Current:Home > InvestOklahoma Supreme Court rejects state education board’s authority over public school libraries-LoTradeCoin
Oklahoma Supreme Court rejects state education board’s authority over public school libraries
View Date:2024-12-23 23:28:03
EDMOND, Okla. (AP) —
Local school boards in Oklahoma will retain the right to determine what books are available in public school libraries after the state Supreme Court shut down efforts to shift that discretion to the state Board of Education.
“The state Board of Education is attempting to exercise unauthorized quasi-judicial authority in enforcement proceedings before the board,” Justice James E. Edmondson wrote in the unanimous ruling Tuesday in a lawsuit brought by Edmond Public Schools.
“State statutes give a local school board power and a type of statutory discretion to supply books for a school library that meet local community standards,” the ruling added.
The board, led by state Superintendent Ryan Walters, had recommended the suburban school district remove two books — “The Kite Runner” by Khaled Hosseini and “The Glass Castle” by Jeannette Walls — after new rules were approved in June 2023 that banned books and other media that contain pornographic and sexualized content.
The lawsuit was filed days before a hearing the board scheduled on the district’s appeal of its recommendation.
The district welcomed the decision in a statement. It said the ruling “protects our locally elected school board’s role in creating policies that determine how library materials are selected and reviewed.”
Walters said he was disappointed, calling in a statement for the Legislature to act “and reign out of control access to pornography in schools that our kids are exposed to.”
The ruling came the same day attorneys for LGBTQ+ youth, teachers and major publishers asked a federal appeals court to affirm a lower court order that blocked key parts of an Iowa law banning books depicting sex acts from school libraries and classrooms.
There has been a wave of similar legislation around the country, typically from Republican lawmakers who say the laws are designed to affirm parents’ rights and protect children. The laws often seek to prohibit discussion of gender and sexual orientation issues, ban treatments such as puberty blockers for transgender children, and restrict the use of restrooms in schools.
Many of the laws have prompted court challenges.
Earlier this month, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans ordered the return of eight books dealing with subjects including racism and transgender issues to library shelves in a rural Texas county. Llano County had 17 total books from a library in Kingsland in an ongoing book-banning controversy.
veryGood! (634)
Related
- Halle Berry Rocks Sheer Dress She Wore to 2002 Oscars 22 Years Later
- Police seek man who they say fired at mugger inside New York City subway station
- Alabama sets January execution date using nitrogen gas
- National Zoo returning beloved pandas to China on Wednesday after 23 years in U.S.
- Dallas Long, who won 2 Olympic medals while dominating the shot put in the 1960s, has died at 84
- GM recalls nearly 1,000 Cruise AVs across nation after robotaxi dragged pedestrian
- JJ McCarthy won't get my Heisman Trophy vote during Michigan cheating scandal
- Participating in No Shave November? Company will shell out money for top-notch facial hair
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Good Try (Freestyle)
- Bear attack suspected after college student found dead on mountain in Japan
Ranking
- Tampa Bay Rays' Wander Franco arrested again in Dominican Republic, according to reports
- Virginia Democrats sweep legislative elections, delivering a blow Gov. Glenn Youngkin's plan for a GOP trifecta
- Detroit police arrest suspect in killing of Jewish leader Samantha Woll
- Participating in No Shave November? Company will shell out money for top-notch facial hair
- Kim Kardashian Says She's Raising Her and Kanye West's 4 Kids By Herself
- Cate Blanchett, more stars join Prince William on the green carpet for Earthshot Prize awards in Singapore
- Moderate 5.3 magnitude earthquake recorded in sparsely populated western Texas county
- 2024 Met Gala Theme Revealed
Recommendation
-
Satire publication The Onion acquires Alex Jones' Infowars at auction
-
The Excerpt podcast: Ohio passes abortion ballot measure, Democrats win in Virginia
-
Arizona woman dies after elk attack
-
Actors and studios make a deal to end Hollywood strikes
-
What happens to Donald Trump’s criminal conviction? Here are a few ways it could go
-
CMA Awards 2023: See the Complete Winners List
-
US launches airstrike on site in Syria in response to attacks by Iranian-backed militias
-
The Angels have hired Ron Washington, the 71-year-old’s first job as MLB manager since 2014
Like
- After entire police force resigns in small Oklahoma town, chief blames leaders, budget cuts
- Candidate who wouldn’t denounce Moms for Liberty chapter after Hitler quote wins Indiana mayor race
- Supreme Court gun case could reverse protections for domestic violence survivors. One woman has a message for the justices.