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Oklahoma OK
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2023 Regular Session
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SB935
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Oklahoma Senate Bill SB935

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Oklahoma 2023 Regular Session

Oklahoma Senate Bill SB935 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

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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 935 By: Jett
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63	63		AS INTRODUCED
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65	65		An Act relating to schools; providing certain
66	66		legislative recognition; amending 70 O.S. 2021,
67	67		Section 24-157, which relates to a prohib ition on the
68	68		instruction of certain concepts ; creating the Stop
69	69		the Wrongs to Our Kids and Employees (S top W.O.K.E.)
70	70		Act; providing short title; defining terms; expandi ng
71	71		concepts which are proh ibited from being part of a
72	72		course; prohibiting in public schools the use of
73	73		certain supplemental instructional materials;
74	74		providing for enforcement ; allowing certain civil
75	75		action and establishing awards; allowing the
76	76		dismissal of school officials, officers, and
77	77		employees who knowingly commit certain violation and
78	78		directing that they be declared in violation of
79	79		certain oath; prohibiting certain defense; providing
80	80		certain construction; prohibiting certain
81	81		discrimination; allowing certain civil action and
82	82		establishing awards; providing for affirmative
83	83		defense; providing for certain construction of act;
84	84		providing for noncodification; providing for
85	85		codification; providing an effective date; and
86	86		declaring an emergency .
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91	91		BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKL AHOMA:
92	92		SECTION 1. NEW LAW A new section of law not to be
93	93		codified in the Oklahoma Statutes reads as follows:
94	94		The Legislature hereby recognizes the following findings :
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146	146		1. The United States Co nstitution is not silent as to how
147	147		government actors in this state shall respond and react to critical
148	148		race theory for the matter arises under the Establishment Clause and
149	149		the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment to the United States
150	150		Constitution;
151	151		2. The Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the
152	152		United States Constitution state s that the government “shall make no
153	153		law respecting an establishment of religion ,” and Article II,
154	154		Section 5 of the Oklahoma Constitution states, “Public money or
155	155		property - Use for sectarian purposes. No public money or property
156	156		shall ever be appropriate d, applied, donated, or used, directly or
157	157		indirectly, for the use, benefit, or support of any sect, church,
158	158		denomination, or system of religion, or for the use, benefi t, or
159	159		support of any priest, preacher, m inister, or other religious
160	160		teacher or dignitary, or sectarian institution as such ”;
161	161		3. The Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment to the
162	162		United States Constitution states that the government “shall make no
163	163		law...prohibiting the free exercise [of rel igion]”;
164	164		4. The Establishment Clause of the First Amendment applies to
165	165		this state through the Fourteenth Amendment, and the United States
166	166		Supreme Court held in Hein v. Freedom From Religion Foundation Inc.,
167	167		551 U.S. 587 (2007) that the Establishment Clause applies to the
168	168		executive branch, which incl udes Oklahoma public schools;
169	169
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220	220		5. All that religion amounts to is a set of unproven answers to
221	221		the greater questions like “why are we here”, what gives us
222	222		identity, what should we be doing as humans, and what ha ppens after
223	223		death;
224	224		6. The Establishment Clause of the United States Constitution
225	225		was never solely designed to prohibit the government from respecting
226	226		and recognizing the doctrines of institutionalized religions but of
227	227		non-institutionalized religions, such as secular humanism;
228	228		7. The United States Supreme Court found that secular humanism
229	229		is a religion for the purposes of the First Amendment in cases such
230	230		as:
231	231		a. Torcaso v. Watkins, 367 U.S. 488 (1961) ,
232	232		b. School District of Abington Township, Pa. v. Schemp p,
233	233		374 U.S. 203 (1963),
234	234		c. United States v. Seeger, 380 US 163 (1965), and
235	235		d. Welsh v. United States, 398 U.S. 333 (1970);
236	236		8. Most of the United States courts of appeals have found that
237	237		secular humanism is a religi on for purposes of the First Amendment
238	238		in cases such as:
239	239		a. Malnak v. Yogi, 592 F.2d 197 (3d Cir.1979),
240	240		b. Theriault v. Silber, 547 F.2d 1279 (5th Cir.1977) ,
241	241		c. Thomas v. Review Bd., 450 U.S. 707 (1981) ,
242	242		d. Lindell v. McCallum, 352 F.3d 110 7 (7th Cir.2003),
243	243
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293	293
294	294		e. Real Alternatives, Inc. v. Sec ’y Dep’t of Health &
295	295		Human Servs.,150 F. Supp. 3d 419, 20 17 WL3324690 (3d
296	296		Cir. Aug.4, 2017), and
297	297		f. Wells v. City and County of Denver, 257 F.3d 1132
298	298		(10th Cir. 2001);
299	299		9. Religious experts have te stified under oath that critical
300	300		race theory is a doctrine, ortho doxy, ideology, and dogma that is
301	301		part of a worldview consisting of a series of unproven faith -based
302	302		assumptions and naked assertions that is implicitly religious and
303	303		inseparably linked to th e religion of secular humanism;
304	304		10. Regardless of political affi liation, all members of the
305	305		Legislature and all executive and judicial officers are bound by
306	306		oath to put their own political and religious beliefs aside and to
307	307		comply with their duty to honor their oath of office pursuant to
308	308		Article VI, Clause 3 of the United States Constitution to uphold the
309	309		United States Constitution and to, therefore, immediately stop
310	310		creating, respecting, and enforcing policies that promote the
311	311		plausibility of critical rac e theory because all of those policie s
312	312		fail all three prongs of t he lemon test established by the United
313	313		States Supreme Court in Lemon v. Kurtzman, 403 U.S. 602 (1971) for:
314	314		a. constituting non-secular shams that lack a primary
315	315		secular purpose,
316	316		b. cultivating indefensible legal weapons against non-
317	317		observers of the religi on of secular humanism, and
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369	369		c. serving to excessive ly entangle the government with
370	370		the religion of secular humanism;
371	371		11. The United States Supreme Court in Edwards v. Aguillard,
372	372		482 U.S. 578 (1987) and Agostini v. Felton, 521 U .S. 203 (1997)
373	373		found that if government action fails one prong of the lemon test,
374	374		it is unconstitutional, and the evidence shows that the enforcement
375	375		and creation of policies in public schools that respect critical
376	376		race theory fail all three prongs of the lemon test;
377	377		12. The United States Supreme Court in Lee v. Weisman, 505 U.S.
378	378		577 (1992) found that there are “heightened concerns with protecting
379	379		freedom of conscience from subtle coercive pressure in the
380	380		elementary and secondary public schools, ” while also holding in
381	381		Edwards v. Aguillard, 482 U.S. 578 (1987) that the government
382	382		“should be particularly vigilant in monitoring compliance with the
383	383		Establishment Clause in the public-school context,” when minors are
384	384		subjected to religious indoctrination with the perception of the
385	385		government’s stamp of approval;
386	386		13. According to the United States Supreme Court in cases like
387	387		Flast v. Cohen, 392 U.S. 83 (1968), a taxpayer with a logical nexus
388	388		to a controversy involv ing a government actor ’s violation of the
389	389		Establishment Clause has standing to sue to enforce compliance;
390	390		14. The federal courts have held in cases like Holloman v.
391	391		Harland, 370 F.3 1252 (11th Cir. 2004), that neither emotional
392	392		appeals nor sincerity of be lief can be used to usurp the
393	393
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444	444		Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, and the evidence shows
445	445		that all policies that respect, favor, endorse, or promote critical
446	446		race theory in public schools are based on a series of emotional
447	447		appeals;
448	448		15. There has not been the promised equality and unity
449	449		cultivated by teaching critical race t heory in public schools, but
450	450		instead, there has bee n division and an increase in racial tension
451	451		in an emotionally exploitative and intellectually dishonest manner
452	452		demonstrating that such policies are a sham that lack a primary
453	453		secular purpose;
454	454		16. Critical race theory is a non-secular divisive doctrine
455	455		that amounts to an attempt to justify practices that are
456	456		inconsistent with the peace and safety of this state by:
457	457		a. cultivating moral superiority complexes in observers
458	458		of critical race theory with the gove rnment’s
459	459		endorsement at the taxpayer ’s expense,
460	460		b. leading to the social marginalization and even violent
461	461		oppression of non-observers of critical race theory ,
462	462		and
463	463		c. conflicting with the neutral, non -controversial,
464	464		natural, secular, and self-evident truth that “all men
465	465		are created equal…endowed by their Cr eator with
466	466		certain unalienable rights, that among these are life,
467	467		liberty and the pursuit of happiness ”; and
468	468
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519	519		17. Pursuant to the police powers afforded to this state under
520	520		the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, the
521	521		Legislature has a compel ling reason to prevent the teaching of
522	522		divisive and controversial religious doctrin es in public schools
523	523		that are calculated to emotionally exploit race and cultivate racial
524	524		tensions in the advancement of a narrow and exclusive religious
525	525		worldview that is questionably moral and perspectively implausible.
526	526		SECTION 2. AMENDATORY 70 O.S. 2021, Sect ion 24-157, is
527	527		amended to read as follows:
528	528		Section 24-157. A. This act shall be known an d may be cited as
529	529		the “Stop the Wrongs to Our Kids and Employees (Stop W.O.K.E.) Act.
530	530		B. As used in this act:
531	531		1. “Critical race theory ” means a set of assertions and
532	532		unproven faith-based assumptions that form a doctrine, ideol ogy,
533	533		dogma, and orthodoxy that is inseparably linked to the religion of
534	534		secular humanism. The term involves non-secular divisive doctrine
535	535		that includes, but is not limited to, the concepts described in
536	536		paragraph 1 of subsection D of this section;
537	537		2. “Emotional appeal” means a method of persuasion through
538	538		sentiment, not logic, desig ned to create an emotional response to
539	539		achieve certain ends;
540	540		3. “Lemon test” means a three-prong test originally created by
541	541		the United States Supreme Court and adopted by this state which is
542	542		used to determine whether government action is unconstitutional
543	543
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594	594		under the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United
595	595		States Constitution. Government action violat es the Establishment
596	596		Clause and Article II, Section 5 of the Oklahoma Constitution if the
597	597		action fails to satisfy any of the prongs. The test requires that
598	598		state action or government policy:
599	599		a. have a valid secular purpose ,
600	600		b. not have the effect of advancing, endorsing, or
601	601		inhibiting religion, and
602	602		c. not foster excessive entanglement with a pa rticular
603	603		religion;
604	604		4. “Logical nexus” means at least some minimal, relevant,
605	605		legitimate, important, or rational connection and connotes a low-
606	606		threshold standard;
607	607		5. “Non-secular” means faith-based, not proven, predicated on
608	608		naked assertions, or emotional feelings, not self-evident objective
609	609		fact;
610	610		6. “Promote” means to advocate for, assist with, favor,
611	611		respect, endorse, encourage, or popularize throu gh advertising or
612	612		publicity;
613	613		7. “Public School” means a public educationa l institution that
614	614		is maintained at public expense for the education of th e children of
615	615		a community or district and that constitutes a part of a system of
616	616		free public education including primary and secondary schools from
617	617		grades prekindergarten through twelve. The term shall include
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669	669		accredited nonpublic educational institutions including primary and
670	670		secondary schools from grades prekindergarten through twelve;
671	671		8. “Religion” means a set of unproven answers to the greater
672	672		questions like “why are we here,” “what should we be doing as
673	673		humans,” “how do we get our identity,” and “what happens after
674	674		death”. The term means a closed syste m and group or community that
675	675		is organized, full, and provides a comprehensive code by which
676	676		individuals may guide their daily a ctivities. Religion involves an
677	677		ultimate concern or sincere belief and can be non -theistic or
678	678		theistic;
679	679		9. “Secular humanism” means a faith-based worldview that is
680	680		also referred to as postmodern-western-individualistic moral
681	681		relativism, expressive indivi dualism, or antitheism and is often the
682	682		mirror opposite of theism. The term refers to a religion that
683	683		worships man as the source of all knowledge and truth. The term
684	684		includes a belief system that is centered on the unproven
685	685		assumptions that there are no moral absolutes and no one moral
686	686		doctrine should be used as the superior basis for l aw and policy,
687	687		except for the religious doctrin es of secular humanism. The term
688	688		includes a series of unproven faith-based assumptions and naked
689	689		assertions that suggest tha t morality and truth are man -made
690	690		conventions and that at the heart of liberty is ma n’s ability to
691	691		define his own meaning of the uni verse. The term refers to a
692	692		religion that tends to promote licentiousness and to justify
693	693
694	694
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743	743
744	744		practices that are inconsistent wit h the peace and safety of the
745	745		state. The term refers to the belief that man is mer ely a bundle of
746	746		chemicals, animated pieces of meat, or accidental particles, that
747	747		nature is all there is, and that there is nothing after death.
748	748		Critical race theory is a d octrine, ideology, orthodoxy, an d dogma
749	749		that is inseparably linked to this religion . The term refers to a
750	750		religion that has many different denominational sects and is
751	751		expressed in widely varying ways;
752	752		10. “Taxpayer standing” means the standing of a taxpa yer to
753	753		file a lawsuit against a government actor that is directly or
754	754		symbolically engaging in practices that violate the Establishment
755	755		Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution or
756	756		Article II, Section 5 of the Oklahoma Constitution after the
757	757		government actor actually or prospectively engaged in action that
758	758		potentially failed at least one prong of the lemon test. A taxpayer
759	759		shall have a logical nexus to a governme nt actor’s violation to
760	760		assert taxpayer standing. A person who pays sales tax in this state
761	761		can successfully assert this form of standing before the courts of
762	762		competent jurisdiction.
763	763		C. 1. No enrolled student of an institution of higher
764	764		education within The Oklahoma State System of Higher Education shall
765	765		be required to engage in any form of mandatory gender or sexual
766	766		diversity training or counseling; provid ed, voluntary counseling
767	767		shall not be prohibite d. Any orientation or requirement that
768	768
769	769
770	770		Req. No. 1624 Page 11 1
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818	818
819	819		presents any form of race or sex stereotyping or a bias on the basis
820	820		of race or sex shall be prohibited.
821	821		2. Pursuant to the provisions of the Administrative Procedures
822	822		Act, the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Edu cation shall
823	823		promulgate rules, subject to approval by the Legislature, to
824	824		implement the provisions of this subsection.
825	825		B. D. The provisions of this subsection shall not prohibit the
826	826		teaching of concepts that a lign to the Oklahoma Academic Standards.
827	827		1. No teacher, administrator or other employee of a schoo l
828	828		district, charter school or virtual c harter school shall require or
829	829		make part of a course the following concepts:
830	830		a. one race or sex is inherently superior to another race
831	831		or sex,
832	832		b. an individual, by virtue of his or her race or sex, is
833	833		inherently racist, sexist or oppressive, whether
834	834		consciously or unconsciously,
835	835		c. an individual should be discriminated ag ainst or
836	836		receive adverse treatment solely or partly because of
837	837		his or her race or sex,
838	838		d. members of one race or sex cannot and should not
839	839		attempt to treat others without respect to race or
840	840		sex,
841	841		e. an individual’s moral character is necessarily
842	842		determined by his or her race or sex,
843	843
844	844
845	845		Req. No. 1624 Page 12 1
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893	893
894	894		f. an individual, by vir tue of his or her race or sex,
895	895		bears responsibility for actions committed in the past
896	896		by other members of the same race or sex,
897	897		g. any individual should feel discomfort, gui lt, anguish
898	898		or any other form of psychological distress on account
899	899		of his or her race or sex, or
900	900		h. meritocracy or traits such as a hard work ethic are
901	901		racist or sexist or were creat ed by members of a
902	902		particular race to o ppress members of another race ,
903	903		i. the violent overthrow of the United States government
904	904		should be promoted,
905	905		j. this state or the United States is fundamentally or
906	906		irredeemably racist or sexist,
907	907		k. division between or resentment of a race, sex,
908	908		religion, creed, nonviolent political af filiation,
909	909		social class, or class of people should be promoted,
910	910		l. character traits, valu es, morals, or ethical codes can
911	911		be ascribed to a race or sex or to an individual
912	912		because of the individual’s race or sex,
913	913		m. the rule of law does not exist but instead is a series
914	914		of power relationships and struggles among racial or
915	915		other groups,
916	916		n. all Americans are not created e qual and are not
917	917		endowed by their creator with certain unalie nable
918	918
919	919
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968	968
969	969		rights including life, liberty, and the pursuit of
970	970		happiness, or
971	971		o. governments should deny to any person within the
972	972		government’s jurisdiction the equal protection of the
973	973		law.
974	974		2. The State Board of Education shall promulgate rules, subject
975	975		to approval by the Legislature, to implement the provisions of this
976	976		subsection.
977	977		SECTION 3. NEW LAW A ne w section of law to be codified
978	978		in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 24-157.1 of Title 70, unless
979	979		there is created a duplication in numb ering, reads as follows:
980	980		A. Pursuant to the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment
981	981		to the United States Constitutio n and Article II, Section 5 of the
982	982		Oklahoma Constitution, a public school shall not include, as part of
983	983		a course of instruction or in a curriculum or instructional program,
984	984		or allow or force teachers or other e mployees of the public school
985	985		to use supplemental instructional materials that e ndorse, favor,
986	986		respect, or promote critical race theory because the policies fail
987	987		the Lemon test for:
988	988		1. Constituting non-secular shams that lack a primary secular
989	989		purpose;
990	990		2. Cultivating indefensible legal weapons again st non-observers
991	991		of the religion of secular humanism; and
992	992
993	993
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1043	1043		3. Having the effect of excessively entangling the government
1044	1044		with the religion of secular humanism.
1045	1045		B. The following persons may enforce the provisions of
1046	1046		subsection A of this section in a civil court of competent
1047	1047		jurisdiction:
1048	1048		1. A taxpayer of this state or a political subdivision of this
1049	1049		state who has taxpayer standing;
1050	1050		2. A parent or legal guardian who pays taxes in this state and
1051	1051		who has a student in a public school that has violated the
1052	1052		provisions of subsection A of this section has taxpayer standing;
1053	1053		and
1054	1054		3. A public school employee who is punished b y a public school
1055	1055		for refusing to teach critical race theory to students.
1056	1056		C. A plaintiff who brings a civil action against a public
1057	1057		school for violating the provisions of subsection A of this s ection
1058	1058		may seek and be awarded the following by a court of competent
1059	1059		jurisdiction:
1060	1060		1. Attorney fees and costs;
1061	1061		2. Actual damages;
1062	1062		3. Injunctive relief; and
1063	1063		4. Other forms of equitable relief deemed app ropriate.
1064	1064		D. A school official, officer, or employ ee of the state who
1065	1065		knowingly violates the provisions of subsection A of this section
1066	1066
1067	1067
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1117	1117		may be dismissed from the person’s office or position, and the
1118	1118		person’s employment may be terminated immediately.
1119	1119		E. Any public school official who violates the provisions of
1120	1120		subsection A of this section may be declared to be in violation of
1121	1121		their oath of office established under Article VI, Clause 3 of the
1122	1122		United States Constitu tion and subjected to declaratory relief fo r a
1123	1123		violation in a court of competent jurisdiction.
1124	1124		F. Sincerity of belief or emotional appeals shall not
1125	1125		constitute a valid defense for a violation of the provisions of
1126	1126		subsection A of this section.
1127	1127		G. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection A of this
1128	1128		section to the contrary, the provisions of this section do not
1129	1129		prohibit a public school from including, as part of a course of
1130	1130		instruction or in a curriculum or instructional program, or from
1131	1131		allowing teachers in a public school to use supplemental
1132	1132		instructional materials that include:
1133	1133		1. The history of an ethnic group, as described in textbooks
1134	1134		and instructional materials adopted in accordance with approved
1135	1135		curriculum;
1136	1136		2. The impartial and neutral discussion of controversial
1137	1137		aspects of history;
1138	1138		3. The impartial and neutral instruction on the histori cal
1139	1139		oppression of a particular group of people based on race, ethnicity,
1140	1140		class, nationality, religion, or geographic region; or
1141	1141
1142	1142
1143	1143		Req. No. 1624 Page 16 1
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1192	1192		4. Historical documents.
1193	1193		SECTION 4. NEW LAW A new se ction of law to be codified
1194	1194		in the Oklahoma Statute s as Section 24-157.2 of Title 70, unless
1195	1195		there is created a duplication in numb ering, reads as follows:
1196	1196		A. Pursuant to the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment
1197	1197		to the United States Constitution an d Article II, Section 5 of the
1198	1198		Oklahoma Constitution, a public school shall not discriminate
1199	1199		against any person for believing in or for failing to believe in th e
1200	1200		plausibility of critical race theory.
1201	1201		B. A student or teacher who experiences discrimination by a
1202	1202		public school as described in subsection A of this section shall
1203	1203		have standing to file suit in a court of competent jurisdiction
1204	1204		where they can seek:
1205	1205		1. Injunctive relief;
1206	1206		2. Attorney fees and costs;
1207	1207		3. Actual damages; and
1208	1208		4. Other forms of relief deemed appropriate.
1209	1209		C. It shall be an absolute an d affirmative defense in a civil
1210	1210		action brought pursuant to subsection A of this section that the
1211	1211		public school was acting in compliance with the Establishment Clause
1212	1212		of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution or Article
1213	1213		II, Section 5 of the Oklahoma Constitution or other existing state
1214	1214		and federal laws.
1215	1215
1216	1216
1217	1217		Req. No. 1624 Page 17 1
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1266	1266		SECTION 5. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
1267	1267		in the Oklahoma Statu tes as Section 24-157.3 of Title 70, unless
1268	1268		there is created a duplication in numb ering, reads as follows:
1269	1269		A. The Stop the Wrongs to Our Kids and Employee s (Stop
1270	1270		W.O.K.E.) Act is constructed on the premise that:
1271	1271		1. The United States is a constitutional r epublic of which this
1272	1272		state is a part;
1273	1273		2. The United States Constitution is the supreme sov ereign law
1274	1274		of this country that preempts all state and federal law;
1275	1275		3. The First Amendment to the United States Constitution
1276	1276		applies to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment to the United
1277	1277		States Constitution;
1278	1278		4. The Establishment Clause of the Firs t Amendment to the
1279	1279		United States Constitution and Article II, Section 5 of the Oklahoma
1280	1280		Constitution were not merely designed to prevent the state from
1281	1281		respecting and promoting the doctrines of institution alized
1282	1282		religions but those of non -institutionalized religions;
1283	1283		5. All members of the Legislature and all executive and
1284	1284		judicial officers are bound b y oath or affirmation pursuant to
1285	1285		Article VI, Clause 3 of the United States Constitution to not create
1286	1286		or enforce policies that violate the Establishment Clause or the
1287	1287		Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment to the United States
1288	1288		Constitution regardless of the member’s or officer’s party
1289	1289		affiliation or personal religi ous beliefs;
1290	1290
1291	1291
1292	1292		Req. No. 1624 Page 18 1
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1341	1341		6. The Establishment Clause balanced with the Free Exercise
1342	1342		Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution is
1343	1343		the controlling constitutional authority in infor ming this state on
1344	1344		how to respond and react to critical race theor y;
1345	1345		7. Emotional appeals shall not be used to usurp the
1346	1346		Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States
1347	1347		Constitution or Article II, Section 5 of the Oklahoma Constitution
1348	1348		in an effort to justify the government ’s creation or enforcement of
1349	1349		policies that respect, endorse, favor, or promote critical race
1350	1350		theory;
1351	1351		8. All policies put forth by public schools that respect,
1352	1352		favor, endorse, or promote critical race theory fail the lemon test
1353	1353		first established by the United States Supreme Court and are thereby
1354	1354		preempted by the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the
1355	1355		United States Constitution and Article II, Section 5 of the Oklahoma
1356	1356		Constitution in their making and enforcem ent and shall be enjoined
1357	1357		from enforcement because the policies:
1358	1358		a. constitute non-secular shams that lack a primary
1359	1359		secular purpose,
1360	1360		b. cultivate indefensibl e legal weapons against non -
1361	1361		observers of the religion of secular humanism , and
1362	1362		c. have the effect of excessively entangling the
1363	1363		government with the religion of s ecular humanism;
1364	1364
1365	1365
1366	1366		Req. No. 1624 Page 19 1
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1415	1415		9. In the wake of policies in public schools that respect,
1416	1416		favor, endorse, or promote critical race theory, there has not been
1417	1417		the promised equality, unity, and to lerance but instead, there has
1418	1418		been:
1419	1419		a. the cultivation of moral superiori ty complexes in
1420	1420		observers of critical race th eory, and
1421	1421		b. the social marginalization and oppress ion of the non-
1422	1422		observers of critical race theory; and
1423	1423		10. This state shall be particularly vigilant in monitoring
1424	1424		compliance with the Establishment Clause in the public school
1425	1425		context to protect minors fr om religious indoctrination with the
1426	1426		government’s stamp of approval, especially when that religious
1427	1427		ideology promotes licentiousn ess or attempts to justify practices
1428	1428		that are inconsistent with the peace and saf ety of the state.
1429	1429		B. The Stop W.O.K.E. Act shall not be constructed as
1430	1430		prohibiting students or teachers from believing in or from refusing
1431	1431		to believe in the plausibility of cri tical race theory or practices
1432	1432		because such beliefs and practices are protected un der the Free
1433	1433		Exercise Clause of the First Amendment to the United States
1434	1434		Constitution and under Article II, Section 5 of the Oklahoma
1435	1435		Constitution. The Stop W.O.K.E. Act shal l be constructed on the
1436	1436		premise that protections of religious practices under the Free
1437	1437		Exercise Clause of the First Amendment to the United States
1438	1438		Constitution and Article II, Section 5 of the Oklahoma Constitution
1439	1439
1440	1440
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1490	1490		are not absolute, and this state is authorized to regulate or
1491	1491		prohibit certain religious practices pursuant to its inherent police
1492	1492		powers afforded under the Tenth Amendment to the United States
1493	1493		Constitution if those practices promote licentiousness or are
1494	1494		inconsistent with the peace and safety of the state. Critical race
1495	1495		theory attempts to justify practices that are inconsist ent with the
1496	1496		peace and safety of this state.
1497	1497		SECTION 6. This act shall becom e effective July 1, 2023.
1498	1498		SECTION 7. It being immediately necess ary for the preservation
1499	1499		of the public peace, health , or safety, an emergency is h ereby
1500	1500		declared to exist, by reason whereof this act shall take effect and
1501	1501		be in full force from and after its passage and approval.
1502	1502
1503	1503		59-1-1624 EB 1/19/2023 10:56:39 AM