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STATE OF OKLAHOMA
1st Session of the 59th Legislature (2023)
SENATE BILL 935 By: Jett
AS INTRODUCED
An Act relating to schools; providing certain
legislative recognition; amending 70 O.S. 2021,
Section 24-157, which relates to a prohib ition on the
instruction of certain concepts ; creating the Stop
the Wrongs to Our Kids and Employees (S top W.O.K.E.)
Act; providing short title; defining terms; expandi ng
concepts which are proh ibited from being part of a
course; prohibiting in public schools the use of
certain supplemental instructional materials;
providing for enforcement ; allowing certain civil
action and establishing awards; allowing the
dismissal of school officials, officers, and
employees who knowingly commit certain violation and
directing that they be declared in violation of
certain oath; prohibiting certain defense; providing
certain construction; prohibiting certain
discrimination; allowing certain civil action and
establishing awards; providing for affirmative
defense; providing for certain construction of act;
providing for noncodification; providing for
codification; providing an effective date; and
declaring an emergency .
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKL AHOMA:
SECTION 1. NEW LAW A new section of law not to be
codified in the Oklahoma Statutes reads as follows:
The Legislature hereby recognizes the following findings :
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1. The United States Co nstitution is not silent as to how
government actors in this state shall respond and react to critical
race theory for the matter arises under the Establishment Clause and
the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment to the United States
Constitution;
2. The Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the
United States Constitution state s that the government “shall make no
law respecting an establishment of religion ,” and Article II,
Section 5 of the Oklahoma Constitution states, “Public money or
property - Use for sectarian purposes. No public money or property
shall ever be appropriate d, applied, donated, or used, directly or
indirectly, for the use, benefit, or support of any sect, church,
denomination, or system of religion, or for the use, benefi t, or
support of any priest, preacher, m inister, or other religious
teacher or dignitary, or sectarian institution as such ”;
3. The Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment to the
United States Constitution states that the government “shall make no
law...prohibiting the free exercise [of rel igion]”;
4. The Establishment Clause of the First Amendment applies to
this state through the Fourteenth Amendment, and the United States
Supreme Court held in Hein v. Freedom From Religion Foundation Inc.,
551 U.S. 587 (2007) that the Establishment Clause applies to the
executive branch, which incl udes Oklahoma public schools;
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5. All that religion amounts to is a set of unproven answers to
the greater questions like “why are we here”, what gives us
identity, what should we be doing as humans, and what ha ppens after
death;
6. The Establishment Clause of the United States Constitution
was never solely designed to prohibit the government from respecting
and recognizing the doctrines of institutionalized religions but of
non-institutionalized religions, such as secular humanism;
7. The United States Supreme Court found that secular humanism
is a religion for the purposes of the First Amendment in cases such
as:
a. Torcaso v. Watkins, 367 U.S. 488 (1961) ,
b. School District of Abington Township, Pa. v. Schemp p,
374 U.S. 203 (1963),
c. United States v. Seeger, 380 US 163 (1965), and
d. Welsh v. United States, 398 U.S. 333 (1970);
8. Most of the United States courts of appeals have found that
secular humanism is a religi on for purposes of the First Amendment
in cases such as:
a. Malnak v. Yogi, 592 F.2d 197 (3d Cir.1979),
b. Theriault v. Silber, 547 F.2d 1279 (5th Cir.1977) ,
c. Thomas v. Review Bd., 450 U.S. 707 (1981) ,
d. Lindell v. McCallum, 352 F.3d 110 7 (7th Cir.2003),
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e. Real Alternatives, Inc. v. Sec ’y Dep’t of Health &
Human Servs.,150 F. Supp. 3d 419, 20 17 WL3324690 (3d
Cir. Aug.4, 2017), and
f. Wells v. City and County of Denver, 257 F.3d 1132
(10th Cir. 2001);
9. Religious experts have te stified under oath that critical
race theory is a doctrine, ortho doxy, ideology, and dogma that is
part of a worldview consisting of a series of unproven faith -based
assumptions and naked assertions that is implicitly religious and
inseparably linked to th e religion of secular humanism;
10. Regardless of political affi liation, all members of the
Legislature and all executive and judicial officers are bound by
oath to put their own political and religious beliefs aside and to
comply with their duty to honor their oath of office pursuant to
Article VI, Clause 3 of the United States Constitution to uphold the
United States Constitution and to, therefore, immediately stop
creating, respecting, and enforcing policies that promote the
plausibility of critical rac e theory because all of those policie s
fail all three prongs of t he lemon test established by the United
States Supreme Court in Lemon v. Kurtzman, 403 U.S. 602 (1971) for:
a. constituting non-secular shams that lack a primary
secular purpose,
b. cultivating indefensible legal weapons against non-
observers of the religi on of secular humanism, and
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c. serving to excessive ly entangle the government with
the religion of secular humanism;
11. The United States Supreme Court in Edwards v. Aguillard,
482 U.S. 578 (1987) and Agostini v. Felton, 521 U .S. 203 (1997)
found that if government action fails one prong of the lemon test,
it is unconstitutional, and the evidence shows that the enforcement
and creation of policies in public schools that respect critical
race theory fail all three prongs of the lemon test;
12. The United States Supreme Court in Lee v. Weisman, 505 U.S.
577 (1992) found that there are “heightened concerns with protecting
freedom of conscience from subtle coercive pressure in the
elementary and secondary public schools, ” while also holding in
Edwards v. Aguillard, 482 U.S. 578 (1987) that the government
“should be particularly vigilant in monitoring compliance with the
Establishment Clause in the public-school context,” when minors are
subjected to religious indoctrination with the perception of the
government’s stamp of approval;
13. According to the United States Supreme Court in cases like
Flast v. Cohen, 392 U.S. 83 (1968), a taxpayer with a logical nexus
to a controversy involv ing a government actor ’s violation of the
Establishment Clause has standing to sue to enforce compliance;
14. The federal courts have held in cases like Holloman v.
Harland, 370 F.3 1252 (11th Cir. 2004), that neither emotional
appeals nor sincerity of be lief can be used to usurp the
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Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, and the evidence shows
that all policies that respect, favor, endorse, or promote critical
race theory in public schools are based on a series of emotional
appeals;
15. There has not been the promised equality and unity
cultivated by teaching critical race t heory in public schools, but
instead, there has bee n division and an increase in racial tension
in an emotionally exploitative and intellectually dishonest manner
demonstrating that such policies are a sham that lack a primary
secular purpose;
16. Critical race theory is a non-secular divisive doctrine
that amounts to an attempt to justify practices that are
inconsistent with the peace and safety of this state by:
a. cultivating moral superiority complexes in observers
of critical race theory with the gove rnment’s
endorsement at the taxpayer ’s expense,
b. leading to the social marginalization and even violent
oppression of non-observers of critical race theory ,
and
c. conflicting with the neutral, non -controversial,
natural, secular, and self-evident truth that “all men
are created equal…endowed by their Cr eator with
certain unalienable rights, that among these are life,
liberty and the pursuit of happiness ”; and
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17. Pursuant to the police powers afforded to this state under
the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, the
Legislature has a compel ling reason to prevent the teaching of
divisive and controversial religious doctrin es in public schools
that are calculated to emotionally exploit race and cultivate racial
tensions in the advancement of a narrow and exclusive religious
worldview that is questionably moral and perspectively implausible.
SECTION 2. AMENDATORY 70 O.S. 2021, Sect ion 24-157, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 24-157. A. This act shall be known an d may be cited as
the “Stop the Wrongs to Our Kids and Employees (Stop W.O.K.E.) Act.
B. As used in this act:
1. “Critical race theory ” means a set of assertions and
unproven faith-based assumptions that form a doctrine, ideol ogy,
dogma, and orthodoxy that is inseparably linked to the religion of
secular humanism. The term involves non-secular divisive doctrine
that includes, but is not limited to, the concepts described in
paragraph 1 of subsection D of this section;
2. “Emotional appeal” means a method of persuasion through
sentiment, not logic, desig ned to create an emotional response to
achieve certain ends;
3. “Lemon test” means a three-prong test originally created by
the United States Supreme Court and adopted by this state which is
used to determine whether government action is unconstitutional
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under the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United
States Constitution. Government action violat es the Establishment
Clause and Article II, Section 5 of the Oklahoma Constitution if the
action fails to satisfy any of the prongs. The test requires that
state action or government policy:
a. have a valid secular purpose ,
b. not have the effect of advancing, endorsing, or
inhibiting religion, and
c. not foster excessive entanglement with a pa rticular
religion;
4. “Logical nexus” means at least some minimal, relevant,
legitimate, important, or rational connection and connotes a low-
threshold standard;
5. “Non-secular” means faith-based, not proven, predicated on
naked assertions, or emotional feelings, not self-evident objective
fact;
6. “Promote” means to advocate for, assist with, favor,
respect, endorse, encourage, or popularize throu gh advertising or
publicity;
7. “Public School” means a public educationa l institution that
is maintained at public expense for the education of th e children of
a community or district and that constitutes a part of a system of
free public education including primary and secondary schools from
grades prekindergarten through twelve. The term shall include
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accredited nonpublic educational institutions including primary and
secondary schools from grades prekindergarten through twelve;
8. “Religion” means a set of unproven answers to the greater
questions like “why are we here,” “what should we be doing as
humans,” “how do we get our identity,” and “what happens after
death”. The term means a closed syste m and group or community that
is organized, full, and provides a comprehensive code by which
individuals may guide their daily a ctivities. Religion involves an
ultimate concern or sincere belief and can be non -theistic or
theistic;
9. “Secular humanism” means a faith-based worldview that is
also referred to as postmodern-western-individualistic moral
relativism, expressive indivi dualism, or antitheism and is often the
mirror opposite of theism. The term refers to a religion that
worships man as the source of all knowledge and truth. The term
includes a belief system that is centered on the unproven
assumptions that there are no moral absolutes and no one moral
doctrine should be used as the superior basis for l aw and policy,
except for the religious doctrin es of secular humanism. The term
includes a series of unproven faith-based assumptions and naked
assertions that suggest tha t morality and truth are man -made
conventions and that at the heart of liberty is ma n’s ability to
define his own meaning of the uni verse. The term refers to a
religion that tends to promote licentiousness and to justify
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practices that are inconsistent wit h the peace and safety of the
state. The term refers to the belief that man is mer ely a bundle of
chemicals, animated pieces of meat, or accidental particles, that
nature is all there is, and that there is nothing after death.
Critical race theory is a d octrine, ideology, orthodoxy, an d dogma
that is inseparably linked to this religion . The term refers to a
religion that has many different denominational sects and is
expressed in widely varying ways;
10. “Taxpayer standing” means the standing of a taxpa yer to
file a lawsuit against a government actor that is directly or
symbolically engaging in practices that violate the Establishment
Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution or
Article II, Section 5 of the Oklahoma Constitution after the
government actor actually or prospectively engaged in action that
potentially failed at least one prong of the lemon test. A taxpayer
shall have a logical nexus to a governme nt actor’s violation to
assert taxpayer standing. A person who pays sales tax in this state
can successfully assert this form of standing before the courts of
competent jurisdiction.
C. 1. No enrolled student of an institution of higher
education within The Oklahoma State System of Higher Education shall
be required to engage in any form of mandatory gender or sexual
diversity training or counseling; provid ed, voluntary counseling
shall not be prohibite d. Any orientation or requirement that
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presents any form of race or sex stereotyping or a bias on the basis
of race or sex shall be prohibited.
2. Pursuant to the provisions of the Administrative Procedures
Act, the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Edu cation shall
promulgate rules, subject to approval by the Legislature, to
implement the provisions of this subsection.
B. D. The provisions of this subsection shall not prohibit the
teaching of concepts that a lign to the Oklahoma Academic Standards.
1. No teacher, administrator or other employee of a schoo l
district, charter school or virtual c harter school shall require or
make part of a course the following concepts:
a. one race or sex is inherently superior to another race
or sex,
b. an individual, by virtue of his or her race or sex, is
inherently racist, sexist or oppressive, whether
consciously or unconsciously,
c. an individual should be discriminated ag ainst or
receive adverse treatment solely or partly because of
his or her race or sex,
d. members of one race or sex cannot and should not
attempt to treat others without respect to race or
sex,
e. an individual’s moral character is necessarily
determined by his or her race or sex,
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f. an individual, by vir tue of his or her race or sex,
bears responsibility for actions committed in the past
by other members of the same race or sex,
g. any individual should feel discomfort, gui lt, anguish
or any other form of psychological distress on account
of his or her race or sex, or
h. meritocracy or traits such as a hard work ethic are
racist or sexist or were creat ed by members of a
particular race to o ppress members of another race ,
i. the violent overthrow of the United States government
should be promoted,
j. this state or the United States is fundamentally or
irredeemably racist or sexist,
k. division between or resentment of a race, sex,
religion, creed, nonviolent political af filiation,
social class, or class of people should be promoted,
l. character traits, valu es, morals, or ethical codes can
be ascribed to a race or sex or to an individual
because of the individual’s race or sex,
m. the rule of law does not exist but instead is a series
of power relationships and struggles among racial or
other groups,
n. all Americans are not created e qual and are not
endowed by their creator with certain unalie nable
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rights including life, liberty, and the pursuit of
happiness, or
o. governments should deny to any person within the
government’s jurisdiction the equal protection of the
law.
2. The State Board of Education shall promulgate rules, subject
to approval by the Legislature, to implement the provisions of this
subsection.
SECTION 3. NEW LAW A ne w section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 24-157.1 of Title 70, unless
there is created a duplication in numb ering, reads as follows:
A. Pursuant to the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment
to the United States Constitutio n and Article II, Section 5 of the
Oklahoma Constitution, a public school shall not include, as part of
a course of instruction or in a curriculum or instructional program,
or allow or force teachers or other e mployees of the public school
to use supplemental instructional materials that e ndorse, favor,
respect, or promote critical race theory because the policies fail
the Lemon test for:
1. Constituting non-secular shams that lack a primary secular
purpose;
2. Cultivating indefensible legal weapons again st non-observers
of the religion of secular humanism; and
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3. Having the effect of excessively entangling the government
with the religion of secular humanism.
B. The following persons may enforce the provisions of
subsection A of this section in a civil court of competent
jurisdiction:
1. A taxpayer of this state or a political subdivision of this
state who has taxpayer standing;
2. A parent or legal guardian who pays taxes in this state and
who has a student in a public school that has violated the
provisions of subsection A of this section has taxpayer standing;
and
3. A public school employee who is punished b y a public school
for refusing to teach critical race theory to students.
C. A plaintiff who brings a civil action against a public
school for violating the provisions of subsection A of this s ection
may seek and be awarded the following by a court of competent
jurisdiction:
1. Attorney fees and costs;
2. Actual damages;
3. Injunctive relief; and
4. Other forms of equitable relief deemed app ropriate.
D. A school official, officer, or employ ee of the state who
knowingly violates the provisions of subsection A of this section
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may be dismissed from the person’s office or position, and the
person’s employment may be terminated immediately.
E. Any public school official who violates the provisions of
subsection A of this section may be declared to be in violation of
their oath of office established under Article VI, Clause 3 of the
United States Constitu tion and subjected to declaratory relief fo r a
violation in a court of competent jurisdiction.
F. Sincerity of belief or emotional appeals shall not
constitute a valid defense for a violation of the provisions of
subsection A of this section.
G. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection A of this
section to the contrary, the provisions of this section do not
prohibit a public school from including, as part of a course of
instruction or in a curriculum or instructional program, or from
allowing teachers in a public school to use supplemental
instructional materials that include:
1. The history of an ethnic group, as described in textbooks
and instructional materials adopted in accordance with approved
curriculum;
2. The impartial and neutral discussion of controversial
aspects of history;
3. The impartial and neutral instruction on the histori cal
oppression of a particular group of people based on race, ethnicity,
class, nationality, religion, or geographic region; or
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4. Historical documents.
SECTION 4. NEW LAW A new se ction of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statute s as Section 24-157.2 of Title 70, unless
there is created a duplication in numb ering, reads as follows:
A. Pursuant to the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment
to the United States Constitution an d Article II, Section 5 of the
Oklahoma Constitution, a public school shall not discriminate
against any person for believing in or for failing to believe in th e
plausibility of critical race theory.
B. A student or teacher who experiences discrimination by a
public school as described in subsection A of this section shall
have standing to file suit in a court of competent jurisdiction
where they can seek:
1. Injunctive relief;
2. Attorney fees and costs;
3. Actual damages; and
4. Other forms of relief deemed appropriate.
C. It shall be an absolute an d affirmative defense in a civil
action brought pursuant to subsection A of this section that the
public school was acting in compliance with the Establishment Clause
of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution or Article
II, Section 5 of the Oklahoma Constitution or other existing state
and federal laws.
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SECTION 5. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statu tes as Section 24-157.3 of Title 70, unless
there is created a duplication in numb ering, reads as follows:
A. The Stop the Wrongs to Our Kids and Employee s (Stop
W.O.K.E.) Act is constructed on the premise that:
1. The United States is a constitutional r epublic of which this
state is a part;
2. The United States Constitution is the supreme sov ereign law
of this country that preempts all state and federal law;
3. The First Amendment to the United States Constitution
applies to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment to the United
States Constitution;
4. The Establishment Clause of the Firs t Amendment to the
United States Constitution and Article II, Section 5 of the Oklahoma
Constitution were not merely designed to prevent the state from
respecting and promoting the doctrines of institution alized
religions but those of non -institutionalized religions;
5. All members of the Legislature and all executive and
judicial officers are bound b y oath or affirmation pursuant to
Article VI, Clause 3 of the United States Constitution to not create
or enforce policies that violate the Establishment Clause or the
Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment to the United States
Constitution regardless of the member’s or officer’s party
affiliation or personal religi ous beliefs;
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6. The Establishment Clause balanced with the Free Exercise
Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution is
the controlling constitutional authority in infor ming this state on
how to respond and react to critical race theor y;
7. Emotional appeals shall not be used to usurp the
Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States
Constitution or Article II, Section 5 of the Oklahoma Constitution
in an effort to justify the government ’s creation or enforcement of
policies that respect, endorse, favor, or promote critical race
theory;
8. All policies put forth by public schools that respect,
favor, endorse, or promote critical race theory fail the lemon test
first established by the United States Supreme Court and are thereby
preempted by the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the
United States Constitution and Article II, Section 5 of the Oklahoma
Constitution in their making and enforcem ent and shall be enjoined
from enforcement because the policies:
a. constitute non-secular shams that lack a primary
secular purpose,
b. cultivate indefensibl e legal weapons against non -
observers of the religion of secular humanism , and
c. have the effect of excessively entangling the
government with the religion of s ecular humanism;
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9. In the wake of policies in public schools that respect,
favor, endorse, or promote critical race theory, there has not been
the promised equality, unity, and to lerance but instead, there has
been:
a. the cultivation of moral superiori ty complexes in
observers of critical race th eory, and
b. the social marginalization and oppress ion of the non-
observers of critical race theory; and
10. This state shall be particularly vigilant in monitoring
compliance with the Establishment Clause in the public school
context to protect minors fr om religious indoctrination with the
government’s stamp of approval, especially when that religious
ideology promotes licentiousn ess or attempts to justify practices
that are inconsistent with the peace and saf ety of the state.
B. The Stop W.O.K.E. Act shall not be constructed as
prohibiting students or teachers from believing in or from refusing
to believe in the plausibility of cri tical race theory or practices
because such beliefs and practices are protected un der the Free
Exercise Clause of the First Amendment to the United States
Constitution and under Article II, Section 5 of the Oklahoma
Constitution. The Stop W.O.K.E. Act shal l be constructed on the
premise that protections of religious practices under the Free
Exercise Clause of the First Amendment to the United States
Constitution and Article II, Section 5 of the Oklahoma Constitution
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are not absolute, and this state is authorized to regulate or
prohibit certain religious practices pursuant to its inherent police
powers afforded under the Tenth Amendment to the United States
Constitution if those practices promote licentiousness or are
inconsistent with the peace and safety of the state. Critical race
theory attempts to justify practices that are inconsist ent with the
peace and safety of this state.
SECTION 6. This act shall becom e effective July 1, 2023.
SECTION 7. It being immediately necess ary for the preservation
of the public peace, health , or safety, an emergency is h ereby
declared to exist, by reason whereof this act shall take effect and
be in full force from and after its passage and approval.
59-1-1624 EB 1/19/2023 10:56:39 AM