Higher education; Oklahoma Higher Education Fair Admissions Act; criminal history inquiries; State Regents for Higher Education; emergency.
HB 1980, the Oklahoma Higher Education Fair Admissions Act, prohibits public colleges and universities from asking prospective online students about their past criminal records if those students will not reside on campus during their enrollment. The bill also bans institutions from inquiring about an applicant's juvenile behavioral history. These restrictions apply specifically to students enrolled exclusively in online programs, with the Oklahoma Regents for Higher Education responsible for enforcement and potential penalties for violations, including fines or loss of state funding. The law aims to remove barriers for certain students seeking higher education access.
Bill status
in committee
1 of 4 stages cleared
Introduction
Feb 2025
Committee Review
Floor Vote
Governor
Introduced Feb 3, 2025
Last action Mar 5, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison
What changed between versions
Introduced
→
Floor (House)
·
3 edits
MINOR
The bill was reformatted from its original introduced version to the House floor version, with updated header information and committee reporting details. The substantive policy content of the bill remains unchanged, focusing on prohibiting higher education institutions from asking about criminal history for online students who don't live on campus and banning questions about juvenile behavioral conduct.
Scope change
No substantive change to the bill's scope or applicability; changes are primarily formatting and administrative updates.
TECHNICAL
Header information was updated to reflect the House floor version with new page numbering and committee report details.
Sponsor information was expanded to include Stewart of the Senate as a co-author.
Committee report section was updated with new committee name and date information.
Floor votes
How they voted
No floor votes recorded yet.
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
7
Key actions
2
Committee
3
Mar 5, 2025
Lower · Passed
CR; Do Pass Education Oversight Committee
lower
Feb 11, 2025
Lower · Passed
Policy recommendation to the Education Oversight committee; Do Pass Postsecondary Education
lower
Feb 4, 2025
Committee
Referred to Postsecondary Education
lower
Feb 3, 2025
Introduced
First Reading
lower
2 primary · 0 co-sponsors
Sponsors
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