OKLAHOMA CITY – A bill that prevented local school boards from establishing mask policies unless the governor declared a state of emergency was shot down by the Oklahoma Supreme Court last week.
The measure, Senate Bill 658, was passed by the Oklahoma Legislature last year and signed into law by Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt. The measure restricted public school districts from making decisions about mask wearing unless the governor had previously declared a state of emergency.
The court ruled 7-2 – with one abstention – that the measure was unconstitutional.
Writing for the majority, Justice Yvonne Kauger wrote that the bill was “an unconstitutional delegation of legislative authority in violation of article four, section one of the Oklahoma Constitution only to the extent that they require the governor to declare an emergency before local school districts may make decisions regarding local health matters.”
Oklahoma’s governor, Kauger wrote, has “neither constitutional nor statutory authority over the operation of schools.”
“The heart of the legislation in this matter is local control usurped or impeded by requiring the Governor to declare or not declare a state of emergency,” the justice wrote. “The statutes remove the school board's authority to act independently and exercise the authority granted to the school board and it grants that authority to the Governor.”
The court struck down the offending provision of the measure and left the remainder of the statute standing. The court’s action was applauded by the Oklahoma State Medical Association, one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit.
“We are pleased the Oklahoma Supreme Court sided with local control and upheld the ability of schools to protect their students and staff,” Dr. David Holden, president of the Oklahoma State Medical Association president, said in a media statement.
Shawn Hime, executive director of the Oklahoma State School Boards Association, said his group was grateful the court recognized and protected the constitutional and statutory role of the local school board.
“Elected school boards ensure that the best interest of local students and communities are at the center of decision-making, and the ruling reinforced the foundational value of local control,” he said.
The measure was one of a series of bill the Republican-controlled Legislature passed, pushing back against public health initiatives established because of the COVID-19 pandemic. At the same time the bill passed, Attorney General John O’Connor issued a statement saying that his office would “move as quickly as it can to block public school mask requirements that are in violation of a state law enacted this year.”
"I think we'll probably have to ask for injunctive relief early in the lawsuit so that the schools have guidance,” O’Connor’s statement said. “My basic position is that we can trust the parents. Somehow, we've sort of abandoned the notion that the parents are in the best position to protect their kids.”
O’Connor said his office wasn’t trying to demonize school officials but was, instead, trying to protect children.