Bills proposed by Oklahoma legislature that could affect schools

Thousands of bills have been filed by Oklahoma lawmakers since the beginning of the 2025 Oklahoma Legislative Session on Feb. 3, 2025, with a few bills proposing to make changes to policies concerning Oklahoma’s education.

Whenever a state’s government creates a new law, or chooses to modify an already existing one, the bill that proposed that law or modification must first be approved.

Bills are a “draft of a proposed law presented to the legislature for consideration,” states the National Conference of State Legislatures. They are made by members of the state’s Senate, or members of the state’s House of Representatives.

Since the start of Oklahoma’s 2025 Legislative Session, some bills have been proposed that, if signed into law by Gov. Stitt, will have an impact on some aspects of Oklahoma’s education system.

For example, Senate Bill (SB) 139 filed by Sen. Ally Seifried, R-Claremore, proposes that all public school districts “adopt policies preventing student cell phone use from ‘bell to bell’,” according to a press release from the Oklahoma Senate.

Currently, the decision to either allow student cell phone use between classes or not is up to each school district in Oklahoma. However, if this bill were passed, it would implement a state-wide ban of student cell phone use on any public school campus from the first bell of the day to the dismissal bell, with exceptions for if a cell phone was needed for an emergency or to monitor a health issue.

“Given the drop in test scores nationwide over the last decade and the rise in rates of anxiety and depression in children, numerous researchers from across the country who presented recommended schools limit phone use from ‘bell to bell’ throughout the entire school day to minimize the negative effects and learning distractions,” continues the Oklahoma Senate.

House Bill (HB) 1165, written by Rep. Gabe Woolley, R-Broken Arrow, proposes to require “certain school districts to obtain and record citizenship status of enrolling students,” and require an “annual report to the State Department of Education” from school districts, ensuring that students proved their citizenship, according to the bill.

This bill, if passed, will become effective on July 1, 2025, and is declared an emergency, meaning that it shall “take effect and be in full force from and after its passage and approval.”

HB 1232, authored by Rep. Kevin West, R-Moore, proposes to permit “school districts to employ or accept volunteer chaplains,” as it is introduced in the bill.

If this bill were to be approved by the Oklahoma legislature, it would allow schools in Oklahoma to accept chaplains (clergymen associated with a chapel or religious institution) to “provide support, services, and programs for students as assigned by the governing body of the school,” states the bill.

During the 2024 Oklahoma Legislative Session, this same proposition was approved by the House, but did not pass the Senate, and has since been reintroduced for this year’s session.

SB 19, proposed by Sen. Warren Hamilton, R-McCurtain, suggests that public schools should “be required annually to submit a comprehensive list or online catalogue of every item available in its library,” writes Jana Hayes, reporter for The Oklahoman. “The schools would be prohibited from having any pornographic or sexualized content available for students under the age of 18.”

If the bill were to be passed, any school failing to submit their annual report to the State Department of Education, or failing to discard of any books with prohibited content in them, would receive “a deficiency rating on [their] accreditation report and a 5% cut in state funding for the following fiscal year,” continued Hayes.