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KFOR wins legal case against Oklahoma State Department of Education

Oklahoma State Superintendent Ryan Walters applauds during the 2023 State of the State address.
Whitney Bryen
/
Oklahoma Watch
Oklahoma State Superintendent Ryan Walters applauds during the 2023 State of the State address.

Oklahoma's oldest television station has won its legal battle with State Department of Education leaders.

KFOR TV in Oklahoma City reports a federal court approved an agreement Wednesday upholding the station's First Amendment rights.

State Superintendent Ryan Walters and his Press Secretary Dan Isett have agreed to allow KFOR journalists into all of the education department's news conferences and meetings.

The leaders have also agreed to pay attorney fees and damages of $17.91, a symbolic amount as 1791 was the year the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified.

KFOR TV and The Institute For Free Speech took legal action in September.

The station said for months, its journalists were refused access to public State Board of Education meetings and excluded from Walters' news conferences.

Deborah is local host/reporter for NPR’s All Things Considered afternoon news program on KGOU, joining the station in March 2023.
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