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28	28	STATE OF OKLAHOMA
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30	30	2nd Session of the 58th Legislature (2022)
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32	32	HOUSE BILL 4012 By: Conley
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38	38	AS INTRODUCED
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40	40	An Act relating to schools; requiring school board to
41	41	approve a written policy establishing the process to
42	42	challenge certain materials; creating a community
43	43	standards review board; prohibiting certain
44	44	materials; providing for notifi cation; specifying who
45	45	can file a complaint; listing contents of complaint;
46	46	directing review of complaints; providing rating
47	47	system for board to use in i ts review; requiring
48	48	notice of final determination with in certain time;
49	49	limiting certain materials unless parent or legal
50	50	guardian provides written permission; providing for
51	51	appeal to the State Board of Education; prescribing
52	52	procedures for appeal; specifying decision of Board
53	53	is final; directing promulgation of rules for
54	54	appeals; requiring certain notification to school
55	55	district; prescribing penaltie s for failure to comply
56	56	with law; providing exception for materials approved
57	57	by the State Textbook Committee; providing for
58	58	codification; and declaring an emergency.
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64	64	BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
65	65	SECTION 1. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
66	66	in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 11-201 of Title 70, unless there
67	67	is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
68	68	A. There shall be a written policy, approved by the school
69	69	district board of education, which establishes the process to
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96	96	challenge materials in the media program and materials used by
97	97	teachers in classrooms. At a minimum, the written policy shall :
98	98	1. Create a community standards review board consisting of the
99	99	elected members of the school district board of education;
100	100	2. Establish and publish , with the input of parents and school
101	101	employees, community standards for acquiring and maintaining media
102	102	program and classroom materials which are not subject to review and
103	103	approval by the State Textbook Committee;
104	104	3. Prohibit materials which violate state laws on child
105	105	pornography and obscene material as defined in Section 1024.1 of
106	106	Title 21 of the Oklahoma Statutes ; and
107	107	4. Provide methods to notify parents , legal guardians, and
108	108	students about the community standards review board and the process
109	109	for challenging materials .
110	110	B. Any parent or legal guardian of a minor student or an adult
111	111	student enrolled in the school district may file a complaint to
112	112	challenge media program and classroom materials which are not
113	113	subject to review and approval by the State Textbook Committee and
114	114	which are located within the school building that the student
115	115	attends. The complaint shall:
116	116	1. Be in writing on a form prescribed by the school district;
117	117	2. Be specific as to the material being challenged and the
118	118	reasons for the challenge; and
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145	145	3. Be distributed to th e community standards review board, the
146	146	school librarian, or teacher if the material is a classroom
147	147	material, and the superintendent .
148	148	C. The community standards review board shall review the
149	149	complaint and the material being challenged in its entirety as w ell
150	150	as related documents. The community standards re view board shall
151	151	use the following rating system to determine whether the material
152	152	being challenged may be retained, restricted, or prohibited by the
153	153	school and what ages or grade levels are appropriate to view or read
154	154	the material:
155	155	1. G - General audiences. A G rating means the material
156	156	contains nothing in theme, language, nudity, sex, violence , or other
157	157	matters that, in the determination of the community standards review
158	158	board, would offend parents whose younger children view or read the
159	159	material. The G rating is not a "certificate of appr oval", nor does
160	160	it signify "children's" material. Some snippets of language may go
161	161	beyond polite conversation but they are common everyday expressions.
162	162	No stronger words are present in G-rated materials. Depictions or
163	163	descriptions of violence are minimal. No nudity, sex scenes, or
164	164	drug use, both visual or descriptive, are present in the m aterial;
165	165	2. PG - Parental guidance suggested. Some material may not be
166	166	suitable for children. A PG rating means the material should be
167	167	investigated by parents before t hey let their younger children view
168	168	or read the material. The PG rating indicates, in the determination
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195	195	of the community standards review board, that parents may consider
196	196	some material unsuitable for their children, and parents should make
197	197	that decision. The more mature themes in some PG-rated material may
198	198	call for parental guidance. There may be some profanity and some
199	199	depictions or descriptions of violence or brief nudit y, but these
200	200	elements are not deemed so intense as to require that parents be
201	201	strongly cautioned beyond the suggesti on of parental guidance.
202	202	There is no drug use content in PG-rated material;
203	203	3. PG-13 - Parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be
204	204	inappropriate for children younger than thirteen (13) years of age.
205	205	A PG-13 rating is a sterner warning by the community standards
206	206	review board to parents to determine whether children under thirteen
207	207	(13) years of age should view or read the material, as some material
208	208	content might not be suited for them. A PG-13-rated material may go
209	209	beyond the PG rating in theme, violence, nudity, sensuality,
210	210	language, adult activities, or other elements, but does not reach
211	211	the restricted R category. The theme of the material by itself does
212	212	not result in a rating greater than PG -13, although depictions or
213	213	descriptions of activities related to a mature them e may result in a
214	214	restricted rating for the material. Any drug use will initially
215	215	require at least a PG-13 rating. More than brief nudity will
216	216	require at least a PG -13 rating, but such nudity in PG-13-rated
217	217	material generally will not be sexually oriente d. There may be
218	218	depictions or descriptions of violence in PG-13-rated material, but
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245	245	generally not both realistic an d extreme or persistent violence and
246	246	shall not include depictions or descriptions of sexual assault or
247	247	sexual violence. A material's single use of one of the harsher
248	248	sexually-derived words, though only as an expletive, initially
249	249	requires at least a PG-13 rating. More than one such expletive
250	250	requires an R rating, as shall even one of those wo rds used in a
251	251	sexual context. The community standards review board nevertheless
252	252	may rate such material PG-13 if, based on a speci al vote by a two-
253	253	thirds (2/3) majority, the community standards review board feels
254	254	that most parents in the community would believe that a PG-13 rating
255	255	is appropriate because of the context or manner in which the words
256	256	are used or because the use of those words in the material is
257	257	inconspicuous;
258	258	4. R - Restricted. Some material may be inappropriate for
259	259	children younger than seventeen (17) years of age. R-rated
260	260	material, in the determination of the community standards review
261	261	board, contains some adult material and may include adult themes,
262	262	adult activity, hard language, intense or persistent violence,
263	263	sexually-oriented nudity, drug abuse , or other elements, so that
264	264	parents are advised to take this rating very seriou sly. Parents are
265	265	strongly urged to find out more a bout R-rated material in
266	266	determining their suitability for their children. Generally, it is
267	267	not appropriate for parents to allow young children to view or read
268	268	R-rated material; and
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295	295	5. NC-17 - No one seventeen (17) years of age and younger
296	296	shall view or read the material. NC-17-rated material is material
297	297	that, in the determination of the community standards review board,
298	298	most parents would consider patently too adult for their children
299	299	seventeen (17) years of age and younger . NC-17 does not mean
300	300	"obscene" or "pornographic" in the common or legal meaning of those
301	301	words, and should not be construed a s a negative judgment in any
302	302	sense. The rating simply signals that the content is appropriate
303	303	only for an adult audience. An NC-17 rating can be based on
304	304	violence, sex, aberrational behavior, drug abuse, or any other
305	305	element that most parents would consider too strong and therefore
306	306	off-limits for viewing or reading by their children.
307	307	D. The community standards review board shall make a final
308	308	determination and notify the complainant in writing no later than
309	309	thirty (30) business days after receipt of t he complaint. If the
310	310	community standards r eview board determines the school may keep the
311	311	challenged material but that it shall be restricted to certain ages
312	312	or grade levels, the school shal l only provide the material to a
313	313	student if the student's parent or legal guardian ha s given written
314	314	permission allowing it.
315	315	E. The complainant may appeal the decision of the community
316	316	standards review board to the State Board of Education within ten
317	317	(10) days of notification of the final determination of the
318	318	challenged material by the community standards review b oard. The
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345	345	complainant shall submit to the S tate Board of Education and the
346	346	superintendent of the school district a notice of appeal on a form
347	347	prescribed by the State Board of Education. The appeal shall be
348	348	considered by the State Board of Education at its next regularly
349	349	scheduled meeting, where th e complainant and a representative from
350	350	the school district may address the State Board of Education. The
351	351	State Board of Education shall use the rating system provided in
352	352	subsection C of this section to evaluate the challenged material and
353	353	make a final determination of whether it shall be retaine d by or
354	354	restricted or removed from the school. The State Board of Education
355	355	shall promulgate rules to establish the appeals p rocess authorized
356	356	by this subsection.
357	357	F. If a school district fails to create a community standards
358	358	review board in compliance with the provisions of this s ection, the
359	359	State Board of Education shall notify the school district
360	360	superintendent and board of e ducation that the school district is
361	361	not in compliance with state law. If the school district does not
362	362	take corrective action and create a community standards review board
363	363	within thirty (30) days of receiving notice from the State Board of
364	364	Education, the State Board of Education shall penalize the school
365	365	district by withdrawing its accreditation status or reducing its
366	366	state funding allocation, or both.
367	367	G. The provisions of this section s hall not apply to materials
368	368	reviewed and approved by the State Textbook Committe e.
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395	395	SECTION 2. It being immediately necessary for the preservation
396	396	of the public peace, health or safety, an emergency is hereby
397	397	declared to exist, by reason wher eof this act shall take effect and
398	398	be in full force from and after its passage an d approval.
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400	400	58-2-9625 EK 01/20/22

Oklahoma 2022 Regular Session

Oklahoma House Bill HB4012 Compare Versions