EDMOND —
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is a weekly series of columns written by attorneys at Lester, Loving & Davies law firm in Edmond.
Q: We heard that the state has grant money available to help pay private school tuition for children with disabilities. We also heard that a court stopped the program. Do you know if the funds are available?
A: The Oklahoma Legislature passed the Lindsey Nichole Henry Scholarship for Students with Disabilities Program Act in 2010. The act provides scholarship funds for some children with disabilities who are on Individual Education Plans, or IEPs. If a student qualifies, the State Department of Education reallocates the funds that the child’s public school would spend on his education to a qualifying private school of the parents’ choice. Applications for the program are available from the State Department of Education.
Jenks and Union school districts sued a few parents who had children participating in the program. The schools claimed the act violates the Oklahoma Constitution in a variety of ways. The Tulsa County District Court ruled, without much explanation, that the act is unconstitutional. This week, however, the Oklahoma Supreme Court reversed course. The legislation remains in effect, and the funds remain available to qualifying children who apply.
The arguments made in the case are far too complex to address in short order. The districts argued that the act violates the Oklahoma Constitution in a variety of ways, and the parents argued that the act is fully constitutional. The Oklahoma Supreme Court ultimately refrained from ruling on the constitutional issues. Rather, the court found that it could not make any such ruling because the school districts lacked standing to bring the lawsuit.
Legal standing is essentially the right of a party to participate in a lawsuit — one’s right to stand in the courtroom. Only parties with standing can participate. To have standing in a suit, a party must prove: (1) that it has a concrete and particular injury that is actual or imminent; (2) that its injury is caused by the alleged misconduct; and (3) that it has a protected interest within zone that is protected by a statute or the Constitution.
The court held that the school districts have no constitutionally protected interest that can be litigated. It ruled that the Oklahoma Legislature, not individual school districts, is constitutionally charged with providing a system of education. Local school districts are merely the Legislature’s vehicle to that end. Because the districts have no protected interest, they lack standing and the constitutional issues cannot be determined.
MATT D. HOPKINS is an attorney for Lester, Loving & Davies P.C. More information is available at lldlaw.com. Send questions to questions@lldlaw.com.
Local News
ASK A LAWYER: Court keeps Henry scholarship program
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OG&E works to replace Edmond power poles
“Oh my God, it’s the tornado,” Betsy Herring thought as she and her husband, Lee, took shelter in their laundry room as Sunday’s tornado roared toward their Forest Oaks home in Edmond.
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Equine center aids Orr Family Farm horses
Connie Yearwood, a third-year veterinary student at Oklahoma State University, had been job shadowing at Equine Medical Association in Edmond when the call came to help rescue horses that were injured during Monday’s tornado in Moore and Oklahoma City.
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Lincoln County Emergency Management calls for help
Carney is a city of about 649 residents and following the recent tornado outbreak 20 homes were destroyed there and an additional 18 homes in the county were leveled.
Wednesday, a press release from Lincoln County, along with Wellston Emergency Management Office and the City of Carney, stated that at this time the needs have changed for the city. -
Oklahoma National Guard coordinates tornado relief support
Oklahoma National Guard members, who work side-by-side with local responders to aid in recovery efforts during domestic operations such as the May 20 tornado that tore through Oklahoma City and Moore, are given their tasks through the Guard's Joint Operations Center.
The JOC, located in the Guard's Joint Force Headquarters in Oklahoma City, is primarily responsible for the collection, dissemination and tracking of information to increase the situational awareness for leadership as well as the National Guard Bureau, said Lt. Col. Hiram Tabler, the director of military support for Oklahoma's Joint Force Headquarters. -
UPDATE: Businesses, groups offer free relief to tornado victims
Listed is information on free services offered to victims of the recent tornadoes.
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House approves $45M aid package for tornado victims
As rain poured this morning on disaster relief workers in the Moore and Oklahoma City areas, the Oklahoma House of Representatives unanimously approved a $45 million aid package to provide relief to those impacted by Monday’s EF-5 tornado.
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TIMELAPSE: Take a tour through the damage in Moore
Take a driving tour of the damage in Moore caused by Monday's tornado.
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Moore mayor wants tornado shelters in new homes
Moore Mayor Glenn Lewis wants tornado shelters in all new homes in his city, where an EF-5 tornado damaged or destroyed more than 12,500 homes Monday afternoon. A proposed ordinance would require a shelter inside or outside each new residence.
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Rescue workers, tornado victims find respite in college dorms
Monday’s tornado put an estimated 20,000 people out of their houses, which were damaged or destroyed. Some of those victims — and the rescue workers who’ve come to help them — are staying a few miles south, in dormitories at the University of Oklahoma.
More than 300 individuals and families left homeless by the storm are staying at OU, where the university is providing beds, hot water and meals, often delivered by a familiar face. The university also housed 287 first-responders from Texas, Nebraska, Kansas and Tennessee. -
Mom delivered baby as tornado struck
Shayla Taylor’s second child was moments from birth as an EF-5 tornado bore down on Moore Medical Center on Monday afternoon.
Her labor was too far along to move her to safety with the rest of those in the hospital, her nurses decided. So as her husband, Jerome, and their 4-year-old son, Shaiden, went downstairs with the others, she and four nurses stayed upstairs and braced for the worst. - More Local News Headlines
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