SB 796: Higher education; prohibiting certain activities related to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Effective date. Emergency. - Oklahoma

Floor (House) → Floor (Senate) · 4 edits

MODERATE

The bill was moved from the House to the Senate floor version, with substantive amendments to Section 1 regarding diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) restrictions at Oklahoma state universities. The Senate version adds a new subsection F protecting civil discourse and speech under the First Amendment, expands exemptions for academic activities and student organizations, and clarifies that institutions can still apply for grants and comply with accreditation requirements while avoiding DEI mandates. The effective date and emergency declaration remain unchanged.

Scope change

The bill's scope was narrowed by adding exemptions for academic freedom, student organizations, and activities required by law, while maintaining core prohibitions on DEI funding and mandates.

REQUIREMENT

Added new subsection F protecting civil discourse, debate, and speech protected by the First Amendment from being restricted by the bill.

EXEMPTIONS

Expanded exemptions to include academic freedom for faculty, scholarly research, registered student organizations, guest speakers, and student support services that operate without regard to protected characteristics.

ELIGIBILITY

Clarified that institutions can still apply for grants and comply with accreditation requirements without submitting statements that highlight DEI work or certify compliance with anti-discrimination laws.

DEFINITION

Added language specifying that DEI statements or preferential consideration based on such statements are prohibited mandates.

Enrolled (final version) → Floor (House) · 3 edits

MINOR

The bill was amended to remove the Senate version's original list of House sponsors and update the formatting to reflect the House floor version. The substantive policy content regarding higher education restrictions on DEI activities remains unchanged, though the sponsor list was modified to reflect House members instead of Senate members.

Scope change

The bill's scope and applicability remain unchanged; this is primarily a formatting update from Senate to House version with sponsor list modifications.

TECHNICAL

Removed Senate sponsor names and replaced with House sponsor names (Crosswhite, Hader, Wilk) to reflect the bill's progression to the House floor.

Updated page headers and formatting to indicate this is the House floor version rather than the enrolled Senate version.

POLICY

All substantive policy provisions regarding DEI restrictions, compliance requirements, and exemptions remain identical between versions.

Engrossed → Enrolled (final version) · 3 edits · May 13, 2025

MINOR

The bill was finalized as an enrolled version with additional co-sponsors from both the Senate and House. The substantive policy content remains the same as the engrossed version, prohibiting state-funded higher education institutions from using resources to support diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives that grant preferential treatment based on race, color, sex, ethnicity, or national origin. The bill also requires institutions to review and potentially eliminate unnecessary DEI functions by July 1, 2026, and submit annual compliance certificates.

Scope change

No substantive change to the bill's scope or applicability; only formatting and co-sponsor additions between engrossed and enrolled versions.

TECHNICAL

Added additional co-sponsors to the bill (Hamilton to Senate; Wilk, Maynard, Adams, West, Caldwell, and Miller to House) as part of the enrollment process.

Changed header from 'ENGROSSED SENATE' to 'ENROLLED SENATE' indicating final passage through both legislative chambers.

Minor formatting adjustments to page headers and spacing throughout the document.

Introduced → Engrossed · 3 edits · Mar 27, 2025

MINOR

This bill was updated from its original introduced version to its engrossed version after passing both the Senate and House. The substantive policy content remains the same, with changes primarily focused on formatting, page numbering, and adding official passage dates. No new policy provisions, funding amounts, dates, or eligibility criteria were added or removed.

TECHNICAL

Added official passage dates showing the bill passed the Senate on March 27, 2025, and left a blank line for the House passage date.

Updated header information to reflect the bill is now 'Engrossed' rather than 'Introduced' and added sponsors from both chambers.

Reformatted page numbers and removed original document tracking numbers (Req. No. 1242) while adding new engrossed document tracking numbers.

Higher education; prohibiting certain activities related to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Effective date. Emergency.

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