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Union to sue Attorney General Scott Pruitt

January 25, 2011

Superintendent Dr. Cathy Burden speaks out against HB3393 during a press conference Monday afternoon, January 24. The Board of Education on Monday, January 24, voted unanimously to approve a recommendation by Superintendent Dr. Cathy Burden to comply with HB3393 - also known as the Lindsey Nicole Henry Scholarship for Students with Disabilities Act - and give scholarships for the period for which they are requested until such time as the law is amended to remove all constitutional infirmities or determined to be unconstitutional by a court of competent jurisdiction.

By approving the recommendation, the district shall initiate a legal action against Attorney General Scott Pruitt, "whether alone or in conjunction with other Oklahoma School Districts, for the purpose of seeking a judicial determination of the constitutionality of HB 3393, together with an order prohibiting the Attorney General from seeking to enforce any provision or taking any action based on HB 3393 against the District or its Board members." The Board meeting following a press conference in which Burden joined superintendents from Jenks, Broken Arrow and Liberty to announce their intentions to comply with the law and sue the Attorney General in order to determine the constitutionality of HB3393. Below is Dr. Burden's letter of recommendations. The link above contains the same letter of recommendation and the texts as read by the superintendents. SUPERINTENDANTS RECOMMENDATION TO THE UNION SCHOOLS BOARD OF EDUCATION On January 18, 2011, I received a letter from Oklahoma Attorney General, Scott Pruitt demanding that Union Public Schools comply with Oklahoma House Bill 3393, also known as the Nicole Henry Scholarships for Students with Disabilities Act (HB 3393), which was enacted in the last legislative session. General Pruitt stated in his correspondence that if Union Schools did not advise his office on Monday, January 24, 2011 that it would immediately comply with HB 3393 and give scholarships for the period for which they are requested that he would immediately commence enforcement actions, which may include legal actions against the District and its individual School Board Members. My recommendation for School Board action is based on the following facts: (1) HB 3393 is unconstitutional on its face for the reasons previously set forth in the Minutes of the Meeting of the Union Schools Board of Education on October 11, 2010; (2) General Pruitts threat of legal action against the District and the application of HB 3393 adversely affects the District, and its patrons and students both now and on an ongoing basis; and (3) General Pruitt has commanded the District to comply with HB 3393 until such time as it is determined to be unconstitutional by a court of competent jurisdiction. Accordingly, I recommend the Union Schools Board of Education authorize the following actions:

1. Effective immediately, the District shall comply with HB 3393 and give scholarships for the period for which they are requested until such time as the law is amended to remove all constitutional infirmities or determined to be unconstitutional by a court of competent jurisdiction; and 2. As soon as reasonably possible, the District shall initiate a legal action against the Attorney General, whether alone or in conjunction with other Oklahoma School Districts, for the purpose of seeking a judicial determination of the constitutionality of HB 3393, together with an order prohibiting the Attorney General from seeking to enforce any provision or taking any action based on HB 3393 against the District or its Board members.

Superintendents Kirby Lehman (left), superintendent of Jenks Public Schools; Cathy Burden, superintendent of Union Public Schools; Jarod Mendenhall, superintendent of Broken Arrow Public Schools; and Donna

Campo, superintendent of Liberty Public Schools, talk about HB 3393 at a press conference.