A coalition of educators and civil rights groups have legally challenged the state of Oklahoma's new measure that limited how race and gender issues are taught in classrooms. The lawsuit over the state's anti-critical race theory measure was filed on Tuesday and was backed by the American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Oklahoma.
The coalition took issue on H.B. 1775, which took effect in May and, they claim, impedes students' and teachers' First amendment rights to learn and discuss gender and race issues within the classroom.
According to NPR, H.B. 1775 also prohibits students from discussing in-depth American history that reflects the experiences and points of view of "all historically marginalized communities in this country," ACLU said. The coalition also sought the court to rule H.B. 1775 as unconstitutional under the First Amendment and the 14th Amendment, adding that the judge should issue a preliminary injunction that would immediately block H.B. 1772 from being in effect in the state.
"All young people deserve to learn an inclusive and accurate history in schools, free from censorship or discrimination," Emerson Sykes, an ACLU staff attorney for the organization's Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project argued. ACLU's lawsuit against Oklahoma over its anti-critical race theory law is the first of its kind that challenges the state's actions at limiting instruction of CRT.
H.B. 1775 orders that no public school students in Oklahoma should be required to participate in any kind of "mandatory gender or sexual diversity training or counseling." It also orders that, "Any orientation or requirement that presents any form of race or sex stereotyping or a bias on the basis of race or sex shall be prohibited."
Sykes argued that H.B. 1775 was "so poorly drafted-in places it is literally indecipherable," that it could not serve as a proper guide for both educators and students. He added that the anti-critical race theory law was merely written "to inflame a political reaction, not further a legitimate educational interest."
ACLU Oklahoma's legal director Megan Lambert described H.B. 1775 to NBC News as "a direct affront to the constitutional rights of teachers and students" because it is "restricting conversations around race and gender at all levels of education."
This year, five Republican-controlled states, including Oklahoma passed laws restricting how educators taught race and gender issues in the classroom. Alabama, Georgia, and Florida even limited race discussions through decrees drawn up by education officials. Texas, in the meantime, approved new laws that required schools to present "contrasting viewpoints on contentious issues."
The ACLU lawsuit was filed on behalf of the University of Oklahoma chapter of the American Association of University Professors, the state chapter of the NAACP, the activist group American Indian Movement-Indian Territory and high school teacher Regan Killackey.
Other plaintiffs include the Black Emergency Response Team, a group formed by University of Oklahoma students to combat racism after Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity members were swept in a racial controversy in 2015.
Anthony Crawford, a high school English teacher in Oklahoma City lamented that the lawsuit was "a shot at teachers" like himself who "really want to see Black and brown kids really do something with their lives." He argued that Black students "need this part of history. They need to understand what happened to their people."
