Oklahoma Schools Superintendent Ryan Walters said Wednesday he will change the rules for public comment at Oklahoma State Board of Education meetings.
Interest in the meeting, which has been relatively low in recent years, has soared since Walters’ election in 2022.
Walters, a Republican, has had a contentious year and a half, criticizing school districts across the state for their academic performance, accusing some of going too far in teaching about diversity, equity and inclusion, and blaming others for they failed to do that. keep books with what he considers inappropriate content from their libraries.
Monthly board meetings have been held in a room too small for those who want to attend, and media members must register to ensure a seat. Requests for a change of meeting location are ignored and lines often form hours before the meeting is due to start. Since November, public comment has been limited to the first ten people who put their names on a registration form.
Ryan Walters’ critics often arrive the night before board meetings
In recent months, critics of Walters have taken to arriving the night before the meeting, well before his supporters, and the critics have dominated that part of the meeting. In April, Walters moved public comments to the end of the meeting, essentially forcing those who registered to speak to wait hours for presentations and policy discussions.
Now Walters has gone a step further by placing a special notice in the agenda for Wednesday’s May meeting, which reads: “Public comment speakers will be selected at random and in limited numbers. Unless necessary for health care, child care, or ADA purposes. Backpacks, purses, and similar items are not permitted in the State Department of Education building for board meetings.”
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In a separate section of the agenda, there is a standard statement that is often ignored and has not been enforced in recent history: “All public comments may have their time limit extended at the sole discretion of the Board Chair. Further, the Board Chairman may interrupt and/or end a presentation during public comment… The Board Chairman reserves the right to interrupt, end, or postpone public comment as necessary to facilitate the administration of the public meeting effectuate.’
One organization that regularly attends board meetings is the Human Rights Campaign.
Cathryn Oakley, the group’s senior director of legal policy, said the action was one of “bullying”.
“Ryan Walters promised to never give up – so why is he jettisoning the usual public comment process at State Board of Education meetings and instead hand-selecting the public testimony he wants to hear?” Oakley asked.
“His so-called commitment to transparency is as weak as his courage – because bullies hate being held accountable. Once again demonstrating his abject inability to serve the needs of Oklahoma students and once again putting his own ego and political ambition at the forefront of his job, Walters must explain to Oklahomans why he doesn’t believe he should hear their concerns.
Dan Isett, Walters’ chief spokesperson, said the changes were made to “ensure public accessibility.” He issued a statement from Walters saying: “For months we have watched organized activists attempt to monopolize public access to our open meetings. That ends today.”
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Isett said that to give everyone “an equal opportunity to have their voices heard,” a public comment sign-up sheet would be created on meeting days at 8:15 a.m. and 9:25 a.m. – five minutes before the scheduled start of the meeting. . He said there would be no limit on the number of people who could sign up, and that a computer randomizer would choose 10 people from the list to speak.
The release also noted that the ban on backpacks, purses and similar items “to help ensure the safety of all attendees.” What security issues there have been at board meetings in recent months is unclear, as several Oklahoma Highway Patrol troopers who provide security at the meetings have not inspected media members’ backpacks in the past eight months.
However, during the board’s April meeting, six patrol troops arrested an Oklahoma City woman, Audra Beasley, handcuffed and removed her from the room, leaving members of the public to care for her children. She had refused to leave the stage after her speaking time had expired. Beasley, who has long advocated installing adult changing tables in public buildings, was not violent but had smashed a small plastic folding table onto the glass-covered board table as he addressed the board.
A spokesperson for the Oklahoma attorney general’s office said it appeared Walters’ meeting restrictions were “permitted by law” because the board meetings did not require public comment. Professor Joey Senat of Oklahoma State University, a specialist in media law and open government, said it appeared the rules were in keeping with the spirit of “open meetings” as speakers would be chosen at random and not handpicked. selected by the board or agency. However, he added that it was contrary to that spirit not to hold meetings in a space large enough for those who wanted to attend.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Ryan Walters sets new public comment rules for education board meetings
