"The Rainbow Youth Project, a group that operates a national crisis hotline for LGBTQ+ youth, said calls from Oklahoma declined over the last month after the resignation of anti-LGBTQ+ Christian Nationalist Ryan Walters as the state's superintendent of public instruction. The hotline received an average of 1,431 monthly calls from Oklahoma between March 2024 and September 2025, Advocate reported. The hotline has received 914 calls since Walters' resignation on September 25, a 36% reduction. The organization said that 64% of callers identified Walters as a source of distress before his departure as the head of public schools."
""Following Ryan Walters's resignation, we have noticed a substantial decrease in crisis calls from Oklahoma," Lance Preston, the organization's executive director, said. "The relief expressed by callers is palpable, and we are grateful for the positive impact his departure has had on the mental well-being of our community." Walters resigned in late September to lead The Teacher Freedom Alliance, a right-wing anti-union group that bills itself as "an alternative to woke teachers' unions," leaving his position one year before the end of his tenure."
Calls from Oklahoma to a national LGBTQ+ youth crisis hotline dropped 36% after Ryan Walters resigned as state superintendent on September 25. The hotline averaged 1,431 monthly Oklahoma calls between March 2024 and September 2025 and recorded 914 calls since his resignation. The Rainbow Youth Project reported that 64% of callers identified Walters as a source of distress before his departure. The organization's executive director said callers expressed palpable relief and improved mental well-being following his resignation. Walters left to lead The Teacher Freedom Alliance, and the Oklahoma State Department of Education began reversing his policies, including dropping Bible-based social studies requirements.
Read at LGBTQ Nation
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