Education Secretary Walters asks State Board to hold emergency meeting over Stillwater Schools bathroom policy

Here's the latest on the ongoing saga with the Stillwater Public Schools allowing girls restrooms to be used by boys who mistakenly, unscientifically, irrationally, and unnaturally believe that they are girls.

Oklahoma Secretary of Education Ryan Walters sent the following letter to the State Board of Education, asking that they hold an emergency meeting to "to give crystal clear guidance that boys use the boy’s restroom and girls use the girl’s restroom." 

TO: Oklahoma State Board of Education 

FROM: Ryan Walters, Oklahoma Secretary of Education 

I am asking you to call for an emergency special board meeting this week to address the Stillwater Public School Board’s complete avoidance of their elected duty to protect, educate, and oversee the care of our most important asset: our kids. Since the Stillwater Public School Board has neglected to do this, I am asking the Oklahoma State Board of Education to give crystal clear guidance that boys use the boy’s restroom and girls use the girl’s restroom. 

I could not be more disappointed in the Stillwater Public School Board, after they have heard from parents, teachers, and leaders across the state and country, asking them to stop playing this “woke” gamesmanship. Our kids need better role models and it is disappointing that the board members of the Stillwater Public Schools did not pay attention in their biology classes, and that they need further instruction on what a male and a female are. 

Both myself and the Attorney General have tried to offer them a common-sense solution - have males use the male restroom, and females the female restroom. I do not know how much more “clarity” I can give them. 

Special accommodations have been made for students struggling with gender dysphoria in the past, allowing them to use private bathrooms that every school has. Instead of using common sense, the Stillwater Public School Board has caved to far-left radicals. Our schools should be 

focused on educating kids in reading, writing, and mathematics, and not involving themselves in a role that is not within their authority. 

There are basic values that we as Oklahomans strive to live by, chief among them is the desire to put our children’s safety first. The Stillwater Public School Board has failed to put their children first, and they need you to guide them back to reality. 

Perhaps you can succeed in giving the Stillwater Public School Board the “clarity” they so desperately need. Again, what I am asking is for you to instruct the Stillwater Public School Board on what a male and a female are. 

This is a very straightforward issue and the children of Stillwater Public Schools are counting on you to join the fight for their safety. The parents of Oklahoma, and Stillwater Public Schools in particular, are demanding that clear direction be given so our kids are not put in harm's way. 

Sincerely, 

Ryan Walters
Oklahoma Secretary of Education