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STATE OF OKLAHOMA
2nd Session of the 58th Legislature (2022)
HOUSE BILL 4012 By: Conley
AS INTRODUCED
An Act relating to schools; requiring school board to
approve a written policy establishing the process to
challenge certain materials; creating a community
standards review board; prohibiting certain
materials; providing for notifi cation; specifying who
can file a complaint; listing contents of complaint;
directing review of complaints; providing rating
system for board to use in i ts review; requiring
notice of final determination with in certain time;
limiting certain materials unless parent or legal
guardian provides written permission; providing for
appeal to the State Board of Education; prescribing
procedures for appeal; specifying decision of Board
is final; directing promulgation of rules for
appeals; requiring certain notification to school
district; prescribing penaltie s for failure to comply
with law; providing exception for materials approved
by the State Textbook Committee; providing for
codification; and declaring an emergency.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 11-201 of Title 70, unless there
is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
A. There shall be a written policy, approved by the school
district board of education, which establishes the process to
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challenge materials in the media program and materials used by
teachers in classrooms. At a minimum, the written policy shall :
1. Create a community standards review board consisting of the
elected members of the school district board of education;
2. Establish and publish , with the input of parents and school
employees, community standards for acquiring and maintaining media
program and classroom materials which are not subject to review and
approval by the State Textbook Committee;
3. Prohibit materials which violate state laws on child
pornography and obscene material as defined in Section 1024.1 of
Title 21 of the Oklahoma Statutes ; and
4. Provide methods to notify parents , legal guardians, and
students about the community standards review board and the process
for challenging materials .
B. Any parent or legal guardian of a minor student or an adult
student enrolled in the school district may file a complaint to
challenge media program and classroom materials which are not
subject to review and approval by the State Textbook Committee and
which are located within the school building that the student
attends. The complaint shall:
1. Be in writing on a form prescribed by the school district;
2. Be specific as to the material being challenged and the
reasons for the challenge; and
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3. Be distributed to th e community standards review board, the
school librarian, or teacher if the material is a classroom
material, and the superintendent .
C. The community standards review board shall review the
complaint and the material being challenged in its entirety as w ell
as related documents. The community standards re view board shall
use the following rating system to determine whether the material
being challenged may be retained, restricted, or prohibited by the
school and what ages or grade levels are appropriate to view or read
the material:
1. G - General audiences. A G rating means the material
contains nothing in theme, language, nudity, sex, violence , or other
matters that, in the determination of the community standards review
board, would offend parents whose younger children view or read the
material. The G rating is not a "certificate of appr oval", nor does
it signify "children's" material. Some snippets of language may go
beyond polite conversation but they are common everyday expressions.
No stronger words are present in G-rated materials. Depictions or
descriptions of violence are minimal. No nudity, sex scenes, or
drug use, both visual or descriptive, are present in the m aterial;
2. PG - Parental guidance suggested. Some material may not be
suitable for children. A PG rating means the material should be
investigated by parents before t hey let their younger children view
or read the material. The PG rating indicates, in the determination
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of the community standards review board, that parents may consider
some material unsuitable for their children, and parents should make
that decision. The more mature themes in some PG-rated material may
call for parental guidance. There may be some profanity and some
depictions or descriptions of violence or brief nudit y, but these
elements are not deemed so intense as to require that parents be
strongly cautioned beyond the suggesti on of parental guidance.
There is no drug use content in PG-rated material;
3. PG-13 - Parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be
inappropriate for children younger than thirteen (13) years of age.
A PG-13 rating is a sterner warning by the community standards
review board to parents to determine whether children under thirteen
(13) years of age should view or read the material, as some material
content might not be suited for them. A PG-13-rated material may go
beyond the PG rating in theme, violence, nudity, sensuality,
language, adult activities, or other elements, but does not reach
the restricted R category. The theme of the material by itself does
not result in a rating greater than PG -13, although depictions or
descriptions of activities related to a mature them e may result in a
restricted rating for the material. Any drug use will initially
require at least a PG-13 rating. More than brief nudity will
require at least a PG -13 rating, but such nudity in PG-13-rated
material generally will not be sexually oriente d. There may be
depictions or descriptions of violence in PG-13-rated material, but
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generally not both realistic an d extreme or persistent violence and
shall not include depictions or descriptions of sexual assault or
sexual violence. A material's single use of one of the harsher
sexually-derived words, though only as an expletive, initially
requires at least a PG-13 rating. More than one such expletive
requires an R rating, as shall even one of those wo rds used in a
sexual context. The community standards review board nevertheless
may rate such material PG-13 if, based on a speci al vote by a two-
thirds (2/3) majority, the community standards review board feels
that most parents in the community would believe that a PG-13 rating
is appropriate because of the context or manner in which the words
are used or because the use of those words in the material is
inconspicuous;
4. R - Restricted. Some material may be inappropriate for
children younger than seventeen (17) years of age. R-rated
material, in the determination of the community standards review
board, contains some adult material and may include adult themes,
adult activity, hard language, intense or persistent violence,
sexually-oriented nudity, drug abuse , or other elements, so that
parents are advised to take this rating very seriou sly. Parents are
strongly urged to find out more a bout R-rated material in
determining their suitability for their children. Generally, it is
not appropriate for parents to allow young children to view or read
R-rated material; and
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5. NC-17 - No one seventeen (17) years of age and younger
shall view or read the material. NC-17-rated material is material
that, in the determination of the community standards review board,
most parents would consider patently too adult for their children
seventeen (17) years of age and younger . NC-17 does not mean
"obscene" or "pornographic" in the common or legal meaning of those
words, and should not be construed a s a negative judgment in any
sense. The rating simply signals that the content is appropriate
only for an adult audience. An NC-17 rating can be based on
violence, sex, aberrational behavior, drug abuse, or any other
element that most parents would consider too strong and therefore
off-limits for viewing or reading by their children.
D. The community standards review board shall make a final
determination and notify the complainant in writing no later than
thirty (30) business days after receipt of t he complaint. If the
community standards r eview board determines the school may keep the
challenged material but that it shall be restricted to certain ages
or grade levels, the school shal l only provide the material to a
student if the student's parent or legal guardian ha s given written
permission allowing it.
E. The complainant may appeal the decision of the community
standards review board to the State Board of Education within ten
(10) days of notification of the final determination of the
challenged material by the community standards review b oard. The
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complainant shall submit to the S tate Board of Education and the
superintendent of the school district a notice of appeal on a form
prescribed by the State Board of Education. The appeal shall be
considered by the State Board of Education at its next regularly
scheduled meeting, where th e complainant and a representative from
the school district may address the State Board of Education. The
State Board of Education shall use the rating system provided in
subsection C of this section to evaluate the challenged material and
make a final determination of whether it shall be retaine d by or
restricted or removed from the school. The State Board of Education
shall promulgate rules to establish the appeals p rocess authorized
by this subsection.
F. If a school district fails to create a community standards
review board in compliance with the provisions of this s ection, the
State Board of Education shall notify the school district
superintendent and board of e ducation that the school district is
not in compliance with state law. If the school district does not
take corrective action and create a community standards review board
within thirty (30) days of receiving notice from the State Board of
Education, the State Board of Education shall penalize the school
district by withdrawing its accreditation status or reducing its
state funding allocation, or both.
G. The provisions of this section s hall not apply to materials
reviewed and approved by the State Textbook Committe e.
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SECTION 2. It being immediately necessary for the preservation
of the public peace, health or safety, an emergency is hereby
declared to exist, by reason wher eof this act shall take effect and
be in full force from and after its passage an d approval.
58-2-9625 EK 01/20/22