Tulsa, Mustang penalties upheld as state board of education refuses to reconsider HB 1775 vote

The Oklahoma State Board of Education doubled down on its vote to demote Tulsa and Mustang Public Schools’ accreditation, despite pleas from both school districts to reconsider.

The board had the option on Thursday to reevaluate its July 28 vote to penalize Tulsa and Mustang over reported violations of House Bill 1775, a state law banning certain race and gender topics from schools. Tulsa and Mustang were the first Oklahoma districts to be punished from the 2021 law.

Both districts had their status lowered to accredited with warning, a more drastic penalty than the Oklahoma State Department of Education recommended. Accredited with warning incurs extra state oversight and indicates a district failed to meet standards in a way that "seriously detracts" from the quality of its educational program.

Tulsa Superintendent Deborah Gist said her district never violated HB 1775 and called the punishment “draconian.” She said she was surprised but not shocked the board quickly dismissed the matter Thursday.

“Those requests just to consider what we have to share didn’t merit a discussion,” Gist said. “Oklahomans should be outraged. It’s unacceptable.”

Oklahoma's public school students are diverse. Their educators are mostly white.

Superintendents, school administrators and parents from both districts pleaded with the board to review the allegations with Tulsa and Mustang leaders.

Board members Brian Bobek, Trent Smith and Sarah Lepak cast the majority vote not to discuss the matter further with either district. State schools Superintendent Joy Hofmeister and Carlisha Williams-Bradley, both of whom voted against the accreditation downgrade last month, were in favor of reconsideration.

Board members Jennifer Monies and Estela Hernandez didn’t attend Thursday’s meeting but voted for penalties against Tulsa and Mustang on July 28.

Tulsa school board President Stacey Woolley said the district is focused on improving student academic outcomes, but the state’s actions distract from that.

“I’m not sure how many people are truly thinking about students and the effect of their decisions in that room today,” Woolley said.

The state Education Department decided an implicit bias training for Tulsa teachers “more likely than not” included comments that were inspired by concepts HB 1775 prohibits, even though state officials acknowledged the training didn’t include any statements that are explicitly banned.

The course encouraged teachers to examine implicit racial biases and understand “how societal and systemic systems are biased against minority students,” state documents show. 

HB 1775 forbids schools from teaching that people are inherently racist or oppressive because of their race or sex.

Gist noted implicit bias is not the same as inherent racism. The state board’s regulations for schools prohibit discrimination in the form of sex and racial bias.

“There’s no statement or sentiment in our professional development that people are racist based on their race,” Gist said in public comment to the board. “Rather, the message is that we all have preconceived assumptions or beliefs that are informed in part by our experiences.”

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Details of Mustang case were 'evidently irrelevant,' superintendent says

Mustang Superintendent Charles Bradley said he is “extremely disappointed” in the board’s refusal to review his district's case.

The board lowered Mustang’s accreditation minutes after some members admitted they were unaware the district had even violated the law. The specifics of Mustang’s violation were not discussed before the July 28 vote.

Bradley said this made it “abundantly clear that the facts surrounding our complaint were unknown, and evidently irrelevant.”

“We simply do not understand why a prior decision made in haste without context or facts would not be reconsidered,” he said in a statement.

Mustang addressed its violation internally when it received a complaint in January that a middle school student felt uncomfortable being asked questions in a team-building activity whether anyone in the room had ever experienced discrimination.

HB 1775 outlaws the teaching that people should feel discomfort, guilt or anguish on account of their race or sex.

The district said it resolved the matter months ago but the complainant chose to raise the issue again in June, this time to the state.

Teachers have experienced “paralyzing” fear ever since the accreditation downgrade, said Kathy Knowles, head principal of Mustang High School.

Knowles read written comments from students who said they’re worried accreditation problems will keep them from graduating.

“We are fearful to think that a teacher at another site who’s just trying to teach an activity over empathy who made a mistake is in danger of losing his job, of losing his certification, of contributing to Mustang Public Schools losing their accreditation,” Knowles said in public comment to the board. “The results of this action have had a negative impact on teaching and learning at Mustang High School.”

On top of accreditation penalties to their district, teachers risk their certification being suspended or revoked if found in violation of HB 1775.

Educators across Oklahoma have said they’re afraid not only of the law but of the broad way the state Board of Education applied it. Tulsa was accused of breaking not the letter but the spirit of the law, and Mustang was penalized because a student felt uncomfortable.

Some teachers have said the law prompted them to avoid discussions of race and gender and to remove books with a racial component like “Killers of the Flower Moon,” a nonfiction story based on Oklahoma history.

A lawsuit led by the ACLU is challenging the constitutionality of HB 1775, contending it inflicts a chilling effect in classrooms.

“I don’t want my teachers to be scared to teach my daughter about being a good person,” Tulsa district parent Ashley Daly said during the board meeting. “I want them to want to teach ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ and ‘Killers of the Flower Moon,’ so that we can all hold this complicated history that we have and move forward together as a community.”

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School bathroom restrictions approved

On top of its accreditation vote, the state Board of Education approved emergency administrative rules to implement Senate Bill 615, a new law that regulates school bathrooms by biological sex.

The bill outlawed the practice of allowing bathroom use by gender identity. Schools must offer single-use restrooms for those who don’t wish to use facilities that align with their birth sex.

Schools found in violation of the law could lose 5% of their state funding, according to the bill. Complaints of potential violations must be filed with the state Board of Education.

The state must notify a district facing a complaint and offer 15 days for the district’s school board to respond, according to the state board's emergency rules. Such due process doesn’t exist in the administrative rules for HB 1775 — another frustration that Tulsa and Mustang administrators voiced.

The permanent rulemaking process, which includes the opportunity for public comment, will begin for SB 615 after the emergency rules are enacted.

Restricting bathroom use will harm transgender and non-binary students, said Nicole McAfee, executive director of the LGBTQ+ advocacy group Freedom Oklahoma.

“I lose sleep at night knowing young folks in my community face disproportionately high rates of suicidality and death by suicide exacerbated by some of the things said in this room, in these meetings,” McAfee said.

Reporter Nuria Martinez-Keel covers K-12 and higher education throughout the state of Oklahoma. Have a story idea for Nuria? She can be reached at nmartinez-keel@oklahoman.com or on Twitter at @NuriaMKeel. Support Nuria’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: State Board of Education upholds Tulsa, Mustang HB 1775 penalties