Education

in committee · Oklahoma · House Feb 12, 2025

HB 1305: Student athletes; name, image, and likeness; financial literacy; emergency.

HB 1305 regulates student athletes' name, image, and likeness (NIL) activities at Oklahoma postsecondary institutions. It requires schools to provide mandatory financial literacy education (either a 5-hour workshop or a credit course covering budgeting, taxes, contracts, and debt management) before athletes can engage in NIL deals, and prohibits institutions from charging athletes for related financial services. The bill also restricts athletes from signing NIL contracts that conflict with school policies or harm the institution's reputation, and bans promotional content in financial education. These requirements apply directly to student athletes participating in intercollegiate sports at Oklahoma colleges and universities.

Topics ✓ EducationSupports EducationMandates financial literacy education for student athletes, enhancing educational requirements and student financial skills as part of NIL regulations.95% confidence

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in committee · Oklahoma · Senate Mar 2, 2026

SB 1337: Education employees; providing certain amount of paternity leave for certain employees. Effective date. Emergency.

SB 1337 adds 90 days of unpaid paternity leave for full-time education employees (like teachers and school staff) in Oklahoma during their child's first year. It allows these employees to take leave without pay for childcare while still receiving full credit toward salary increases and retirement service time. The bill also updates existing leave-sharing programs to include paternity leave eligibility and modifies related revolving funds. This directly affects education employees seeking parental leave, with specific provisions for both maternity and paternity leave under updated statutes. The policy change takes effect immediately due to an emergency declaration.

Topics ✓ EducationSupports EducationProvides 90 days unpaid paternity leave for education employees with maintained salary/retirement benefits, directly supporting teacher welfare and retention.95% confidence ✓ Labor & EmploymentSupports Labor & EmploymentAdds 90 days unpaid paternity leave with full credit for salary increases/retirement, expanding worker benefits and protecting career progression for education employees.95% confidence

Sub-Topics Early Childhood Paid Leave

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in committee · Oklahoma · Senate Feb 3, 2026

SB 1357: Adult education matching funds; providing certain matching funds subject to availability; providing for continuation of funding subject to availability. Effective date. Emergency.

SB 1357 requires Oklahoma to provide dollar-for-dollar matching funds for federal adult education and family literacy grants received by the state. It directs these funds to school districts offering high school equivalency diploma courses, with the State Board of Career and Technology Education distributing the money. The bill includes a contingency: if federal funding ends, Oklahoma must continue matching at twice the previous year’s federal amount (if funding allows). The law takes effect July 1, 2026, and was declared an emergency to allow immediate implementation.

Topics ✓ EducationSupports EducationProvides dollar-for-dollar matching funds for adult education/family literacy grants, directing resources to school districts offering high school equivalency programs, increasing funding access for adult learners.95% confidence

Sub-Topics K-12 Education

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in committee · Oklahoma · Senate Feb 5, 2025

SB 851: School employees; modifying the access statewide professional educators' associations have to school employees. Effective date. Emergency.

SB 851 requires Oklahoma school districts to provide statewide educator associations (like teachers' unions) equal access to school employees for communication and materials, mirroring access granted to other educator groups. It prohibits districts from conditioning access on free meals, donations, or fees, and allows associations to distribute membership materials in school mailboxes or via email. The bill mandates that districts notify the State Board of Education if access is denied without resolution within 15 days. It takes effect July 1, 2025, and applies directly to school districts and educator associations.

Topics ✓ EducationSupports EducationBill mandates equal access for educator associations (teachers' unions) to school employees, prohibiting fees/conditions, directly supporting teacher representation and union activities within schools.90% confidence ✓ Labor & EmploymentSupports Labor & EmploymentRequires equal access for educator unions to communicate with employees, supporting collective bargaining rights under Labor & Employment.95% confidence

Sub-Topics Teachers

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in committee · Oklahoma · Senate Feb 19, 2026

SB 1237: Teachers; creating the Teachers' Bill of Rights; affording certain rights to teachers, administrators, and support staff. Effective date. Emergency.

SB 1237 creates Oklahoma's "Teachers' Bill of Rights," granting specific protections to public school teachers, administrators, and support staff. It directly affords rights including free expression (like keeping religious materials in classrooms, wearing faith-based jewelry, and praying with students), protection from harassment or threats, classroom discipline authority (removing disruptive students), medical privacy (refusing vaccines/masks as employment condition), and guaranteed planning time (1 hour) and lunch (20 minutes). The bill also requires school districts to establish a due process plan for reporting rights violations, including anonymous reporting and timely investigations. It takes effect July 1, 2026, and declares an emergency.

Topics ✓ EducationSupports EducationGrants teachers protections including free expression, discipline authority, and medical privacy, directly strengthening educator rights and working conditions in K-12 schools.95% confidence ✓ Labor & EmploymentSupports Labor & EmploymentGrants teachers workplace protections including free expression, medical privacy, and harassment safeguards, directly advancing worker rights under Labor & Employment policy.90% confidence

Sub-Topics Teachers Employment Discrimination

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signed · Oklahoma · House May 29, 2025

HB 2779: Department of Public Safety; requiring certain funds be utilized for certain purpose; School Secure Program; effective date; emergency.

HB 2779 redirects $750,000 in state funds from the Department of Public Safety's budget to the School Secure Program. It transfers management of this program from the State Board of Education to the Department of Public Safety. The change takes effect July 1, 2025, and applies to school security funding previously administered by the State Board. This is a procedural budget reallocation, not a new policy.

Topics ✓ EducationSupports EducationRedirects $750k to school security program, supporting school safety (a component of educational access and infrastructure).80% confidence

Sub-Topics School Safety Tags Public Safety

in committee · Oklahoma · House Feb 24, 2025

HB 1394: Teacher certification; competency examination; exception; effective date; emergency.

HB 1394 amends Oklahoma's teacher certification rules to exempt graduates of Oklahoma Commission-approved teacher preparation programs from passing the competency exam for standard certification. It also allows non-native English speakers employed in foreign language immersion programs to take the exam in their native language, with restrictions limiting such teachers to those specific programs. Additionally, the bill creates an exception for teachers with advanced degrees in substantially comparable fields, allowing them to bypass certain subject-area exams. These changes directly affect teacher candidates, school districts hiring educators, and the Oklahoma Commission for Educational Quality and Accountability.

Topics ✓ EducationSupports EducationExempts approved program graduates from competency exam, easing certification barriers. Supports teacher access and program flexibility within oversight framework.92% confidence

Sub-Topics Teachers Testing & Assessment

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signed · Oklahoma · House May 27, 2025

HB 1075: Teachers; making certain provisions applicable to administrators; requiring certain recommendation to be forwarded to the State Board of Education; providing for expungement; effective date; emergency.

HB 1075 requires school superintendents to provide written dismissal recommendations for teachers and administrators with specific, documented reasons. If a recommendation involves potential criminal charges or certificate revocation issues, it must be forwarded to the Oklahoma State Board of Education. The bill also mandates that if an investigation clears an educator of wrongdoing, the record is expunged from State Board files. All recommendations are kept confidential under Oklahoma law, with strict rules for handling requests by school districts during employment decisions.

Topics ✓ EducationSupports EducationRequires documented dismissal reasons for educators and mandates expungement of cleared records, strengthening due process protections for teachers.85% confidence

Sub-Topics Teachers

signed · Oklahoma · Senate May 12, 2025

SB 364: Schools; prohibiting use of corporal punishment on any student identified with a disability.

SB 364 prohibits Oklahoma public schools from using physical punishment (corporal punishment) on students with the most significant cognitive disabilities, as defined by state education criteria. It removes any prior allowance for waivers and requires that any exception must be explicitly documented in a student's individualized education program (IEP) under federal special education law. The law directly affects students with significant cognitive disabilities in Oklahoma schools, ensuring they cannot be subjected to physical punishment without specific IEP authorization. It takes effect on July 1, 2025.

Topics ✓ EducationSupports EducationProhibits corporal punishment for students with disabilities, protecting vulnerable learners and aligning with special education safeguards under federal law.95% confidence

Sub-Topics Special Education

in committee · Oklahoma · Senate Feb 4, 2025

SB 486: Schools; allowing a school district board of education to contract with a chaplain to perform school counselor duties. Effective date. Emergency.

SB 486 allows Oklahoma school districts to hire chaplains - defined as ordained religious leaders - to perform school counselor duties, bypassing standard counselor certification requirements. It exempts chaplains from Oklahoma’s counselor certification rules (Section 6-122.3 or 6-187 of Title 70) and clarifies they are not considered "teachers." Chaplains hired under this bill must undergo a national criminal history check as required by law. The bill takes effect July 1, 2025, and is designated as an emergency measure.

Topics ✗ EducationOpposes EducationRemoves counselor certification requirements, weakening professional standards in school counseling per bill's exemption of chaplains from certification rules.90% confidence

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