Teacher combating to maintain certificates after years-old Facebook picture resurfaces

A teacher is fighting to keep his teaching certificate after a photo he uploaded to Facebook in September 2019 resurfaced.

The Oklahoma State Department of Education is moving to revoke the teaching certificate of Regan Killackey who works at Edmond Memorial High School as an English teacher.

The image shows Killackey and his children holding plastic swords, pointed at someone wearing a Donald Trump mask. The photo came to light after an anonymous tipster sent it to the department.

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The tipster sent the image shortly after an attempted assassination of Trump at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania on July 13. In their complaint, the individual wrote: “Posted picture on personal Instagram account of the fictitious stabbing of fake presidential candidate mask. I am a taxpayer and will NOT condone this type of indoctrination of our youth. Please look into this matter.”

The Department of Education used this photo as part of its case to revoke Killackey’s teaching licence, reports KFOR. During a State Board of Education meeting on July 31, they announced plans to proceed with the process to revoke his certification.

Killackey, who has been teaching for 21 years, was shocked when he learned about the case. “Well number one, I was shocked. And number two, I thought it was some sort of mistake or some prank or something like that,” he told KFOR. “My entire career has been in the state of Oklahoma, and I’ve been fortunate and blessed to have this career.”

Ryan Walters, Oklahoma’s Republican State Superintendent of Public Instruction, strongly condemned any suggestion of violence. “No one in Oklahoma education system will support the assassination of a president. It will not be tolerated. Ever!,” he posted on X/Twitter.

Walters, a former teacher elected in 2022, has made waves with his stance against “woke ideology” and his drive to remove “radical leftists” from schools. His platform includes banning books from libraries, incorporating the Bible into lessons, and fighting what he views as indoctrination in the classroom. He’s also taken a strong stance against President Joe Biden’s LGBTQ policies, directing Oklahoma schools to ignore Biden’s Title IX updates.

In June, the Oklahoma Supreme Court blocked Walters’ efforts to have the state Board of Education determine what books are available in public school libraries. The board had pushed for the removal of two books; The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini and The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls, under rules banning materials with pornographic or sexualised content.

Walters has also been vocal about resisting Biden’s Title IX reforms, calling them “the most devastating attack on women’s rights in our country’s history”. He argues allowing transgender students access to facilities matching their gender identity puts women in danger.

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