a dozen Oklahoma teachers.

And to do that, the Oklahoma Board of Education suspended the teaching certificates of 14 Oklahoma educators.

Those teachers include Edison Middle School math teacher Christian Covel, who is accused of sex crimes with children including a 13-year-old in Kansas.

Another one is former Payne County teacher Kimberly Coates. She was suspected of drinking in her classroom and later charged with being drunk on the job.

A teacher from Woodward Middle School was also on the list, PE teacher Benjamin Hall, who is charged with seven counts of lewd acts to a child. Dallas Ewton, his certification is also suspended, he is charged with several sex crimes dating back to 2012.

Ewton, who taught math at Morris High School, faces several charges accusing him of sexually assaulting at least two of his previous students.