Oklahoma Supreme Court rejects state education board’s authority over public school libraries

EDMOND, Okla. (AP) —

Local school boards in Oklahoma will retain the right to determine what books are available in public school libraries after the state Supreme Court shut down efforts to shift that discretion to the state Board of Education.

“The state Board of Education is attempting to exercise unauthorized quasi-judicial authority in enforcement proceedings before the board,” Justice James E. Edmondson wrote in the unanimous ruling Tuesday in a lawsuit brought by Edmond Public Schools.

“State statutes give a local school board power and a type of statutory discretion to supply books for a school library that meet local community standards,” the ruling added.

The board, led by state Superintendent Ryan Walters, had recommended the suburban school district remove two books — “The Kite Runner” by Khaled Hosseini and “The Glass Castle” by Jeannette Walls — after new rules were approved in June 2023 that banned books and other media that contain pornographic and sexualized content.

The lawsuit was filed days before a hearing the board scheduled on the district’s appeal of its recommendation.

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