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Oklahoma education agency settles public records dispute with Oklahoma Watch
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The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press
Represented by an RCFP attorney, OK Watch sued for records related to the resignation of a senior education official.
The Oklahoma State Department of Education has reached an agreement with Oklahoma Watch to turn over records related to the resignation of a senior official at the agency, acknowledging in a court filing that its refusal to do so last year violated the state’s public records law.
Under the terms of the agreement, the state said it would disclose the resignation letter of Kourtney Heard, the OSDE’s former chief compliance officer.
As Oklahoma Watch reported, its reporter Jennifer Palmer requested the letter last year as part of an investigation into the agency’s hiring practices.
In the settlement, however, the state acknowledged that “no ‘internal personnel investigation’ … occurred relating to” Heard’s resignation letter.