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STATE OF OKLAHOMA
2nd Session of the 60th Legislature (2026)
HOUSE BILL 3582 By: Harris
AS INTRODUCED
An Act relating to marriage and family; enacting the
Equal Parenting Act; amending 43 O.S. 2021, Section
109, as amended by Section 1, Chapter 24, O.S.L. 2024
(43 O.S. Supp. 2025, Section 109), which relates to
awarding child custody; modifying factors to consider
for child custody; modifying determinations for
terminating custody agreements; providing for
noncodification; and providing an effective date.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. NEW LAW A new section of law not to be
codified in the Oklahoma Statutes reads as follows:
This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Equal Parenting
Act".
SECTION 2. AMENDATORY 43 O.S. 2021, Section 109, as
amended by Section 1, Chapter 24, O.S.L. 2024 (43 O.S. Supp. 2025,
Section 109), is amended to read as follows:
Section 109. A. In awarding the custody of a minor unmarried
child or in appointing a general guardian for the child, the court
shall consider what appears to be is in the best interests of the
physical and mental and moral welfare of the child.
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B. The court, pursuant Pursuant to the provisions of subsection
A of this section, the court may grant the care, custody, and
control of a child to either parent or to the parents jointly, and
there shall be a presumption, rebuttable by a preponderance of
evidence, that joint custody and equally shared parenting time is in
the best interest of the child.
For the purposes of this section, the terms joint custody and
joint care, custody, and control mean the sharing by parents in all
or some of the aspects of physical and legal care, custody, and
control of their children.
C. If either or both parents have requested joint custody, the
parents shall file with the court their plans for the exercise of
joint care, custody, and control of their child. The parents of the
child may submit a plan jointly, or either parent or both parents
may submit separate plans. Any plan shall include but is not
limited to provisions detailing the physical living arrangements for
the child, child support obligations, medical and dental care for
the child, school placement, and visitation rights. A plan shall be
accompanied by an affidavit signed by each parent stating that the
parent agrees to the plan and will abide by its terms. The plan and
affidavit shall be filed with the petition for a divorce or legal
separation or after the petition is filed.
D. The court shall issue a final plan for the exercise of joint
care, custody, and control of the child or children, based upon the
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plan submitted by the parents, separate or jointly, with appropriate
changes deemed by the court to be in the best interests of the
child. The court also may reject a request for joint custody and
proceed as if the request for joint custody had not been made.
E. The parents having joint custody of the child may modify the
terms of the plan for joint care, custody, and control. The
modification to the plan shall be filed with the court and included
with the plan. If the court determines the modifications are in the
best interests of the child, the court shall approve the
modifications.
F. The court also may modify the terms of the plan for joint
care, custody, and control upon the request of one parent. The
court shall not modify the plan unless the modifications are in the
best interests of the child.
G. 1. The court may terminate a joint custody decree upon the
request of one or both of the parents or whenever the court
determines the decree is not in the best interests of the child.
2. Upon termination of a joint custody decree, the court shall
proceed and issue a modified decree for the care, custody, and
control of the child as if no such joint custody decree had been
made.
H. In the event of a dispute between the parents having joint
custody of a child as to the interpretation of a provision of the
plan, the court may appoint an arbitrator to resolve the dispute.
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The arbitrator shall be a disinterested person knowledgeable in
domestic relations law and family counseling. The determination of
the arbitrator shall be final and binding on the parties to the
proceedings until further order of the court.
If a parent refuses to consent to arbitration, the court may
terminate the joint custody decree.
I. 1. In every proceeding in which there is a dispute as to
the custody of a minor child, a determination by the court that
child abuse, domestic violence, stalking, or harassment has occurred
raises a rebuttable presumption that sole custody, joint legal or
physical custody, or any shared parenting plan with the perpetrator
of child abuse, domestic violence, harassing or stalking behavior is
detrimental and not in the best interest of the child, and it is in
the best interest of the child to reside with the parent who is not
a perpetrator of child abuse, domestic violence, harassing or
stalking behavior. Further, in proceedings stated above, where a
parent is a registrant on the Sex Offenders Registration Act, the
Mary Rippy Violent Crime Offenders Registration Act, or similar
registration in another state, there shall be a rebuttable
presumption that sole custody, joint legal or physical custody, or
any shared parenting plan with the parent subject to any of the
above registries is detrimental and not in the best interest of the
child and it is in the best interest of the child to reside with the
parent who is not subject to any of the above registries.
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2. For the purposes of this subsection:
a. "child abuse" shall have the same meaning as "abuse"
as defined pursuant to the Oklahoma Children's Code in
Section 1-1-105 of Title 10A of the Oklahoma Statutes,
b. "domestic violence" means the threat of the infliction
of physical injury, any act of physical harm or the
creation of a reasonable fear thereof, or the
intentional infliction of emotional distress by a
parent or a present or former member of the household
of the child, against the child or another member of
the household including coercive control by a parent
involving physical, sexual, psychological, emotional,
economic or financial abuse,
c. "harassment" means a knowing and willful course or
pattern of conduct by a parent directed at another
parent which seriously alarms or is a nuisance to the
person, and which serves no legitimate purpose
including, but not limited to, harassing or obscene
telephone calls or conduct that would cause a
reasonable person to have a fear of death or bodily
injury, and
d. "stalking" means the willful course of conduct by a
parent who repeatedly follows or harasses another
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person as defined in Section 1173 of Title 21 of the
Oklahoma Statutes.
3. If a parent is absent or relocates as a result of an act of
domestic violence by the other parent, the absence or relocation
shall not be a factor that weighs against the parent in determining
custody or visitation.
4. The court shall consider, as a primary factor, the safety
and well-being of the child who is the victim of child abuse and of
the parent who is the victim of domestic violence, harassment, or
stalking behavior, in addition to other facts regarding the best
interest of the child.
5. The court shall consider the history of the parent causing
physical harm, bodily injury, assault, verbal threats, stalking, or
harassing behavior, or the fear of physical harm, bodily injury, or
assault to another person including the minor child, in determining
issues regarding custody and visitation.
SECTION 3. This act shall become effective November 1, 2026.
60-2-15790 CMA 12/30/25