Oklahoma court sides with school district who ended man's public comment on bathroom policy

An appellate court has ruled in favor of an Oklahoma school district sued by a parent who accused officials of violating his religious liberty by not allowing him to finish a public comment against a policy providing bathroom access to transgender students.

At an April 12, 2022, meeting of the Stillwater Board of Education, Brice Chaffin, who was 42 at the time, registered to speak about the school bathroom policy that, for about six years, allowed transgender female students to use the women’s restroom.

Chaffin, who unsuccessfully ran for House District 33 last year, was escorted out of the meeting by police when he discussed the laws of gravity, biblical passages, sin and sexual impurity.

Board members cut off his speech with a minute left on the timer for remaining too far off topic.

Chaffin, of Stillwater, and the conservative group Reclaim Oklahoma Parent Empowerment filed a lawsuit in Payne County District Court, accusing the school board of violating Chaffin’s religious liberties.

The lawsuit asked that a judge order the school district to give Chaffin an apology and pay attorney's fees and any other applicable damages.

Chaffin and the conservative group lost the lawsuit.

On Sept. 1, the Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals upheld the decision.

“The record does not support Plaintiff’s argument that a reasonable person could conclude that Defendants have substantially burdened Chaffin’s free exercise of his religion,” the appellate court ruled.

Case could next reach the Oklahoma Supreme Court

Reached by phone Wednesday, Chaffin’s attorney, Maria Seidler, said the appellate court’s ruling will be appealed to the Oklahoma Supreme Court.

“I think there was legal gymnastics made in order to find for the school board,” Seidler said. “I think that they were that the school board did react to the strength of his religious conviction. They did respond to the biblical content of his comments, and I think we'll keep moving it up the chain until we find a court that sees it in that discriminatory way.”

The school district declined to comment for this story.

At the time of the April 12, 2022, meeting at issue, the Stillwater Board of Education was under pressure from legislators and others, including, including then-state Education Secretary Ryan Walters, to change its bathroom policy.

More: Debate over transgender bathroom policy draws divide in Stillwater

The education board asked the state to issue emergency rules governing school bathroom policies for transgender students.

The school board said it would continue with Stillwater Public Schools’ protocol allowing students to use the bathroom that agrees with their gender identity unless the district was forced to do otherwise.

A little more than a month later, Gov. Kevin Stitt signed Senate Bill 615 into law, with an emergency provision that caused the legislation to take effect immediately.

The bill limits access to public-school bathrooms by a person's birth sex.

School districts and charter schools that don't comply face a 5% deduction in their state funding.

Last year, Stillwater schools adopted a policy that complies with state law.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma court sides with Stillwater district in bathroom rules case