The Oklahoman

Groups’ lawsuit to challenge state law banning teaching of certain race and gender topics

- Nuria Martinez-Keel and Carmen Forman

A group of teachers, students, college professors and activists will challenge in court a controvers­ial Oklahoma law that prohibits schools from teaching certain topics on race and gender and bars universiti­es from requiring gender and sexual diversity trainings.

The plaintiffs say House Bill 1775, which Gov. Kevin Stitt signed into law this year, is unconstitu­tional under the First and Fourteenth Amendments.

The group announced the federal lawsuit on Tuesday alongside attorneys with the American Civil Liberties Union, the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, and the internatio­nal firm Schulte Roth & Zabel.

It will be filed in Oklahoma City federal court against Stitt, Attorney Gener

al John O'Connor, state schools Superinten­dent Joy Hofmeister, the Oklahoma State Board of Education, the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education, and Edmond Public Schools' superinten­dent and school board.

O'Connor said he looks forward to defending the law against "activists who do not share our Oklahoma values."

The lawsuit contends teachers have tempered classroom discussion­s on sensitive issues for fear of breaking the law.

“Across the state, educators are censoring their speech to avoid deeper student inquiry around race, gender, and inequality because they do not know where the line between lawful and unlawful conduct lies,” the lawsuit states. Rep. Kevin West, an author of HB 1775, said the legal complaint is “full of halftruths, and in some cases blatant lies” meant to generate sensationa­list media coverage and distort the law.

“It is unfortunat­e, but not surprising, to see radical leftist organizati­ons supporting the racist indoctrina­tion of our children that HB 1775 was written to stop,” West, R-Moore, said in a statement. “The law ensures that all history is taught in schools without shaming the children of today into blaming themselves for problems of the past, as radical leftists would prefer.”

Some supporters of the bill have said it was designed to block critical race theory from Oklahoma schools. However, the text of the bill doesn't contain the words “critical race theory,” an academic concept that explores racism as interwoven into society.

Instead, the law bans K-12 schools from teaching that “one race or sex is superior to the other,” that people should feel guilt or discomfort because of their race or sex, that they bear responsibi­lity for actions committed in the past by members of their race or sex, and that a person is inherently racist or oppressive.

Under the law, universiti­es are prohibited from mandating gender or sexual diversity training for students.

“HB 1775 is a direct affront to the constituti­onal rights of teachers and students across Oklahoma by restrictin­g conversati­ons around race and gender at all levels of education,” Megan Lambert, ACLU of Oklahoma legal director, said in a statement. “We bring

this case to vindicate the rights of Oklahoma teachers and students and to protect the integrity of our educationa­l institutio­ns.”

Members of the Black Emergency Response Team, a student group at the University of Oklahoma that organized against racist incidents, and the OU chapter of the American Associatio­n of University Professors join two public high school teachers, a high school student, the Oklahoma State Conference of the NAACP and local members of the American Indian Movement in bringing the lawsuit.

Edmond Memorial High School teacher Regan Killackey, a plaintiff in the case, said he was told to avoid phrases such as “diversity” and “white privilege” and books by non-white and female authors in his English classes.

“H.B. 1775 limits my ability to teach an inclusive and complete history within the walls of my classroom, ultimately restrictin­g the exact type of learning environmen­t all young people deserve — one free from censorship or discrimina­tion,” Killackey said in a news release announcing the lawsuit.

Millwood High School teacher Anthony Crawford and one of his 11thgrade students, identified by initials S.L., also joined the lawsuit. Crawford

and the student, both of whom are Black, contend HB 1775's “confusing, broad and vague” language is an impediment to open discussion on race, gender and injustice.

The state Board of Education approved a temporary complaints process that threatens teaching certifications and school district accreditat­ions for those found in violation of HB 1775.

The state board is expected to vote on a final version of HB 1775 rules in the coming months for the Oklahoma Legislatur­e to review during its 2022 session.

The legislatio­n was easily one of the more polarizing topics addressed by the Legislatur­e this year, igniting both fierce criticism and support.

Despite opposition from the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre Centennial Commission, Stitt signed the bill shortly before the centennial of the Tulsa Race Massacre, resulting in the governor being ousted from the commission.

Conservati­ves across the country have ignited a political firestorm over critical race theory. In May, the Oklahoma State Department of Education said it had received no complaints of schools teaching the ideology that has become a hot-button topic in the political world.

 ?? ?? Stitt
Stitt
 ?? NATE BILLINGS/THE OKLAHOMAN FILE ?? University of Oklahoma students participat­e in a sit-in organized by the Black Emergency Response Team on Feb. 26, 2020, in Evans Hall on the Norman campus. Student members of BERT joined a lawsuit challengin­g House Bill 1775 in federal court. The law prohibits universiti­es from mandating gender and sexual diversity training.
NATE BILLINGS/THE OKLAHOMAN FILE University of Oklahoma students participat­e in a sit-in organized by the Black Emergency Response Team on Feb. 26, 2020, in Evans Hall on the Norman campus. Student members of BERT joined a lawsuit challengin­g House Bill 1775 in federal court. The law prohibits universiti­es from mandating gender and sexual diversity training.
 ?? ?? West
West

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