A state senator claims state schools Superintendent Ryan Walters and the Oklahoma State Board of Education, which Walters leads, violated the Oklahoma Open Meetings Act on Thursday when the board declined to allow her to attend an executive session of the board.

Sen. Mary Boren, D-Norman, said the board’s failure to allow her to attend the meeting “compromises the proceedings of the Oklahoma State Board of Education and invites judicial scrutiny.”

Following a board meeting that lasted more than 6½ hours – with nearly four hours of that behind closed doors – Walters, a Republican, brushed off a question about what happened.

“Our attorneys feel like it’s pretty open and shut,” Walters said. “They pointed to the statute, they explained to the senator, who didn’t want to hear it (and) stormed off. But it was a pretty clear attorney-client privilege issue there. They walked her through it multiple times. She didn’t want to hear it. I can’t say anything else on that one.”

The Oklahoma Open Meetings Act does allow for the presence of lawmakers in executive sessions, which are closed to members of the public: “Any member of the Legislature appointed as a member of a committee of either house of the Legislature or joint committee thereof shall be permitted to attend any executive session authorized by the Oklahoma Open Meeting Act of any state agency, board or commission whenever the jurisdiction of such committee includes the actions of the public body involved.”

On Wednesday, one of Boren’s colleagues, state Sen. Adam Pugh, R-Edmond, sat in on an executive session during a meeting of another state agency, the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education, with no issues raised. Included during that executive session was discussion of lawsuits involving the state regents.

Although she was not required to by law, Boren emailed the board’s attorney, Cara Nicklas, and Michael Beason, the Oklahoma State Department of Education’s general counsel, on Thursday morning, informing them of her intention to attend.

“This is notice that I will be asserting my legislative power to observe the executive session of the State Board of Education scheduled for today,” Boren wrote, attaching a copy of the above statute. “I currently serve on the Senate Education Appropriations and Budget Committee, the Administrative Rules Committee, and the Judiciary Committee, which is sufficient jurisdiction to observe the executive session.”

But when the board entered into the first of two executive sessions on Thursday, Boren was denied entry. She confirmed being told “that attorney-client privilege prevented them from allowing me to participate.”

What was covered in the executive session?

According to the meeting agenda, most of the discussion in the executive session during the Board of Education’s meeting involved decisions about teacher licensing, particularly about suspending and revoking licenses.

“I had anticipated the executive session would involve decisions that will likely incur significant legal costs by misapplying administrative rules and unconstitutionally targeting teachers and rights of students,” Boren said.

Phil Bacharach, a spokesman for the Attorney General’s office, said of Boren’s exclusion, “That does appear to be a violation of the Open Meetings Act. State legislators on relevant committees have a statutory right to attend executive sessions of relevant agencies.”

A spokesman for the state Senate echoed Bacharach’s comments.

Boren stayed in the main board meeting room inside the Oliver Hodge Building at the Oklahoma State Capitol complex until the board exited the first executive session, took a quick vote, then went back into what turned into a 3½-hour closed session. Boren then left the building.

“I’m disappointed but not surprised that the State Board of Education conveniently interpreted the Open Meetings Act to exclude me in my official capacity as a State Senator from their executive session,” she told The Oklahoman. “Their meeting will likely involve the application of administrative rules, contributing to incur significant legal fees to unconstitutionally target teachers, and the rights of students. All of these issues are within my role as a member of the Education Appropriations and Budget Committee, the Administrative Rules Committee and the Judiciary Committee.

“Given the highly authoritarian approach of the State School Board to crush the rights of parents, teachers and readers, it is warranted that a State Senator observe executive sessions. Observation is the basic tenant of accountability to ensure state officials uphold the Constitution of the United States and of Oklahoma in their proceedings.”

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Senator says Ryan Walters, education board violated Open Meetings Act