Ryan Walters sets new rules for public comment ahead of Thursday's board meeting

Oklahoma schools Superintendent Ryan Walters said Wednesday he's changing the rules on public comment at Oklahoma State Board of Education meetings.

Interest in the meeting, relatively low in previous years, has soared since the election of Walters in 2022.

Walters, a Republican, has had a controversial year and a half in office, criticizing school districts across the state for their academic performance, accusing some of them for going too far in teaching about diversity, equity and inclusion, and faulting others for failing to keep books with what he deems to be inappropriate content out of their libraries.

Monthly board meetings have been held in a room too small to accommodate those wishing to attend, and media members are required to RSVP to ensure a seat. Requests for a change in the meeting location have been ignored, and lines often form hours before meetings are scheduled to start. Since November, public comment has been limited to the first 10 people who put their names on a signup sheet.

Ryan Walters' critics have frequently arrived night before board meetings

In recent months, critics of Walters have taken to arriving the night before the meeting, well before his supporters, and the critics have dominated that portion of the meeting. In April, Walters moved public comments to near the end of the meeting, essentially forcing those who signed up to speak to wait through hours of presentations and policy discussions.

Now Walters has gone a step further, inserting a special notice into the agenda for Wednesday's May meeting that reads: "Speakers for public comments will be chosen at random and limited in number. Unless necessary for healthcare, childcare, or ADA purposes backpacks, purses, and similar items are not permitted in the State Department of Education building for Board meetings."

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In a separate portion of the agenda, there's a boilerplate statement that's often ignored and has not been enforced in recent memory: "For all public comments, in the Board Chairman’s sole discretion, the time limit may be extended. Further, the Board Chairman may interrupt and/or terminate any presentation during public comment ... The Board Chairman reserves and retains the right to interrupt, terminate, or postpone public comment as necessary to effectuate the management of the public meeting."

One organization that frequently attends board meetings is the Human Rights Campaign.

Cathryn Oakley, the group's senior director for legal policy, said the action was one of "bullies."

“Ryan Walters pledged never to back down — so why is he throwing out usual procedure for public comment at state Board of Education meetings and instead hand-selecting the public testimony he wants to hear?" Oakley asked.

"His so-called commitment to transparency is as flimsy as his courage — because bullies hate to be held accountable. Walters is yet again demonstrating his abject failure to serve the needs of Oklahoma students and is yet again putting his own ego and political ambition ahead of the basics of doing his job. Walters needs to explain to Oklahomans why he doesn’t believe he needs to hear their concerns.”

Dan Isett, Walters' chief spokesperson, said the changes were made to "ensure public accessibility." He provided a statement from Walters saying, “For months, we have seen organized activists attempt to monopolize the public’s access to our open meetings. That ends today.”

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Isett said that in order for all to have "an equal opportunity to have their voices heard," a signup sheet for public comment would be made at 8:15 a.m. on meeting days and 9:25 a.m. — five minutes before the meeting's scheduled start. He said no limit would be placed on how many could sign up, and a computer "randomizer" would choose 10 people from the list to speak.

The release also noted the ban on backpacks, purses and similar items was "to help ensure the safety of all present." What safety issues there have been at board meetings in recent months is unclear, as multiple Oklahoma Highway Patrol troopers who provide security at the meetings have not inspected backpacks carried by media members for at least the past eight months.

However, at the board's April meeting, six patrol troopers did arrest, handcuff and remove from the room an Oklahoma City woman, Audra Beasley, leaving members of the audience to attend to her children. She had refused to leave the podium after her speaking time had elapsed. Beasley, who long has advocated for adult changing tables to be installed in public buildings, was not violent, but had slammed a small plastic folding table onto the glass-covered board table while addressing the board.

A spokesman for the Oklahoma attorney general's office said it appeared Walters' meeting restrictions were "allowable under law" because the board meetings did not require public comment. Oklahoma State University professor Joey Senat, a specialist in media law and open government, said it appeared the rules were consistent with the spirit of "open meetings," since speakers would be chosen randomly and not hand-picked by the board or agency. He added, however, that failing to hold meetings in a room large enough to accommodate those wishing to attend, was contrary to that spirt.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Ryan Walters sets new public comment rules for education board meetings