News & Commentary

By Ryan Kiesel, Executive Director, The American Civil Liberties Union of Oklahoma Foundation

Kellyville, OK—You would be excused for not associating a high school prom with the First Amendment, but when Kellyville Public School officials recently told a student he would be denied attendance to prom if he wore a kilt, they turned a high school rite of passage into a teaching moment about the Constitution and protected speech. After visiting with the student’s father, the American Civil Liberties Union of Oklahoma sent a letter to Kellyville High School. Shortly after receiving the ACLU of Oklahoma’s letter, school officials withdrew the prohibition and the student successfully exercised his freedom of expression at his prom.This incident is just one of many similar battles fought at the intersection between schools’ attempts to enforce discipline and the protection of students’ constitutional rights. The U.S Supreme Court has recognized that clothing—even student clothing—is a form of expression entitled to full protection of the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. And it has long held that students “do not shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate.” Even when the speech occurs in a traditional school setting like a classroom—as opposed to the more free and open social environment of a dance­—school officials must still prove that the forbidden conduct would substantially interfere with the operation of the school or would impinge upon the rights of other students.While the enforcement of a dress code does not automatically violate students’ constitutional rights, school officials must apply a dress code in accordance with the U.S. and Oklahoma Constitutions. In the case of Kellyville High School, kilts are not offensive to the school’s dress code and had been allowed at school events in the past. The ACLU of Oklahoma argued that it was “difficult to perceive how a kilt might substantially interfere with the operation of a school classroom, let alone a school dance.”While the wearing of a kilt may seem like a minor issue in the grander scheme of civil liberties, the ACLU of Oklahoma believes such issues present an opportunity for students to learn the invaluable lesson of standing up for their rights.  The ACLU of Oklahoma closed its letter to Kellyville Public Schools by encouraging the administration to let students exercise their protected rights to the extent provided by law, stating that “doing so would not only teach students the value of their speech,  but would set an appropriate example of respect for the law and for the civil rights of others.”

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OKLAHOMA CITY – Following many attempts to convince the Office of the Governor to comply voluntarily with the Oklahoma Open Records Act, The American Civil Liberties Union of Oklahoma filed a lawsuit today against Governor Mary Fallin and the Office of the Governor in Oklahoma County District Court.

Apri

March 29, 2013--Governor Mary Fallin released over 50,000 pages of documents today relating to her controversial decisions on medicaid expansion and the Affordable Care Act. The release follows the ACLU of Oklahoma’s demand for access to these public records, as required by Oklahoma’s Open Records Act.  The records were requested by numerous local news outlets, including news and satire site, The Lost Ogle, more than one hundred days ago.  Over 50,000 pages were released, broken into ten large PDF files that we are now posted hereNote: The files are quite large and will take some time to download and open.

OKLAHOMA CITY – The American Civil Liberties Union of Oklahoma has called on Governor Mary Fallin to correct serious failures to comply with Oklahoma’s Open Records Act. In a letter to Steve Mullins, Governor Fallin’s General Counsel, ACLU of Oklahoma Legal Director Brady Henderson cited both ongoing illegal practices and the Governor’s continuing denial of access to records requested by local news and entertainment outlet, The Lost Ogle, more than one hundred days ago.

All comments attributable to Ryan Kiesel, Executive Director of the ACLU of Oklahoma

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