Federal Court Temporarily Blocks Portions of Oklahoma's Law On Teaching Topics On Race

A federal judge has temporarily blocked portions of Oklahoma’s House Bill 1775 state law banning certain teachings on race in college and K-12 classrooms.

House Bill 1775 was signed into law more than three years ago and after years of legal fillings between the state, the ACLU, and other plaintiffs, Oklahoma City Federal Judge Charles Goodwin pumped the breaks for the first time late last week.

“I’m just telling you, he’s flat wrong,” State Superintendent Ryan Walters told News 9 Tuesday morning.

“We are thrilled that the court has decided to enjoy many of the most harmful provisions,” ACLU of Oklahoma’s Megan Lambert said.

Late last week, a federal judge put a pause on sections of the law barring universities from teachings or orientations that “presents any form of race or sex stereotyping or a bias – on the bias of race or sex.”

“I will tell you, as we continue to see left-wing activist judges that want to push an ideology, they continue to bend themselves and contort themselves to come to some of these rulings when we’ve been crystal clear,” Walters said.

The judge also halted two sections of the K-12 law discussing race – calling them unconstitutionally vague, in violation of the U.S. Constitution’s 14th amendment.

“Those are two of the most confusing provisions for educators,” Lambert said. “The court found that because those provisions didn’t adequately give teachers notice about what was and was not prohibited by those subsections they could not be enforced.”

The judge did allow several other parts of the law pertaining to K-12 classrooms to remain in effect like one that bans teaching “one race or sex is inherently superior to another race or sex” and another section that bans teaching “an individual based on his or her race or sex is inherently racist, sexist or oppressive.”

“While he didn’t enjoin the law and its entirety, in almost every piece of law that was left in effect, he provided a narrowing construction so that teachers have more guidance on what each of the banned concepts means and what it does not prohibit,” Lambert said.

“The reality is our bill is crystal clear,” Walters said. “You cannot indoctrinate kids in the state of Oklahoma that is going to be what we continue to fight for, for our parents to make sure that their kids aren’t being indoctrinated.”

The attorney general’s office applauded the portions of the law the judge allowed to take effect.

“It is gratifying that the Court rejected the push by the ACLU and its fellow plaintiffs to allow teaching that one race or sex is inherently superior to another,” The Attorney General’s Office said in a statement. “Our office is reviewing the full ruling, which is complicated and nuanced.”

While certain sections of the law are on hold, the case is still set to move forward in federal court. New filings are due next Friday.