TULSA - Today, the Oklahoma Equality Law Center along with Oklahoma Appleseed Center for Law and Justice jointly filed suit against State Superintendent Ryan Walters and the entire State Board of Education, on behalf of a student for the violation of the Oklahoma Administrative Procedures Act, violation of their rights under the Equal Protection clause of the Oklahoma & Federal Constitutions, for gender discrimination under Title IX, and for a violation of the Oklahoma Parents’ Bill of Rights.
“Administrative overreach and interference from the state as it relates to raising children in Oklahoma must stop,” said Colleen McCarty, Executive Director of Oklahoma Appleseed Center for Law and Justice. “This lawsuit sends a strong message that Oklahomans will not tolerate the government interfering with their private family affairs. Parents know what’s best for their kids, and we are willing to stand up for that bedrock principle.”
Earlier this year, Superintendent Walters and the State Board of Education passed emergency rules that allowed them to approve or disapprove a student’s gender marker changes which were approved by a court of law. At the same meeting where the emergency rules were approved, the Board voted to deny two students the right to have their school records accurately reflect their gender. This was done without any discussion, without examining any evidence and without informing the students or the parents that their records would be reviewed that day.
“Walters and the State Board have repeatedly denied the existence of transgender students, insisting their genders are merely a fabrication of the ‘woke left’,” said McCarty. “This signaling from the board makes it clear their intent is gender discrimination against our client under Title IX which is supposed to prevent schools and educational bodies from discriminating on the basis of gender.”
The actions of the board violate Oklahoma Law and deny these students’ civil rights. This is also a direct violation of the Oklahoma Parents’ Bill of Rights.
“This should concern all parents and all Oklahomans,” said Joshua Payton, founder of the Oklahoma Equality Law Center. “If Ryan Walters can succeed in removing the rights of parents in this family, there will be no safeguards against doing so against any Oklahoma parent.”
“When we talk about parents’ rights, we are talking about all parents – we can’t decide that we only want to protect certain ones,” said Leslie Briggs, Legal Director of Oklahoma Appleseed Center. “That is discrimination under the law and an intentional exclusion of some of the most vulnerable students in Oklahoma. Schools should be safe and affirming for all Oklahoma students and our intention with this lawsuit is to ensure inclusion, fairness and equality are priorities for the government of Oklahoma.”
