SB 1726: Higher education; directing certain institutions of higher education to establish certain training program for graduate instructors. Effective date. Emergency. - Oklahoma

Floor (House) → Floor (Senate) · 3 edits

MINOR

The bill was transferred from the House to the Senate, resulting in a reorganization of the text and the addition of a new requirement. The Senate version adds a mandatory training component on First Amendment rights, specifically covering free speech, free inquiry, and viewpoint neutrality, to ensure students are not penalized for lawful expression. The effective date was changed from July 1, 2026, to the date of passage and approval, and the committee oversight section was updated to reflect the Senate floor version.

Scope change

The bill's scope was expanded to include specific training requirements regarding student First Amendment rights and viewpoint neutrality, which were not present in the House version.

REQUIREMENT

Added a mandatory training requirement for graduate instructors covering First Amendment principles, including free speech, free inquiry, and viewpoint neutrality, to protect students from penalties based on lawful expression.

TIMELINE

Changed the effective date from a fixed date of July 1, 2026, to the date of the bill's passage and approval.

TECHNICAL

Reorganized the bill structure and updated committee report references to reflect the Senate floor version.

House Committee Substitute for Senate Bill → Floor (House) · 3 edits

MINOR

The bill was converted from a Senate version to a House Floor version, updating the header and committee attribution. The core policy regarding graduate student instructor training remains substantively unchanged, though minor formatting adjustments were made to the text layout and page numbering.

Scope change

The bill's scope and applicability remain unchanged; it still applies to institutions of higher education within The Oklahoma State System of Higher Education.

TECHNICAL

Updated the document header to reflect the House of Representatives Floor version instead of the Senate version.

Adjusted the committee attribution and report dates to reflect the House Committee Substitute status.

Reformatted the text layout and page numbering to match the House floor version style.

Enrolled (final version) → House Committee Substitute for Senate Bill · 1 edit

MINOR

The bill text was reformatted from a standard enrolled version to a House Committee Substitute version, which includes line numbers and specific committee tracking identifiers. The substantive policy language regarding graduate student instructor training requirements remains identical between the two versions.

Scope change

No change in scope or applicability; the bill applies to the same institutions and covers the same topics.

TECHNICAL

The text was converted to include line numbers and committee-specific headers, but the actual legislative content and legal requirements were not altered.

Engrossed → Enrolled (final version) · 3 edits · May 29, 2026

MINOR

The bill was finalized as an Enrolled version, updating the header to reflect its official status. The core policy content remains unchanged, maintaining requirements for graduate student instructors to undergo specific training on teaching practices and free speech protections, with an effective date of July 1, 2026.

Scope change

The scope of the bill's requirements was expanded to explicitly include graduate students serving as 'instructors of record' or 'primary classroom instructors' in undergraduate courses, whereas the previous version only mentioned them as 'instructors'.

REQUIREMENT

The definition of who must receive training was broadened to specifically cover graduate students acting as instructors of record or primary classroom instructors in undergraduate courses.

TECHNICAL

The document header was updated from 'Engrossed' to 'Enrolled' to indicate the final, approved version ready for signing.

The legislative history section was updated to reflect the final passage dates for the Senate and House and added signature lines for the Governor and Secretary of State.

Amended And Engrossed → Engrossed · 1 edit · May 14, 2026

MINOR

The bill was renumbered to align the House amendment with the Senate version, shifting the effective date and emergency declaration from Sections 5 and 6 to Sections 2 and 3. This change ensures the final enacted text has a consistent, logical structure where the effective date appears early in the bill, which is standard legislative practice.

TECHNICAL

The bill's section numbers were reorganized. The effective date and emergency declaration were moved from Sections 5 and 6 to become Sections 2 and 3, respectively, to match the formatting of the Senate version.

Introduced → Amended And Engrossed · 1 edit · May 14, 2026

MINOR

The bill was amended to replace the original text entirely, changing the bill title to reflect a requirement for training graduate student instructors in higher education. The substantive policy content regarding the training requirements for graduate students remains consistent between the original and amended versions, though the section numbering was reorganized from Sections 1-3 to Sections 4-6 to accommodate the amendment structure.

Scope change

The bill's scope remains focused on requiring institutions of higher education within the Oklahoma State System to provide formal training for graduate students serving as instructors, with no change in the specific training topics or the institutions covered.

TECHNICAL

The entire text of the bill was replaced with an engrossed version that includes House and Senate approval dates and renumbered sections (Sections 4-6 instead of 1-3) to reflect the legislative process.

Higher education; directing certain institutions of higher education to establish certain training program for graduate instructors. Effective date. Emergency.

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