Oklahoma State Department of Education faces discrimination, retaliation lawsuit

OKLAHOMA CITY — A former Oklahoma State Board of Education secretary has sued the state, alleging that she suffered age and gender discrimination and retaliation from former state Superintendent Ryan Walters’ administration.

Amy London filed the lawsuit against the Oklahoma State Department of Education in Oklahoma City federal court on Wednesday. She asked a judge to calculate and award her an unspecified amount of damages, as well as front and back pay, attorney fees and other costs.

London, 62, was fired July 17, 2025, shortly after lodging hostile work environment and discrimination complaints against Walters’ chief of staff, her lawsuit states. Her position involved keeping minutes and posting agendas for the state board.

“This is a situation where you’ve got someone who’s performing at an exceptional level and who got terminated for no reason and no cause other than there was a person working at the department who had a problem with strong females,” London’s attorney, Mark Hammons, said.

Walters stepped down from office in September 2025 to lead a nonprofit, and his chief of staff departed the agency shortly thereafter. Neither are named as defendants in the lawsuit.

The Education Department, now led by appointed Superintendent Lindel Fields, has not yet been served with official notice of London’s lawsuit, the agency said in a statement through its communications office.

“Once served, our general counsel will review the allegations and take the appropriate legal steps,” the department stated.

London is working again but hasn’t found comparable employment since being fired, Hammons said.

Her allegations first came to light a year ago when she demanded a $100,000 tort claim from the Education Department, which is a common first step toward a court case.

She alleged in her lawsuit she was undermined in the workplace, treated differently from male or younger colleagues, and unfairly restricted from communicating with the state Board of Education. 

After reporting her complaints to human resources and the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Education Department fired her, London previously told Oklahoma Voice.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has reviewed her case and recently notified London of her right to sue, Hammons said.

As the lawsuit proceeds, London’s legal team will explore whether Walters’ administration had the authority to fire her or if that should have been a state Board of Education decision, Hammons said. Oklahoma law gives the board, not the agency, the power to “appoint, prescribe the duties, and fix the compensation of a secretary.”

“It’s an area where we need a little bit more information to find out the lines of authority on that,” he said.