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An Act
ENROLLED SENATE
BILL NO. 1725 By: Seifried and Daniels of the
Senate
and
Moore and Hill of the House
An Act relating to higher education; amending 70 O.S.
2021, Section 2120, as amended by Section 3, Chapter
18, O.S.L. 2022 (70 O.S. Supp. 2025, Section 2120),
which relates to protection of certain expressive
activities; allowing certain institutions of higher
education to charge a security fee for certain
activities requiring a permit; prohibiting a fee from
being charged on certain basis; providing basis for
security fee; requiring publication of security fee
criteria; prohibiting an institution from sanctioning
or disciplining certain expression except under
certain circumstances; providing certain
construction; requiring institutions to ensure
certain individuals who teach students understand
certain policies, regulations, and duties; requiring
electronic submission of certain report; adding
recipient of certain report; updating statutory
references; updating statutory language; amending
Section 5, Chapter 18, O.S.L. 2022 (70 O.S. Supp.
2025, Section 3205.14), which relates to Oklahoma
Free Speech Committee training; directing the
Committee to develop certain training; requiring
training to be completed by certain students;
allowing an institution to develop its own training
subject to certain recommendation for approval;
providing minimum contents of training; updating
statutory language; providing an effective date; and
declaring an emergency.
ENR. S. B. NO. 1725 Page 2
SUBJECT: Freedom of speech at public institutions of higher
education
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 70 O.S. 2021, Section 2120, as
amended by Section 3, Chapter 18, O.S.L. 2022 (70 O.S. Supp. 2025,
Section 2120), is amended to read as follows:
Section 2120. A. As used in this act section:
1. “Campus community” means students, administrators, faculty,
and staff at the public institution of higher education and their
invited guests;
2. “Harassment” means only that 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;
3. “Materially and substantially disrupts” means when a person,
with the intent to or with knowledge of doing so, significantly
hinders another person’s or group’s expressive activity, prevents
the communication of the message, or prevents the transaction of the
business of a lawful meeting, gathering, or procession by:
a. engaging in fighting, or violent or other unlawful
behavior, or
b. physically blocking or using threats of violence to
prevent any person from attending, listening to,
viewing, or otherwise participating in an expressive
activity. Conduct that “materially disrupts” shall
not include conduct that is protected under the First
Amendment to the United States Constitution or Section
22 of Article 2 of the Oklahoma Constitution. Such
protected conduct includes, but is not limited to,
lawful protests in the outdoor areas of campus
generally accessible to the members of the public,
except during times when those areas have been
reserved in advance for other events, or minor, brief,
ENR. S. B. NO. 1725 Page 3
or fleeting nonviolent disruptions of events that are
isolated and short in duration;
4. “Outdoor areas of campus” means the generally accessible
outside areas of campus where members of the campus community are
commonly allowed, such as grassy areas, walkways, or other similar
common areas and does not include outdoor areas where access is
restricted from a majority of the campus community;
5. “Public institution of higher education” means any
institution within The Oklahoma State System of Higher Education or
technology center schools overseen by the State Board of Career and
Technology Education; and
6. “Student organization” means an officially recognized group
at a public institution of higher education, or a group seeking
official recognition, comprised of admitted students that receive or
are seeking to receive benefits through the public institution of
higher education.
B. Expressive activities protected under the provisions of this
section include, but are not limited to, any lawful verbal, written,
audio-visual, or electronic means by which individuals may
communicate ideas to one another, including all forms of peaceful
assembly, protests, speeches and guest speakers, distribution of
literature, carrying signs, and circulating petitions.
C. 1. The outdoor areas of campuses of public institutions of
higher education in this state shall be deemed public forums for the
campus community, and public institutions of higher education shall
not create “free speech zones” or other designated areas of campus
outside of which expressive activities are prohibited. Public
institutions of higher education may maintain and enforce reasonable
time, place, and manner restrictions narrowly tailored in service of
a significant institutional interest only when such restrictions
employ clear, published, content-, and viewpoint-neutral criteria
and provide for ample alternative means of expression. Any such
restrictions shall allow for members of the campus community to
spontaneously and contemporaneously assemble and distribute
literature.
ENR. S. B. NO. 1725 Page 4
2. Nothing in this subsection shall be interpreted as limiting
the right of student expression elsewhere on campus.
3. 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. If an
institution of higher education charges a security fee, it 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. 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. A public institution of higher education that charges a
security fee pursuant to this paragraph shall publish on its website
the criteria that will be used to assess a security fee.
D. 1. Any person who wishes to engage in noncommercial
expressive activity on campus shall be permitted to do so freely, as
long as the person’s conduct is not unlawful and does not materially
and substantially disrupt the functioning of the public institutions
of higher education, subject only to the requirements of subsection
C of this section.
2. Nothing in this subsection shall prohibit public
institutions of higher education from maintaining and enforcing
reasonable time, place, and manner restrictions that are narrowly
tailored to serve a significant institutional interest only when
such restrictions employ clear, published, content-, and viewpoint-
neutral criteria. Any such restrictions shall allow for members of
the campus community to spontaneously and contemporaneously
assemble, speak, and distribute literature.
3. Nothing in this subsection shall be interpreted as
preventing public institutions of higher education from prohibiting,
limiting, or restricting expression that the First Amendment does
not protect or prohibiting harassment as defined by this section. A
public institution of higher education may not sanction or
discipline a student’s expression as harassment unless the
expression meets the definition of harassment provided by this
section. Any public institution of higher education policy
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applicable to students that addresses harassment shall use the
definition provided by this section.
4. Nothing in this section shall enable individuals to engage
in conduct that intentionally, materially, and substantially
disrupts another person’s expressive activity if that activity is
occurring in a campus space reserved for that activity under the
exclusive use or control of a particular group.
5. Nothing in this section shall be interpreted as prohibiting
a public institution of higher education from providing resources to
a student or students affected by expressive activity that cannot be
sanctioned by the provisions of this section, the First Amendment,
or other nonpunitive actions designed to foster resilience or
achieve pedagogical goals.
E. Public institutions of higher education shall make public in
their handbooks, on their websites, and through their orientation
programs for students the policies, regulations, and expectations of
students regarding free expression on campus consistent with this
section.
F. Public institutions of higher education shall develop
materials, programs, and procedures to ensure that those persons who
have responsibility for discipline or education of students,
including, but not limited to, administrators, campus police
officers, residence life officials, and any individual who teaches
students including professors, adjunct professors, faculty, and
teaching assistants understand the policies, regulations, and duties
of public institutions of higher education regarding free expression
on campus consistent with this section.
G. 1. Each public institution of higher education shall
publicly post on its website, as well as electronically submit to
the Governor, the Legislature, and the Chancellor of The Oklahoma
State System of Higher Education, and the Oklahoma Free Speech
Committee annually by December 31, a report that details the course
of action implemented to be in compliance with the requirements of
this section. A report shall also be given electronically submitted
in the instance of any changes or updates to the chosen course of
action. The information required in the report shall be:
ENR. S. B. NO. 1725 Page 6
a. accessible from the institution’s website home page by
use of not more than three links,
b. searchable by key words and phrases, and
c. accessible to the public without requiring
registration or use of a user name, password, or
another user identification.
2. The report shall include:
a. a description of any barriers to or incidents of
disruption of free expression occurring on campus,
including, but not limited to, attempts to block or
prohibit speakers and investigations into students or
student organizations for their speech. The
description shall include the nature of each barrier
or incident, as well as what disciplinary action, if
any, was taken against members of the campus community
determined to be responsible for those specific
barriers or incidents involving students without
revealing those students’ personally identifiable
information, and
b. any other information each public institution of
higher education deems valuable for the public to
evaluate whether free expression rights for all
members of the campus community have been equally
protected and enforced consistent with this act
section.
3. If a public institution of higher education is sued for an
alleged violation of First Amendment rights, a supplementary report
with a copy of the complaint, or any amended complaint, shall be
electronically submitted to the Governor and the Legislature within
thirty (30) days.
H. Any person or student organization aggrieved by a violation
of this section may bring an action against the public institution
of higher education and its employees acting in their official
capacities responsible for the violation and seek appropriate
relief, including, but not limited to, injunctive relief, monetary
ENR. S. B. NO. 1725 Page 7
damages, reasonable attorneys’ attorney fees, and court costs. Any
person or student organization aggrieved by a violation of this
section may assert such violation as a defense or counter claim
counterclaim in any disciplinary action or in any civil or
administrative proceedings brought against such student or student
organization. Nothing in this subsection shall be interpreted to
limit any other remedies available to any person or student
organization.
I. A person shall be required to bring suit for violation of
this section no later than one (1) year after the day the cause of
action occurs. For purposes of calculating the one-year limitation
period, each day that the violation persists and each day that a
policy in violation of this section remains in effect shall
constitute a new day that the cause of action has occurred.
J. If any provision of this section or any application of such
provision to any person or circumstance is held to be
unconstitutional, the remainder of the section and the application
of the provision to any other person or circumstance shall not be
affected.
SECTION 2. AMENDATORY Section 5, Chapter 18, O.S.L. 2022
(70 O.S. Supp. 2025, Section 3205.14), is amended to read as
follows:
Section 3205.14. A. The Oklahoma Free Speech Committee shall
either develop a First Amendment training or approve of an outside
First Amendment training that shall be required for all college
deans, heads of departments, and individuals responsible for
establishing university free speech policies or handling free speech
complaints. The Committee shall either revise or reapprove the
training every two (2) years. The training will shall be required
every two (2) years, or upon hire or promotion to one of the
positions described by this section.
B. The Oklahoma Free Speech Committee shall develop a free
speech training that shall include information on the expressive
activities that are protected by the First Amendment to the United
States Constitution and Section 2120 of this title. The training
shall be completed by all students in their first year of enrollment
at an institution of higher education within The Oklahoma State
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System of Higher Education including students who transferred from
another institution and graduate students. An institution of higher
education may develop its own free speech training, consistent with
the provisions of this subsection and subject to a recommendation
for approval from the Oklahoma Free Speech Committee to the Oklahoma
State Regents for Higher Education.
C. Each institution’s training shall include the policies
regarding free expression on campus that are specific to the
institution. The training shall, at a minimum:
1. Explain that the generally accessible outdoor areas of
campus are public forums where members of the campus community can
engage in expressive activities including, but not limited to,
peaceful assembly, protests, speeches and guest speakers,
distribution of literature, carrying signs, and circulating
petitions;
2. Explain the institution’s content- and viewpoint-neutral
time, place, and manner restrictions including that any such
restrictions shall allow for members of the campus community to
spontaneously and contemporaneously assemble and distribute
literature;
3. Explain that freedom of speech does not enable individuals
to engage in conduct that intentionally, materially, and
substantially disrupts another person’s expressive activity in a
space reserved for such activity, nor does it enable individuals to
prevent any person from attending, listening to, viewing, or
otherwise participating in the activity, but freedom of speech does
protect lawful counter-protests in the outdoor areas of campus that
have not been reserved in advance;
4. Explain that speech including speech that some individuals
find offensive or hateful is protected by the First Amendment unless
it is subject to a reasonable time, place, and manner restriction or
constitutes incitement to imminent lawless action, true threats,
fighting words, fraud, defamation, obscenity, speech integral to
criminal acts, harassment as defined in Section 2120 of this title,
or a material and substantial disruption as defined in Section 2120
of this title. The institution shall explain each of the
ENR. S. B. NO. 1725 Page 9
limitations and exceptions as defined in statute or by the United
States Supreme Court, as applicable;
5. Provide examples of protected expressive activities and
unprotected expressive activities to help students understand the
concepts previously outlined by this subsection;
6. Explain that the academic freedom of any individual faculty
member protects:
a. the right of an individual faculty member to direct
the instruction within his or her own course, and
b. the scholarly research or creative work of students,
faculty, or other research personnel as well as the
dissemination of such research or work;
7. Explain why hearing a wide variety of viewpoints, even those
that some individuals may find offensive or hateful, is a necessary
part of the higher education experience;
8. Encourage students to respond to speech or expressive
activities they disagree with by making their own arguments in
response and explain the institution will not intervene to prevent
or punish speech that complies with the institution’s time, place,
and manner restrictions and is protected by the First Amendment, the
provisions of Section 2120 of this title, or other provisions in
law;
9. Explain that any student or student organization whose
rights provided by Section 2120 of this title are violated may file
a complaint with the institution of higher education or the Oklahoma
Free Speech Committee or bring a lawsuit against the institution of
higher education and its employees in their official capacities.
Failure to file a complaint with the institution or the Committee
shall not bar a student or student organization from bringing a
lawsuit; and
10. Identify where students can find more information about the
institution’s free speech policies and procedures.
SECTION 3. This act shall become effective July 1, 2026.
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SECTION 4. It being immediately necessary for the preservation
of the public peace, health, or safety, an emergency is hereby
declared to exist, by reason whereof this act shall take effect and
be in full force from and after its passage and approval.
ENR. S. B. NO. 1725 Page 11
Passed the Senate the 25th day of March, 2026.
Presiding Officer of the Senate
Passed the House of Representatives the 6th day of May, 2026.
Presiding Officer of the House
of Representatives
OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR
Received by the Office of the Governor this ____________________
day of ___________________, 20_______, at _______ o'clock _______ M.
By: _________________________________
Approved by the Governor of the State of Oklahoma this _________
day of ___________________, 20_______, at _______ o'clock _______ M.
_________________________________
Governor of the State of Oklahoma
OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE
Received by the Office of the Secretary of State this __________
day of __________________, 20 _______, at _______ o'clock _______ M.
By: _________________________________