Oklahoma censorship law doesn’t apply to higher education, courts agree
OKLAHOMA CITY – The American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Oklahoma Foundation, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, and pro bono counsel Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP dismissed claims in an ongoing suit challenging a classroom censorship law in Oklahoma, citing a state Supreme Court ruling that the law does not restrict teaching in higher education classrooms.
“We couldn’t be more pleased that the courts have preserved academic freedom in Oklahoma colleges and universities by protecting classroom instruction from legislative censorship in the form of this draconian law,” said Emerson Sykes, senior staff attorney with the ACLU’s Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project. “We will remain vigilant to ensure that the University of Oklahoma upholds its First Amendment obligations to its faculty, staff, and students.”
The dismissal of claims comes after the state Supreme Court ruled last month that the text of the law does not apply to classroom curriculum in higher education. That decision also leaves in place a partial preliminary injunction that prevents the enforcement of vague and borderline nonsensical prohibitions on instruction in K-12 schools while the rest of the case proceeds. The suit was originally filed in 2021.
“The Oklahoma Supreme Court made it clear that H.B. 1775 does not apply to university classrooms. Teachers and students at the University of Oklahoma, and all other Oklahoma colleges and universities, can teach and learn without fear of H.B. 1775,” said Adam Hines, legal fellow at the ACLU of Oklahoma. “Unfortunately, the same is not true for K-12 teachers and students, who still face vague and confusing limits on their ability to speak and learn in the classroom. So, we will continue to fight H.B. 1775’s classroom censorship and look forward to a world without attempts to scrub references to race and gender from the classroom.”
The lead authors of the law in the state legislature declared the intent behind the law, HB 1775, was to prohibit conversations related to “implicit bias,” “systemic racism,” and “intersectionality,” among other concepts, part of a wave of bills across the country restricting instruction related to race and gender beginning in 2021.
“We are grateful that the Oklahoma Supreme Court has ensured that academic freedom can thrive at colleges and universities in Oklahoma, including and especially the University of Oklahoma, said Maya Brodziak, senior counsel with the Educational Opportunities Project at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. “As we continue to challenge HB 1775 and its negative effects at the K12 level, we will carry on our work with vital campus groups like the OU chapter of the American Association of University Professors and the Black Emergency Response Team student group to ensure that academic freedom remains vibrant and strong at OU.”
“This represents a major victory and affirmation of academic freedom and the teaching of scientifically based gender and race academic topics in public colleges and universities in Oklahoma without fear of reprisal due to the prior vagueness of HB 1775,” said Michael Givel, president of University of Oklahoma Chapter of the American Association of University Professors.
The lawsuit was filed in 2021 by the American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Oklahoma, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, and pro bono counsel Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP on behalf of plaintiffs the Black Emergency Response Team (BERT); the University of Oklahoma Chapter of the American Association of University Professors (OU-AAUP); the Oklahoma State Conference of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP-OK); the American Indian Movement (AIM) Indian Territory on behalf of itself and its members who are public school students and teachers; a high school student; and Oklahoma public high school teachers Anthony Crawford and Regan Killackey.
