Oklahoma’s top education official seems to have forgotten a lesson taught in every civics class: our constitutional rights under the First Amendment.
State schools Superintendent Ryan Walters and his press secretary Dan Isett repeatedly barred KFOR-TV reporters from attending state Board of Education meetings and press conferences. Their justification? They say that KFOR-TV isn’t a “legitimate” news organization. This is an absurd claim, given that KFOR has won many awards and is the state’s oldest television station, informing Oklahomans since 1949.
Attorneys from my organization, the Institute for Free Speech , and local counsel Bob Nelon, recently filed a lawsuit to stop this unconstitutional denial of First Amendment rights.
But this conflict isn’t just about one TV station. It’s about the core principles of our democracy.
Fortunately, the federal courts understand this. Within two days of the lawsuit being filed, the court granted a temporary restraining order against Walters and his press secretary, preventing them from excluding KFOR-TV from these public events.