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53	53	STATE OF OKLAHOMA
54	54
55	55	1st Session of the 59th Legislature (2023)
56	56
57	57	SENATE BILL 865 By: Bullard
58	58
59	59
60	60
61	61
62	62
63	63	AS INTRODUCED
64	64
65	65	An Act relating to teachers; creating the Te achers’
66	66	Bill of Rights; providing short title; affording
67	67	certain rights to certain teachers, administrators,
68	68	and support staff; directing creation of certain due
69	69	process plan; requiring plan to include certain
70	70	components; providing for codification; providing an
71	71	effective date; and declaring an emergency.
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77	77	BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
78	78	SECTION 1. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
79	79	in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 6-101.9 of Title 70, unless
80	80	there is created a duplication in nu mbering, reads as follows:
81	81	A. This act shall be kn own and may be cited as the “Teachers’
82	82	Bill of Rights”.
83	83	B. Teachers, administrators, and support staff employed by a
84	84	school district, public charter school, or public virtual charter
85	85	school in this state shall be afforded the following rights:
86	86	1. The right to free expression of religion, speech, and
87	87	peaceable assembly including, but not l imited to:
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139	139	a. the right to keep the Holy Scriptures in their
140	140	classroom for personal use,
141	141	b. the right to use the Holy S criptures as they pertain
142	142	to the teaching of American history or American
143	143	literature if presented objectively as part of a
144	144	secular program of education,
145	145	c. the right to wear faith-based or religious symbols
146	146	including jewelry on their persons,
147	147	d. the right to pray with, over, or in front of students
148	148	as provided for in Section 11 -101.1 of Title 70 of the
149	149	Oklahoma Statutes, and
150	150	e. the right to a working environment in which the
151	151	employing school district, public charter school, or
152	152	public virtual charter school does not endorse, favor,
153	153	promote, demean, show host ility toward, or
154	154	intentionally undermine any particular religion or
155	155	nonreligious faith or religious perspective;
156	156	2. The right to be free from the use of vulgar or abus ive
157	157	language by students and other teachers, administrators, or support
158	158	staff;
159	159	3. The right to be free from physical harm or threat s from
160	160	students, parents or legal guardians of students , and other
161	161	employees of the school district, p ublic charter school, or publ ic
162	162	virtual charter school;
163	163
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214	214	4. The right to provide for the control and disciplin e of
215	215	students as may be assigned to him or her and to keep good o rder in
216	216	the classroom and other places in which he or she is assigned to be
217	217	in charge of students including:
218	218	a. the right to have disobedien t, disrespectful, violent,
219	219	abusive, or disruptive students removed from the
220	220	classroom,
221	221	b. the right to refuse to allow a student w ho has been
222	222	suspended for a violent offense to return to his or
223	223	her classroom, as provided for in Section 24 -101.3 of
224	224	Title 70 of the Oklahoma Statutes, and
225	225	c. the right to use established and reasonable methods of
226	226	discipline, as provided for in the policy adopted
227	227	pursuant to Section 24 -100.4 of Title 70 of the
228	228	Oklahoma Statutes, and to be immune from civil
229	229	liability for any action taken in good faith as
230	230	provided for Section 24-101.3 of Title 70 of the
231	231	Oklahoma Statutes;
232	232	5. The right of designated school personnel to carry and use a
233	233	firearm, as provided for in Section 5-149.2 of Title 70 of the
234	234	Oklahoma Statutes;
235	235	6. The right to a safe working environment with adequate safety
236	236	protocols and structur al safety measures to ensure protection from
237	237	exterior or interior threats of violence ;
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289	289	7. The right to medical pr ivacy, to refuse a vaccination as a
290	290	condition of employment, and to refuse to wear a mask or any other
291	291	medical device as a condition of employment, except as provided for
292	292	in Section 1210.190 of Title 70 of the Oklahoma Statutes;
293	293	8. The right to refuse to provide instruction or participate in
294	294	training on any topic that violat es the individual’s conscience,
295	295	ethics, or religion; provided, however, the individual shal l be
296	296	prohibited from refusing to prov ide instruction prescribed by state
297	297	law, including the subject matter standards prov ided for in Section
298	298	11-103.6 of Title 70 of the Oklahoma Statutes, or prescribed by
299	299	State Board of Education rules;
300	300	9. The right to adequate planning time including at least one
301	301	hour not to be infringed by addit ional responsibilities or requests;
302	302	provided, however, an individual may voluntarily rel inquish his or
303	303	her planning hour;
304	304	10. The right to a lunch period of a minimum of twenty (20)
305	305	minutes during the school day;
306	306	11. The right to information regarding complaints filed by a
307	307	student or the parent or legal guardian of a student, unless the
308	308	complaint is part of a law enforcement investigation;
309	309	12. The right to be protected by school administrators when
310	310	helping students better understand, analyze, critique, and review in
311	311	an objective manner the strengths and weaknesses of existing
312	312	theories, issues, and subjects which may be controversial when
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364	364	covered in a course being taught using evidence -based, peer-reviewed
365	365	material; and
366	366	13. The right to privately petition a school administrator , a
367	367	school district board of education , or a governing body of a public
368	368	charter school or public virtual charter sch ool to modify a school
369	369	policy.
370	370	C. A school district board of education or the governing body
371	371	of a public charter school or public virtual charter school shall
372	372	create a due process plan f or teachers, administrators, and support
373	373	staff to report violations of the rights provided for in subsection
374	374	B of this section. The due process plan sh all include, at a
375	375	minimum, the following:
376	376	1. Designation of a school employee or employees to receive
377	377	reports of violation;
378	378	2. Provisions for anonymous reports to protect the identity of
379	379	the accuser from retribution;
380	380	3. A requirement that reported viola tions be investigated by
381	381	designated school employees in a timely manner;
382	382	4. Procedures for investigatin g and implementing punishment for
383	383	false accusations;
384	384	5. Procedures for reporting to law enforcement suspected
385	385	violations that may constitute criminal a ctivity or reasonably have
386	386	the potential to endanger school safety ; and
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438	438	6. A procedure for appealing fi ndings of designated school
439	439	employees to a school district board of e ducation or the governing
440	440	body of a public charter school or public vi rtual charter school.
441	441	SECTION 2. This act shall become effective July 1, 2023.
442	442	SECTION 3. It being immediately necessary for the preservation
443	443	of the public peace, health, or safety, an emergency is hereby
444	444	declared to exist, by reason w hereof this act shall take effect and
445	445	be in full force from and after its passage and approval.
446	446
447	447	59-1-26 EB 1/19/2023 10:00:36 AM

Oklahoma 2023 Regular Session

Oklahoma Senate Bill SB865 Compare Versions