NORMAN — Attorneys for a Moore Public Schools student who sued state schools Superintendent Ryan Walters and the Oklahoma State Board of Education over an administrative rule that prevents the student from changing their pronouns in school records have asked a Cleveland County judge for summary judgment in the case.
In a filing on Friday afternoon, Leslie Briggs, an attorney for the student, wrote, “The ultimate issue in this matter is a question of law. Namely: do Defendants lack statutory authority to adopt the Student Records Rule? Plaintiffs urge this Court to answer the question in the affirmative.
Briggs also argued Walters and the board violated the student’s right to procedural due process under the Oklahoma Administrative Procedures Act and the Oklahoma Constitution, which Briggs said also would entitle the student to a summary judgment in the case.
“The Defendants had no authority to engage in rulemaking to control students’ ability to correct their gender markers in school records,” Briggs wrote. “To allow Defendants’ Rule to stand amounts to an improper expansion of (the Oklahoma State Department of Education’s) power and constitutes an usurpation of Legislative policymaking authority. Oklahoma law is clear: Agencies are a tool of the Executive to carry out the policy of the Legislature. They cannot unilaterally expand their authority, and they must abide by the public’s right to due process.”
Jason Reese, the listed attorney of record for Walters and the board in the case, did not return a message seeking comment left by email Friday afternoon.
District Judge Michael Tupper has not set a date for a hearing to consider the motion.
The individual board members — Don Burdick, Sarah Lepak, Kendra Wesson, Katie Quebedeaux and Zachary Archer — also are defendants in the case, even though Reese has argued that they should not be included.
The lawsuit was filed in Cleveland County District Court on Dec. 21 by the Oklahoma Equality Law Center and the Oklahoma Appleseed Center for Law and Justice on behalf of the student, identified in the lawsuit under the pseudonym “J. Doe.” A former general counsel for the state Education Department successfully had the case transferred to federal court, but after a few weeks, a federal judge sent the case back to state court after the lawsuit was amended to include only state-law claims.
The student wants to change their pronouns in school records. But last September, the Walters-led state Board of Education created an administrative rule prohibiting school districts and local schools from “altering sex or gender designations in past student records" without the board's authorization. The board granted final approval to the rule on Jan. 25 despite court orders from judges in Cleveland and Payne counties that allowed for such changes in student records. Bryan Cleveland, then the agency's general counsel, called the orders illegal.
Student was granted a protective order against Walters and state Board of Education
Attorneys for the student claim Walters and Cleveland have already publicly identified the student during a meeting of the Oklahoma State Board of Education. The student sought , and Tupper granted, a protective order against Walters and the board as a result.
Asked about that order on July 31, Walters denied it was issued against him and the board.
“You know that that’s not true,” Walters said. “The protective order was not against me. The protective order was against both legal teams to say — and my attorneys tell me this happens all the time — to say, listen, when you’re collecting files on a minor, you’re not to disclose the minor’s name. The judge even said this isn’t a protective order against one particular individual. It’s a protective order in general on how you get the information. So, look, that was a mischaracterization. That’s what we saw in that order.”
He also denied having identified the student in a public meeting, although reporters were able to use the information provided by Walters and Cleveland during the public meeting to identify the student’s family.
“I mean, I know I have not,” Walters said. “I have not spoken the child’s name. But, again, what they’re talking about is files — where are files, how are they kept, how are things being disclosed. Again, look, it’s of the utmost importance that you keep confidential information confidential, which is what we strive to do, which is why you see us taking — we want to make sure that we’re doing things the right way. Look, I respect any kind of decision there regarding, yeah, if a child doesn’t want their information out, I 100 percent respect that.”
The process of creating and approving administrative rules for state agencies often is non-controversial and happens out of the spotlight. But the Oklahoma State Board of Education’s aggressive rulemaking under Walters since he took office in January 2023 has drawn concern from both sides of the political aisle and at least two lawsuits, the one concerning the rule on pronouns and another concerning who has the authority to determine the content of school libraries .
In the latter case, the Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled in favor of Edmond Public Schools , who sued, saying local boards, and not the state board, had that right. The court essentially voided the state board’s library rule.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Attorneys for student who sued Ryan Walters over pronouns rule ask for summary judgment
Local News
