OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma lawmakers filed hundreds of bills affecting education for the next legislative session.

Oklahoma Voice collected some of the top trends and topics that emerged in legislation related to students, teachers and schools. The state Legislature will begin considering bills once its 2025 session begins Feb. 3.

Bills would restrict minors’ use of cellphones and social media

As expected, lawmakers filed multiple bills to limit student cellphone use in public schools, an issue that leaders in both chambers of the Legislature have said is a top priority this year.

The House and Senate each have a bill that would prohibit students from using cellphones during the entire school day. Some while others allow cellphone access in between classes.

After , Gov. Kevin Stitt that have done so.

from Education Committee vice chair Sen. Ally Seifried, R-Claremore, would require all districts to ban students from accessing their cellphones from the morning bell until dismissal, and it would create a $2 million grant program to help schools enact phone-free policies.

from a House leader on education funding, Rep. Chad Caldwell, R-Enid, would prohibit student cellphone use while on school premises.

Multiple bills target children’s social media use. Sen. Kristen Thompson, R-Edmond, aims to ban social media accounts for anyone under 16 with and, with , to deem social media addictive and dangerous for youth mental health. 

A from Seifried would outlaw social media companies from collecting data from and personalizing content for a minor’s account, which a child wouldn’t be allowed to have without parent consent

from Sen. Micheal Bergstron, R-Adair, would require districts to prohibit the use of social media on school computers or on school-issued devices while on campus. from Sen. Darcy Jech, R-Kingfisher, would allow minors or their parents to sue a social media company over an “adverse mental health outcome arising, in whole or in part, from the minor’s excessive use of the social media platform’s algorithmically curated service.”

School chaplain bill reemerges

Multiple lawmakers have refiled a bill seeking to enable . A version of the controversial bill but .

Its original author, Rep. Kevin West, R-Moore, refiled it as . Sen. Shane Jett, R-Shawnee, and Sen. Dana Prieto, R-Tulsa, filed similar school chaplain bills with and .

More restrictions suggested for sex education, gender expression

Another unsuccessful bill returning this year is legislation that would have families opt into sex education for their children instead of opting out, which is the state’s current policy.

Students wouldn’t be allowed to take any sex education course or hear a related presentation without written permission from their parents under from Prieto, from Danny Williams, R-Seminole, and from Rep. Tim Turner, R-Kinta.

Sen. Dusty Deevers, R-Elgin, would have any reference to sex education and mental health removed from health education in schools with .

Prieto’s bill also would exclude any instruction about sexual orientation or gender identity from sex education courses. It would require school employees to notify a child’s parents before referring to the student by a different name or pronouns.

Other bills similarly would limit students’ ability to be called by a different name or set of pronouns at school if it doesn’t correspond to their biological sex.

¶Ů±đ±đ±ą±đ°ů˛ő’ would bar teachers from calling students by pronouns other than what aligns with their biological sex or by any name other than their legal name without parent consent. Educators and fellow students could not be punished for calling a child by their legal name and biological pronouns.

Rep. Gabe Woolley, R-Broken Arrow, filed a .

No public school could compel an employee or volunteer to refer to a student by a name or pronoun other than what corresponds with their sex at birth under from Sen. David Bullard, R-Durant, nor could any printed or multimedia materials in a school refer to a student by another gender.

Corporal punishment in schools

Once again, Oklahoma lawmakers will consider whether to outlaw of students with disabilities. State law currently prohibits using physical pain as discipline on children with only the most significant cognitive disabilities.

In 2020, the state Department of Education used its administrative rules to ban corporal punishment on any student with a disability, but similar bills have failed to pass the state Legislature, drawing frustration from child advocates.

Sen. Dave Rader, R-Tulsa, was an author of last year’s bill to prohibit corporal punishment of students with any type of disability. He filed again for consideration this session.

from Rep. John Waldron, D-Tulsa, would require schools to report to the Oklahoma State Department of Education the number of times they administer corporal punishment along with the age, race, gender and disability status of the students receiving it. The state Department of Education would then have to compile the information in a report to the Oklahoma Commission on Children and Youth.

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Oklahoma Voice maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Janelle Stecklein for questions: info@oklahomavoice.com.

The state won’t allow satanists to take advantage of a new law allowing religious chaplains to serve as counselors in public schools for students whose parents approve, Gov. Ron DeSantis said Thursday while signing the legislation.

The governor also predicted the state would prevail if the new law draws a legal challenge over separation of church and state concerns.

“It’s our view that if school districts want to bring in chaplains to offer voluntary services, they’re within their right to do so. But there’s been a lot of confusion about that, about what’s permitted and what’s not. This legislation clarifies that, yes, school districts and charter schools have the authority to allow volunteer chaplains to be on campus and provide additional counseling and support to students,” DeSantis said during a bill-signing ceremony at Tohopekaliga High School in Kissimmee.

Students with problems may benefit from “some soul craft,” he added.

“It’s totally voluntary for a parent or a student to participate. No one’ s being forced to do anything. But to exclude religious groups from campus, that is discrimination. You’re basically saying that God has no place. That’s wrong. That’s not what our Founding Fathers intended,” DeSantis said.

“Some have said that if you do a school chaplain program that, somehow, you’re going to have satanists running around in all our schools. We’re not playing those games in Florida. That is not a religion. That is not qualified to be able to participate in this. So, we’re going to be using common sense when it comes to this. You don’t have to worry about it.”

Representatives of the Satanic Temple that they intend to take advantage of the law. The group claims .

Counseling

The measure, , allows schools to authorize religious figures to offer counseling on campus. They would publish lists of these chaplains “to provide support, services, and programs to students as assigned by the district school board or charter school governing board,” the legislation says.

“Parents must be permitted to select a volunteer school chaplain from the list provided by the school district, which must include the chaplain’s religious affiliation, if any,” the law adds.

The legislation doesn’t outline qualifications for the volunteer chaplains other than passing a background check.

The governor also signed , which allows “” to address and recruit students with their parents’ consent. The state law refers to a list of groups designated by Congress, including the Boy Scouts of America, Girl Scouts of the United States of America, Boys & Girls Clubs of America, and the Civil Air Patrol.

DeSantis reflected on the chaplains he encountered while in the U.S. Navy, some of them on the front lines.

“I think that model of just having this available as part of the services that you’re providing like we do in the military, we should be doing the same for our students here in school.”

Veto Urged

Regarding chaplains, groups including the ACLU, Interfaith Alliance, and National Education Association on ground that the program would allow religious indoctrination. The ACLU of Florida urged DeSantis to veto the bill.

DeSantis seemed primed for a fight.

“What the ACLU is basically saying is that it’s OK to discriminate against religious organizations. They think the church should be a second-class citizen. They think you should not have the same access to come to campus that any other student organization or other types of groups would have, that it’s an inferior status,” he said Thursday.

“The First Amendment was enacted to prevent that. The First Amendment was enacted to ensure that people weren’t discriminated against on the basis of religion or the basis of their faith. So, I think it’s a bogus challenge. I do not think it’s gonna go anywhere,” he continued.

The Legislature crafted the bill, DeSantis said, so that “if this is something that you don’t want, it doesn’t affect you at all and you don’t even have to worry about it.”

The Phoenix reached out to the ACLU for comment but hasn’t heard back yet.

Christian Nationalism

The governor appeared to endorse arguments proffered by Christian nationalist writer David Barton, who said that the writers of the Constitution favored an active role for religion in government. Other scholars have , and Barton’s publisher withdrew his 2012 book, “The Jefferson Lies,” on the ground that “basic truths just were not there.”

“When education in the United States started, every school was a religious school. I mean, that was just part of it. Public schools were religious schools,” DeSantis insisted. “You know, there has been things that have been done over the years that veered away from it, that original intent. But the reality is, I think what we’re doing is really restoring the sense of purpose that our Founding Fathers wanted to see in education.”

The ACLU of Florida issued a written statement.

“Public schools are not Sunday schools and chaplains are not school counselors. Allowing chaplains to assume official positions — whether paid or voluntary — in public schools as counselors or other support staff will undermine this right by creating an environment ripe for evangelizing and religious coercion of students in violation of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution,” the organization said.

“Across the country, families and students practice a wide variety of faiths, and many are nonreligious. All should feel welcome in public schools. Even well-intentioned chaplain policies will undermine this fundamental premise of our public-education system and violate our longstanding First Amendment principles.”

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Florida Phoenix maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Diane Rado for questions: info@floridaphoenix.com. Follow Florida Phoenix on and .