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 states 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. Related The president tried to bribe colleges into ending trans rights. Most have said no. Following Ryan Walterss resignation, we have noticed a substantial decrease in crisis calls from Oklahoma, Lance Preston, the organizations 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.Waltersresigned in late Septemberto 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. In the wake of his resignation, teachers have been celebrating, and the Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE) has been busy reversing Walters actions, including dropping his unconstitutional requirement for schools to teach Bible-based social studies lessons. Insights for the LGBTQ+ community Subscribe to our briefing for insights into how politics impacts the LGBTQ+ community and more. Subscribe to our Newsletter today Walters tenure oversaw a dramatic rise in calls to the Rainbow Youth Projects hotline. In the weeks following the 2024 death of 16-year-old transgender student Nex Benedict, the crisis line saw a 238% rise in calls from Oklahoma.The Department of Education under then-President Joe Biden launched aninvestigationfollowing a complaint by the Human Rights Campaign, which alleged that Benedict endured gender-based discrimination while attending the Owasso School District and that the school district failed to adequately respond to these issues. Benedict reportedly was previously the victim of anti-trans bullying. The majority over 80% of the calls were related to bullying incidents within Oklahoma schools, with a particularly high call volume seen from Owasso. Lance Preston, founder of Rainbow Youth Project USA, said he believes the increase was partly due to greater awareness of the hotline.This increase reveals the need for these support services and for mental health services and for allies for these young people, Prestontold CNN. Weve seen a rapid increase in those calls because kids are scared, they are worried, and they are hurting. I would say, up to 15% of those calls are from concerned parents, who are asking what their rights are under Title IX, what can they do to persuade schools to be more proactive against reports of bullying instead of reactive.The situation led his organization to create a rapid-response team for Oklahoma.Activists cited the states policies on trans youth as contributing to anti-LGBTQ+ there. Thisincludesbills banning gender-affirming care for trans minors, legally defining gender based on sex assigned at birth, and implementinga 2022 law forcing trans students to use restrooms aligned with their sex assigned at birth. Walters had a notoriously anti-LGBTQ+ tenureOklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) replaced Waters with retired school superintendent Lindel Fields. Soon after, the OSDE reversed one of Walters first actions by restoring the OSDEs Hall of Fame, which honors the states past award recipients for Teacher of the Year. The OSDE also quickly revamped its website, removing numerous links that promoted Christian Nationalist misinformation, includingWalters unconstitutional orderfor schools to display The Ten Commandments.Additionally, State Attorney General Gentner Drummond has ordered the Oklahoma State Auditor and Inspectors Office toinvestigate the Education Departments finances over the entirety of Walters tenure in charge. Drummond said, [Walters had a] well-established history of mishandling tax dollars.During his tenure, Walters withheld$150 million in public school fundsto ostensibly make security enhancementsagainst school shootings, in defiance of legislation directing the funds to poorer rural schools. Waltershid information about his offices travel budgetandrefused to spend moneythat he was legally obligated to spend onasthma inhalers for students,The Friendly Atheistadded. Walters sought toban LGBTQ+ books but teach the Bible in public school history classes, andpushed the transphobic lie about schools providing litterboxes to studentswho identify as cats. He alsoreferred to teachers unions as terrorist organizationsandillegally tried to make rulesbanning LGBTQ+ books and transgender bathroom access in schools.He has appeared at events hosted by Moms for Liberty, a right-wing anti-LGBTQ+ parents rights group that has been calledan extremist hate groupby the Southern Poverty Law Center. He also appointed Chaya Raichik, an anti-LGBTQ+ activist who goes by Libs of TikTok online,as a Library Media Advisor for the state(even though she has no educational experience, doesnt reside in Oklahoma, and has made posts that have led to bomb threats against students).He also unveiled an ideological purity test to seek and remove woke teachers. (The test wascriticized as performative bulls**tand as an advertisement masquerading as an assessment.) The day before his resignation, he pledged toforce all schools statewideto host student groups for Turning Point USA, the young conservatives group started byrecently murderedanti-LGBTQ+ MAGA influencer Charlie Kirk.Oklahomaranks among the worst statesfor education and isfacing a teacher shortage.Editors note: This article mentions suicide. If you need to talk to someone now, call the Trans Lifeline at1-877-565-8860. Its staffed by trans people, for trans people. The Trevor Project provides a safe, judgement-free place to talk for LGBTQ youth at1-866-488-7386. You can also call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at1-800-273-8255.Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.