Former Oklahoma State Superintendent Ryan Walters and former senior adviser Matt Langston have reached settlements in two federal lawsuits filed by former Oklahoma State Department of Education employees who alleged they were fired after sharing information outside the agency. The state will pay a combined $132,000 to resolve the cases under Oklahoma’s indemnification laws.
Oklahoma Voice‘s Nuria Martinez-Keel writes that the lawsuits were brought by Cheryl McGee and Matt Colwell, who claimed their First Amendment rights were violated after being terminated in 2023. Walters and Langston denied any wrongdoing, and the settlement agreements state the cases were resolved to avoid the expense of continued litigation rather than as an admission of liability.
You can read the Oklahoma Voice story here.
