OKCPS To Move Forward With Lawsuit Against State Legislature

Oklahoma City Public Schools officials voted unanimously to go forward with filing a lawsuit against the State Legislature over funding.

The board signed the resolution at Monday’s school board meeting. The district feels lawmakers can provide more funding during an expected special session.

According to the Oklahoma State School Board Associations, 45 states have had similar lawsuits over providing adequate funding.

“The students of the state need adequate education funding now. We owe this to them,” said OKCPS Superintendent Aurora Lora.

OKCPS Board of Education Chairperson Paula Lewis issued the following statement regarding Monday night's resolution approval:

Tonight, the OKCPS Board of Education voted to approve a resolution that directs our administrative team to begin research for a possible lawsuit or lawsuits against the State of Oklahoma, the Oklahoma Speaker of the House and the President Pro Tempore of the Oklahoma Senate for their failure to comply with their constitutional responsibility to fund public schools, which serve nearly 700,000 Oklahoma students.

 Urging our legislative leaders to provide our students what they deserve has, thus far, not resulted in the structural change needed in our state, which has cut education funding more than any other state in the nation over the last decade. With this resolution, the OKCPS Board of Education is prepared to pursue legal action if that is what it takes to provide a quality education to the students of this district. The Oklahoma legislature must fulfill its moral and constitutional obligation to establish stable sources of revenue to provide our students with the teachers, textbooks, and educational opportunities they are guaranteed by our state constitution.