A growing number of school districts are supporting Edmond in lawsuit against Ryan Walters

A growing number of major Oklahoma school districts are publicly lining up behind Edmond Public Schools in that district’s lawsuit against state schools Superintendent Ryan Walters, the Oklahoma State Department of Education and the state Board of Education.

The battle is over who should choose the books in school libraries -- state schools Superintendent Ryan Walters and the State Department of Education? Or local school districts with elected school boards?

The latest district to side with Edmond was one of the state’s largest districts – Oklahoma City Public Schools. On Saturday night, OKCPS Superintendent Sean McDaniel issued a statement of support, following similar actions by superintendents of the Deer Creek Public Schools and the Mid-Del Public Schools.

“OKCPS supports the right of Edmond Public Schools or any other school district to challenge actions that they believe do not serve the best interests of their students and community,” McDaniel said. “Districts have school board members, who are elected by their constituents, to establish the policies that best fit the needs of their respective community. Communities deserve to have local issues addressed at the local level.”

Asked to comment Sunday about other districts supporting Edmond, Walters issued the following statement:

"Edmond Public Schools has determined, once again, that parents don't matter," he said. "They've forgotten their responsibility is to our kids, not the radical teachers' unions. This is a school district that's declared itself better than parents. Other school districts should be careful and not follow EPS's path because if this rule is overturned, then 'Flamer,' 'Gender Queer' and many other books go right back on the shelves."

The Edmond district sued Walters, the agency and state board last Tuesday after the OSDE threatened to diminish the district’s accreditation in a dispute over the presence of two books in the libraries of the district’s three high schools. As McDaniel did, Edmond district officials have cast the issue as one of local control, saying its elected board of education, not Walters or the governor-appointed state Board of Education, should have the final say about what books are in its libraries.

The district asked the Oklahoma Supreme Court to decide and the court has set a March 5 hearing before a court referee. That hearing is to determine if the court will grant an emergency request by the Edmond district for a stay of proceedings. The hearing won't affect the merits of the case. It's unclear when the court might make a decision.

The court has told Walters, the OSDE and the state board to respond to the district's application for a stay of proceedings before the board by March 1. It also gave the three defendants until March 15 to respond to the district's application for the Supreme Court to assume original jurisdiction in the case and the district's request for declaratory and injunctive relief.

Walters says his election gives him authority over school libraries

Walters said Thursday the fact he was elected to his office in a statewide election essentially gives him authority to force districts to bend to his will over the issue. He’s also, on multiple occasions, accused the Edmond district of supporting an effort to keep pornography in schools. Edmond Superintendent Angela Grunewald has forcefully denied that claim.

Other districts that have displeased Walters since he took office in January 2023, including Tulsa Public Schools and Western Heights Public Schools, have had their accreditation threatened and been subjected to punitive measures.

After effectively forcing the resignation of Tulsa Superintendent Deborah Gist in August, for several months, Walters has required new district Superintendent Ebony Johnson and officials from Tulsa – the state’s largest brick-and-mortar school district – to travel to Oklahoma City monthly to make detailed presentations to the state board. All that time he’s held the potential of diminished accreditation over their heads, warning them, “Do not test me.” Leaders of other districts, seeing how Walters has treated Tulsa, have mostly chosen to remain silent publicly, so as to not draw Walters’ ire.

Thus, it’s unusual to see multiple districts take a public stand against the state superintendent.

After Edmond district files lawsuit, others offer messages of support of local-control principle

Edmond chose to challenge Walters after it received a letter last month signed by OSDE’s general counsel, Bryan Cleveland. His letter said two books, “The Glass Castle” by Jeannette Walls and “The Kite Runner” by Khaled Hosseini, had been reviewed by the agency’s Library Media Advisory Committee and deemed unfit for a school library. Cleveland's letter said nothing about the two books Walters mentioned in his comment for this story.

The only publicly identified member of that committee is Chaya Raichik, an out-of-state woman behind the conservative “Libs of TikTok” social media account. OSDE officials have steadfastly refused to reveal the names of other board members.

One day after the Edmond district filed the lawsuit seeking to prevent Walters and the state board from taking action on its accreditation and questioning the legality of the board’s rulemaking procedures, its neighbor, Deer Creek Public Schools, issued a public statement of support.

“Every public school district in our state has a duly elected board of education, chosen by the patrons of their respective communities, to represent the interests and values of those they serve,” Deer Creek Superintendent Jason Perez said. “This level of local control is a right belonging to public school parents in Oklahoma and should not be undermined by any agency at the state level.

“We stand with Edmond Public Schools and encourage other boards, superintendents, teachers, parents and students to support their efforts. Our communities deserve local control and our school districts need the first opportunity to address issues as they arise.”

On Friday, Mid-Del Public Schools – which serves Del City and Midwest City in eastern Oklahoma County – followed suit with a statement from Superintendent Rick Cobb.

“This is a battle that should matter to every school district and every individual who cares about public education,” Cobb said. “This is a battle against overreach by the state. This is a battle for local control. Every public school in our state has an elected board of education that is chosen by the voters in their communities. They serve conscientiously to represent the interests and values of their patrons. This representation is foundational to our education system and is a cornerstone of our society.

“In Mid-Del, we have policies and procedures in place that cover the instructional materials and challenges to them by patrons. We take this responsibility seriously. We also believe that keeping our patrons’ trust is our job, not the State Department of Education’s.”

Cobb already has tangled with Walters and is one of the few district superintendents who has publicly criticized him. During a state Board of Education meeting on Jan. 25, Cobb lectured Walters about accusations Walters made during a state Senate budget hearing, during which Walters alleged the district misspent more than $500,000 of federal funds “on lawn care that is expressly prohibited in federal rules and regulations.”

Cobb said under federal guidance, the use of those funds included 20 separate categories listing what was allowable. He said Mid-Del spent the money under one of those categories that allowed the district to do so for “other activities that are necessary to maintain the operation of and continuity of services … and continuing to employ existing staff.”

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: School districts are supporting Edmond in lawsuit against Ryan Walters