Latest news with #OklahomaAppleseed
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Nonprofit sues Ryan Walters, library board, alleging open records and open meetings violations
An Oklahoma nonprofit already involved in multiple lawsuits against state schools Superintendent Ryan Walters has added another, alleging violations of open meeting and public records laws by Walters and the agency he leads, the Oklahoma State Department of Education. The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in Oklahoma County District Court by the Tulsa-based Oklahoma Appleseed Center for Law and Justice, alleges violations of the Open Meeting Act related to the creation and operation of the Library Media Advisory Committee, a public body tasked with reviewing school library materials. The lawsuit also contends the state agency has failed to comply with the Open Records Act by withholding requested public documents regarding the formation, membership selection and activities of the library committee. The case has been assigned to District Judge Anthony Bonner. No hearing dates have been set. During a meeting of the Oklahoma State Board of Education in January 2024, Walters disclosed the formation of the committee, a panel he said would include Chaya Raichik, the woman behind the conservative 'Libs of TikTok' social media account. Raichik also is named as a defendant in the lawsuit. She and Walters often trade congratulatory social media posts, and a video of her praising Walters for the library committee's formation was shown during that state board meeting. Also named as defendants were the state education board, that board's current members and former member Kendra Wesson, and the library committee. "This lawsuit is nothing more than a politically motivated attack by a radical, Soros-funded organization determined to obstruct the work being done in Oklahoma," Walters said. "These extremists are using the legal system to harass and obstruct progress in an effort to push their radical agenda. OSDE will not be bullied by extremist organizations trying to weaponize the courts and remains committed to transparency and compliance with all legal requirements." Walters' claim about Oklahoma Appleseed being funded by liberal billionaire George Soros is false. Walters is, or has been, a defendant in at least 20 state and federal lawsuits filed since he took office in January 2023. Despite multiple open records requests from multiple media outlets, Walters and the state agency have steadfastly declined to identify any other members of the library committee, which appears to be a public committee, given its work for a state agency. The state Education Department has said the committee is a volunteer advisory board appointed by Walters and is made up of parents, current or retired librarians, and English literature teachers. Oklahoma Appleseed says despite repeated requests, the agency has not provided information on how library committee members — specifically Raichik — were appointed and how the committee conducts its business. The lawsuit claims the state agency and the library committee have violated the Open Meeting Act by failing to hold public meetings, post agendas or conduct public votes. Although the committee was publicly announced as a government advisory body, it has never met in compliance with the law, effectively operating in secrecy, according to the lawsuit. Oklahoma Appleseed also said it has yet to have a June 28 open records request, seeking information about the library committee, filled by the state Education Department. Open records provided to The Oklahoman last year gave a glimpse into how the committee was formed and some of its work, but did not include its membership list, which has been requested multiple times by the newspaper. The committee has not been mentioned publicly by Walters since an Oklahoma Supreme Court decision effectively voided a handful of the agency's administrative rules — pushed by Walters and approved by the state Board of Education ― including one giving the agency the authority to determine what books could be in the libraries of individual school districts. That decision stemmed from a lawsuit originally filed by Edmond Public Schools. The court ruled that to be a decision reserved to local school boards, not any state agency or board. Oklahoma Appleseed seeks a court order compelling the Education Department to release all requested public records and requiring the library committee to comply with Open Meetings Act requirements. Brent Rowland, the legal director of Oklahoma Appleseed, said the lawsuit filed Tuesday was about government transparency and accountability. 'The public has a right to know who is making decisions affecting its public schools,' Rowland said. 'Oklahomans have a right to expect that their government will follow the law regarding open records and open meetings. 'In this instance, the state Department of Education has formed a Library Media Advisory Committee to make decisions about students' access to books when our state Supreme Court has determined those decisions should be made by local school boards. State officials cannot hide behind closed doors and avoid public accountability, and why would they want to?' Oklahoma Appleseed is a party to at least two other lawsuits involving Walters, one in the Oklahoma Supreme Court regarding his Bible mandate and one that's been appealed to the same court. That case was filed by a Moore Public Schools student seeking to change their pronouns in school records. (This story was updated to add new information.) This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Nonprofit sues Ryan Walters over open records, Libs of TikTok hire
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ryan Walters at the nexus of Oklahoma lawsuits over transparency, religious freedom
State Superintendent Ryan Walters gives the Oklahoma flag salute during a meeting of the Oklahoma State Board of Education on Feb. 27 in Oklahoma City. An Oklahoma County lawsuit accuses Walters' administration of violating state transparency laws. It was filed a day after Walters himself initiated an unrelated lawsuit. (Photo by Nuria Martinez-Keel/Oklahoma Voice) OKLAHOMA CITY — In a litigious week for Oklahoma's top education official, state Superintendent Ryan Walters has both sued and been sued by advocacy groups. The Oklahoma Appleseed Center for Law and Justice filed a lawsuit on Tuesday against Walters, his administration and the state Board of Education in Oklahoma County District Court. The lawsuit accuses the Oklahoma State Department of Education of violating open meetings laws and of improperly withholding records detailing Walters' Library Media Advisory Committee. In an unrelated matter, Walters sued the Freedom From Religion Foundation on Monday in Muskogee federal court, complaining of the cease-and-desist letters the Wisconsin-based organization has sent to Oklahoma schools over alleged violations of church-state separation. 'Oklahoma will never be bullied by radical, out-of-state atheists who use intimidation and harassment against kids,' Walters said in a statement. The two organizations have been involved in a court battle against Walters before. Both supplied attorneys to a pending lawsuit challenging Walters' purchase of Bibles with state funds and his mandate that schools teach from the Christian text. Walters' lawsuit accused the Freedom from Religion Foundation of inhibiting religious freedom in Achille Public Schools when it discouraged the southeast Oklahoma district from having student-led prayer during morning announcements. The foundation called the lawsuit frivolous and said it won't back down. The civil suit filed against Walters on Tuesday was 'nothing more than a politically motivated attack,' Walters said in a statement through a spokesperson. 'These extremists are using the legal system to harass and obstruct progress in an effort to push their radical agenda,' Walters said. Oklahoma Appleseed filed its case after the state agency failed to provide details of the formation, membership selection and activities of the Library Media Advisory Committee despite repeated requests, according to the lawsuit. The Tulsa-based nonprofit requested that a judge order the Education Department to release the records and pay for the group's attorney fees. The lawsuit also asked a judge to declare that the agency violated the Oklahoma Open Records Act and that the advisory committee broke the state's Open Meeting Act, which requires government boards to conduct their business in public view. 'This lawsuit is about government transparency and accountability,' Oklahoma Appleseed legal director Brent Rowland said in a statement. 'The public has a right to know who is making decisions affecting its public schools. Oklahomans have a right to expect that their government will follow the law regarding open records and open meetings.' The Education Department has said it doesn't view the advisory committee as a 'public body' subject to open meeting laws. 'The Library Media Advisory Committee is a volunteer-based group responsible for reviewing books for suitability to minor students based on content,' the agency's open records office wrote to Oklahoma Voice on Dec. 17 in response to a request for documents. 'Please note that this committee is exempt from the Open Meetings Act, as it does not have decision-making authority or engage in formal deliberations. It does not meet the legal definition of a 'public body,' as it does not conduct meetings or engage in decision-making activities. Its role is solely advisory, and it is not supported by, nor entrusted with the management of, public funds or property.' Walters formed the advisory committee in 2023 to review whether certain books are age-appropriate for schools or whether they violate state rules against sexual content. Following the committee's recommendation, the Education Department ordered Edmond Public Schools to remove the best-selling novels 'The Kite Runner' and 'The Glass Castle' from its high school libraries. Edmond appealed to the Oklahoma Supreme Court, who decided that local schools, not the state Education Department, have control over what books to keep on their library shelves. Walters and his administration have refused to disclose the names of the advisory committee members but one — out-of-state social media personality Chaya Raichik, who runs an account known as Libs of TikTok. Raichik and the Library Media Advisory Committee also are named as defendants in the Oklahoma Appleseed lawsuit. '(The state Education Department) will not be bullied by extremist organizations trying to weaponize the courts and remains committed to transparency and compliance with all legal requirements,' Walters said. The state agency has denied multiple requests from news media, including Oklahoma Voice, to identify the rest of the committee's members. Email records the agency provided to Oklahoma Voice were heavily redacted to cover up individuals' names. The Education Department's open records office has so far refused to cite a state law requiring that these names be kept confidential. Oklahoma Appleseed contended these records should be available to the public with 'narrowly tailored and legally justified redactions.' 'In this instance, the state Department of Education has formed a Library Media Advisory Committee to make decisions about students' access to books when our state Supreme Court has determined those decisions should be made by local school boards,' Rowland said. 'State officials cannot hide behind closed doors and avoid public accountability, and why would they want to?' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
