Teacher May Lose His Certificate After Controversial Trump Photo Resurfaces
Regan Killackey, a teacher at Edmond Memorial High School in Oklahoma, is facing a state investigation that may jeopardize his teaching career due to an old Instagram post from 2019. The post in question features Killackey and his children at a costume store, with one child wearing a mask resembling former President Donald Trump and another child holding a plastic sword to the throat of the child wearing the mask. Oklahoma Schools Superintendent Ryan Walters condemned the post, stating that “there is never a time that threatening a former president is appropriate,” and emphasized that teachers advocating violence against any elected officials would not be tolerated in the state’s schools.
Killackey, who has been teaching in Oklahoma for 21 years, expressed shock over the investigation and noted that he believed it might be a misunderstanding or a prank. He has criticized the state’s law banning the teaching of Critical Race Theory, indicating a desire for open and honest discussions with his students on such topics. Killackey is among several individuals who have sued the state over this law.
An old social media post has come back to haunt an Oklahoma teacher who is now at the center of a state investigation that could end his teaching career.
A 2019 Instagram post from Edmond Memorial High School’s, Regan Killackey showed he and his children at a costume store.
The image featured a mask resembling former President Donald Trump.
One child held a plastic sword to the throat of the child wearing the Trump mask while Killackey supplied a grimace for the camera, according to KFOR-TV.
Another child was shown behind the mask bringing his plastic knife down upon the mask’s head.
Oklahoma Schools Superintendent Ryan Walters was not amused.
“There is never a time that threatening a former president is appropriate. We will not tolerate it in Oklahoma schools,” Walters posted on X in July after the first assassination attempt against Trump.
“Nobody will be allowed to teach in the state of Oklahoma if they advocate the assassination of President Trump or any elected official,” Walters said at a meeting of the state Board of Education on July 31 when the investigation into Killackey was launched, according to KOTV-TV.
“We had images of knives being held to President Trump’s throat,” Walters said, saying the fact that it was an old photo did not alter his feelings about it.
There is never a time that threatening a former president is appropriate. We will not tolerate it in Oklahoma schools https://t.co/oTtRsGrUCj
— Superintendent Ryan Walters (@RyanWaltersSupt) September 18, 2024
“We cannot allow these individuals to continue to teach in the state of Oklahoma,” said Walters.
Killackey said there was no reason for him to be on the hot seat.
“Well number one, I was shocked,” Killackey said.
“And number two, I thought it was some sort of mistake or some prank or something like that. Um, I didn’t because my entire career has been in the state of Oklahoma and I’ve been teaching for 21 years. I have been fortunate and blessed to have this career,” he said.
Killackey is among several parties who have sued the state over HB 1775, a law that bans teaching Critical Race Theory in Oklahoma schools, according to the Oklahoman.
Killackey had told Education Week that not being able to teach Critical Race Theory “upsets me.”
“Because … I want to talk about these things openly and honestly with all of my students, and they need to be talked about openly and honestly,” he said.
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