HB 1937: Schools; student communications; school personnel; administrative leave; investigation; effective date; emergency. - Oklahoma

Floor (House) → Floor (Senate) · 6 edits

MODERATE

The bill was revised to shift control over administrative leave decisions from the school district to the state, requiring mandatory leave for any personnel accused of misconduct until an investigation concludes. Additionally, the definition of 'school personnel' was expanded to include school bus drivers, and the requirement for corroborated reports was strengthened to ensure due process before employment actions are taken.

Scope change

The scope of mandatory administrative leave was broadened to apply to all school personnel, including bus drivers, and the authority to order such leave was transferred from local school boards to the state mandate.

REQUIREMENT

Changed the requirement for administrative leave from being optional for school districts to mandatory for all personnel accused of misconduct until an investigation is complete.

Clarified that if no misconduct is found, the incident must still be noted in the employee file, whereas the House version stated the incident would not be noted.

Replaced the requirement for a 'corroborated report' with a 'corroborated report' in the Senate version, ensuring a higher standard of evidence is met before administrative leave is triggered.

ENFORCEMENT

Updated the consequences for misconduct to explicitly require reporting to law enforcement, whereas the previous version did not specify this step.

DEFINITION

Added school bus drivers to the official definition of 'school personnel' to ensure they are covered by the new communication and investigation rules.

Refined the definition of 'student' to explicitly exclude individuals who already hold a high school diploma or equivalency.

House Committee Substitute → Floor (House) · 1 edit

MINOR

The bill text was updated from the House Committee Substitute version to the Floor version, incorporating the Senate co-author's name and reformatting the header to reflect the official floor presentation. The substantive policy language regarding student communication rules, administrative leave procedures, and emergency declarations remains identical to the previous version.

TECHNICAL

Updated the document header to include the Senate co-author (Green) and changed the title line to 'HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES - FLOOR VERSION' to reflect the bill's current status in the legislative process.

Proposed Committee Substitute (full committee) 3 → House Committee Substitute · 4 edits

MODERATE

The bill was completely rewritten to replace a placeholder oversight document with a finalized act. The new version establishes clear definitions for students and school personnel, mandates that parents be included in electronic communications with students unless an emergency exists, and sets specific procedures for handling misconduct investigations, including reinstatement without penalty if no wrongdoing is found.

Scope change

The bill's scope shifted from a draft oversight document to a finalized legislative act with specific effective dates and emergency declarations.

DEFINITION

Added specific definitions for 'electronic or digital communication,' 'school personnel,' and 'student' to clarify the bill's application.

REQUIREMENT

Mandated that school personnel include parents or legal guardians in electronic communications with students, with exceptions only for emergencies.

ENFORCEMENT

Updated the investigation process to require the immediate reinstatement of personnel found innocent of misconduct and the removal of the incident from their employee file.

TIMELINE

Set a specific effective date of July 1, 2026, and declared an emergency to allow immediate implementation upon approval.

Proposed Committee Substitute (full committee) 2 → Proposed Committee Substitute (full committee) 3 · 4 edits

MODERATE

The bill was amended to change the sponsor from Representatives Sterling and Lowe to Representative Chris Kannady. Substantive changes include renumbering the emergency clause from Section 3 to Section 2 and updating the bill's requirement number from 16242 to 16762. Minor formatting adjustments were made to spacing and punctuation within the text.

Scope change

The scope of the bill remains unchanged; the amendments are primarily procedural and technical.

TECHNICAL

The bill sponsor was changed from Danny Sterling and Lowe to Chris Kannady.

The bill's requirement number was updated from 16242 to 16762.

The emergency clause was renumbered from Section 3 to Section 2.

Minor adjustments to spacing and punctuation were made throughout the document.

Proposed Committee Substitute (full committee) 1 → Proposed Committee Substitute (full committee) 2 · 7 edits

MODERATE

The bill was updated to reflect the 2026 legislative session and added a new co-sponsor. The core policy changes significantly expand protections for school employees by allowing them to be placed on administrative leave during investigations without it affecting their permanent employment records, provided no misconduct is found. Additionally, the definition of 'student' was clarified to exclude individuals who have already graduated, and the requirement for parents to be included in communications now includes automatic inclusion on school-approved platforms.

Scope change

The bill's applicability was extended to the 2nd Session of the 60th Legislature (2026) and the effective date was updated to July 1, 2026.

TIMELINE

The legislative session changed from the 1st Session of 2025 to the 2nd Session of 2026, and the effective date was updated to July 1, 2026.

SCOPE

A new co-sponsor, Representative Lowe, was added to the bill.

DEFINITION

The definition of 'student' was expanded to explicitly exclude individuals who already hold a high school diploma or equivalency.

REQUIREMENT

Schools are now required to automatically include parents or legal guardians in communications with students when using school-approved platforms.

Schools are permitted to place school personnel on administrative leave during investigations, but if the investigation finds no misconduct, the employee must be reinstated and the incident must not appear in their permanent employee file.

If an investigation finds no misconduct, the finding of no misconduct must be noted in the employee's file, whereas previously no specific notation was required for cleared cases.

TECHNICAL

The bill's page numbering and reference numbers were updated to reflect the new version.

Enrolled (final version) → Proposed Committee Substitute (full committee) 1 · 4 edits

MODERATE

The bill was completely rewritten by the committee to remove the requirement that school personnel be placed on administrative leave when accused of misconduct. Instead, the new version allows for administrative leave only as an option, mandates that the incident be noted in the employee's file regardless of the outcome, and changes the effective date from July 1, 2026, to July 1, 2025.

Scope change

The bill's scope regarding disciplinary procedures for school staff was significantly altered, shifting from a mandatory leave policy to a discretionary one with stricter record-keeping requirements.

REQUIREMENT

The mandatory requirement to place school personnel on administrative leave during investigations was removed and replaced with language stating they 'shall may be put on administrative leave,' making it optional for districts.

The consequence for an investigation finding no misconduct changed from 'noting the incident in the employee file' to 'noting the incident in the employee file,' meaning the record will now exist even if the staff member is cleared.

TIMELINE

The effective date of the law was moved forward from July 1, 2026, to July 1, 2025.

TECHNICAL

The citation for the Oklahoma Statutes was updated from the 2024 Supplement to the 2024 main volume, and the bill title was updated to reflect the modified requirements.

Engrossed → Enrolled (final version) · 2 edits · Mar 11, 2026

MINOR

The bill was finalized as an Enrolled version, updating the Senate sponsor name and adding official signatures for the House, Senate, and Governor. The core policy text regarding student communication rules and employee disciplinary procedures remained substantively unchanged from the Engrossed version.

TECHNICAL

The Senate sponsor name was updated from 'Green' to 'Howard' to reflect the final legislative record.

Official certification blocks were added for the House, Senate, and Governor, including dates and signature lines, to finalize the bill's legal status.

Introduced → Engrossed · 5 edits · Mar 10, 2026

MODERATE

The bill was updated from its original introduction to its final engrossed version, changing the sponsors and significantly altering the policy regarding student communication. The most critical change is the effective date, which was moved from July 1, 2025, to July 1, 2026. Additionally, the rules for disciplining school staff were tightened: staff can now only be placed on administrative leave if there is a corroborated report of misconduct, and if the investigation finds no wrongdoing, the incident must not be noted in their employee file.

Scope change

The scope of the bill's applicability remains focused on student communication in public schools, but the enforcement mechanisms for staff violations have been modified to require corroboration before administrative leave is granted.

TIMELINE

The effective date of the law was changed from July 1, 2025, to July 1, 2026, delaying when the new rules take effect.

REQUIREMENT

Administrative leave for school personnel is now conditional on having a corroborated report of misconduct, whereas previously it was automatic upon a report.

If an investigation finds no misconduct occurred, the incident must no longer be noted in the employee's file, protecting staff from having unsubstantiated allegations on their record.

DEFINITION

The definition of 'student' was expanded to explicitly include those pursuing a high school equivalency diploma.

TECHNICAL

The bill text was updated to reflect the correct legislative session (60th Legislature, 2025) and updated the citation year from 2024 to 2025.

Schools; student communications; school personnel; administrative leave; investigation; effective date; emergency.

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