Oklahoma has adopted a new law aimed at strengthening free speech protections on public college campuses, including safeguards for student organizations and a mandatory free speech training program for incoming students.
Gov. Kevin Stitt signed Senate Bill 1725 into law last month after it received strong support from the Republican-controlled Legislature. The measure passed the Oklahoma Senate by a 40-7 margin and cleared the Oklahoma House of Representatives in a 78-15 vote.
The legislation attracted bipartisan support from a single Democratic lawmaker in each chamber, while all votes against the bill came from Democrats. The law is scheduled to take effect on July 1.
Among its provisions, the measure allows colleges and universities to assess security fees for expressive activities requiring permits but prohibits institutions from setting those fees based on the viewpoint or content of the speech involved.
The law specifies that while “a public institution of higher education may charge a security fee to a student or student organization as part of an application for expressive activities that require a permit,” the fee “shall not be based on the content of the expressive activities, the content of the expression of an invited guest, or the anticipated reaction to the expressive activities of a student or student organization or the expression of an invited guest.”
Instead, institutions must rely on objective factors when determining security costs.
“Imposition of a security fee shall be based on content- and viewpoint-neutral criteria including, but not limited to, the time or location of the event, the anticipated size of the event audience, and whether alcohol will be served," the law states.
The legislation further requires that any institution charging such fees publicly disclose the standards used to calculate them.
The measure also limits when student speech may be classified as harassment, preventing colleges from labeling expression as harassment unless it satisfies the definition already established in Oklahoma law.
Under state law, harassment is defined as “expression that is unwelcome, so severe, pervasive, and subjectively and objectively offensive that a student is effectively denied equal access to educational opportunities or benefits provided by the public institution of higher education.”
Additional sections of the law require colleges and universities to provide training for faculty members, teaching assistants and administrators regarding student free speech protections and related legal requirements.
Institutions will also be required to submit reports to the governor and state Legislature outlining the steps they have taken to comply with the law and protect expressive rights on campus.
Another key provision directs the Oklahoma Free Speech Committee to create a training program focused on constitutional free speech protections.
According to the legislation, the committee will “develop a free speech training that shall include information on the expressive activities that are protected by the First Amendment” to the U.S. Constitution.
All students attending Oklahoma public colleges and universities, including graduate students, will be required to complete the training during their first year of enrollment.
