SB 1733: Schools; requiring public and private school employees to report certain disclosure, allegation, or information to law enforcement within certain time period; requiring school employees to annually sign certain attestation. Effective date. Emergency. - Oklahoma

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

MODERATE

The bill was transitioned from the House to the Senate floor, resulting in significant formatting cleanup and minor text clarifications. The Senate version removed redundant line breaks and slightly refined the language regarding law enforcement reporting and investigation protocols to improve readability and precision.

TECHNICAL

Removed redundant line breaks and empty lines throughout the document to clean up the formatting.

Updated the header information to reflect the Senate Floor Version and Committee Substitute status.

REQUIREMENT

Refined the summary description of the bill's purpose to clarify that reports are required prior to 'investigation or questioning' rather than just 'formal investigation or questioning'.

Adjusted the description of consequences for violations to remove the specific reference to 'termination of employment' in the summary, broadening the language to 'disciplined according to policy'.

Clarified the requirement for school resource officers to submit written reports to independent law enforcement agencies.

Strengthened the restriction on school officials, explicitly prohibiting them from conducting interviews or disciplinary proceedings until law enforcement has been notified and has had the opportunity to interview involved parties.

SB1733 (2-26-26) (THOMPSON) FA1.PDF → Floor (House) · 6 edits

MODERATE

The bill was converted from a Senate floor amendment into a House floor version, incorporating specific changes to student communication protocols and reporting requirements. The most significant substantive change is the addition of a new section requiring all school employees to report allegations of sexual abuse to law enforcement within 24 hours, prior to any internal school investigation. The bill also mandates that school personnel must include parents in electronic communications with students unless an emergency exists, and it restricts school officials from conducting formal interviews or disciplinary actions until law enforcement has been notified and had a chance to interview involved parties.

Scope change

The bill's scope expanded to include private school employees alongside public school employees for reporting requirements, and it clarified that 'local law enforcement' includes campus police departments but excludes school resource officers unless directed by an independent agency.

REQUIREMENT

Added a mandatory 24-hour reporting window for school employees to notify law enforcement of sexual abuse allegations before any internal school investigation occurs.

Added a requirement for school personnel to include parents or legal guardians in all electronic communications with students, with limited emergency exceptions.

Added a requirement for school districts to provide training on student communication rules developed by the State Department of Education.

ENFORCEMENT

Modified the process for handling misconduct by requiring administrative leave for accused staff pending investigation and mandating that formal interviews and disciplinary proceedings wait until law enforcement has been notified.

Clarified that 'local law enforcement' includes campus police departments but excludes school resource officers unless directed by an independent agency.

DEFINITION

Added a new definition for 'school personnel' to explicitly include teachers, coaches, administrators, bus drivers, and other full-time or part-time employees.

Committee Substitute → SB1733 (2-26-26) (THOMPSON) FA1.PDF · 4 edits

MODERATE

This amendment modifies SB 1733 to expand the definition of reportable student misconduct to include sexual activity, sexual contact, and other inappropriate behavior. It clarifies that 'local law enforcement' excludes school resource officers unless specifically directed, requiring them to submit written reports instead. Additionally, it mandates that formal disciplinary actions or interviews of accused students cannot occur until law enforcement has been notified and has had a chance to interview parties, with a safety exception. The bill also adds a requirement for school employees to annually sign an attestation regarding their reporting duties.

Scope change

The scope of reportable offenses was expanded from sexual abuse/assault/misconduct to include sexual activity, sexual contact, and any other inappropriate or unlawful behavior. The definition of 'local law enforcement' was narrowed to exclude school-employed officers unless directed by an independent agency.

REQUIREMENT

Expanded the list of reportable student behaviors to include sexual activity, sexual contact, and any other inappropriate or unlawful behavior.

Added a procedural requirement that formal interviews and disciplinary proceedings regarding allegations must wait until law enforcement has been notified and interviewed involved parties, unless immediate student safety is at risk.

Added a new annual attestation requirement for all public and private school employees to acknowledge their responsibility to report suspected child abuse or neglect.

ENFORCEMENT

Clarified that school resource officers are not considered 'local law enforcement' for reporting purposes unless directed by an independent agency, requiring them to submit written reports instead.

Enrolled (final version) → Committee Substitute · 1 edit

MINOR

The bill was converted from a Senate version to a Committee Substitute, which involved significant reformatting to comply with state legislative markup standards. The substantive policy content regarding student communications, mandatory reporting, and investigation protocols remains identical to the original version, with no changes to the law's scope, requirements, or effective date.

TECHNICAL

The document structure was updated to include page headers, line numbers, and specific formatting required for the Committee Substitute stage, replacing the original 'Enrolled' header and layout.

Engrossed → Enrolled (final version) · 3 edits · Apr 22, 2026

MINOR

The bill was finalized as an Enrolled version, adding co-sponsor Lawson Bashore to the House and including standard signatures and dates. The core policy text remains identical to the Engrossed version, maintaining strict requirements for schools to notify law enforcement within 24 hours of suspected student sexual abuse and prohibiting school officials from interviewing victims or conducting disciplinary hearings until law enforcement has been notified.

Scope change

The scope of the bill's substantive requirements did not change; the transition from Engrossed to Enrolled status only added final procedural details required for the bill to become law.

TECHNICAL

Added co-sponsor Lawson Bashore to the House sponsors list.

Added signatures, dates of passage for the Senate and House, and the Governor's receipt stamp.

Changed the header from 'ENGROSSED SENATE' to 'ENROLLED SENATE' to reflect the bill's final status.

Introduced → Engrossed · 5 edits · Mar 12, 2026

MODERATE

The bill was updated from its introduced version to its engrossed version, expanding the scope of mandatory reporting to include private school employees alongside public school staff. The changes also clarify definitions, specify that reports must be made before any internal investigation, and ensure confidentiality of the reporter's identity.

Scope change

The bill's applicability was expanded to include employees of both public and private schools, whereas the original draft only mentioned public schools.

SCOPE

Updated the bill title and summary to explicitly require reporting from both public and private school employees.

DEFINITION

Clarified that 'local law enforcement' includes campus police departments but excludes school resource officers unless directed by an independent agency.

REQUIREMENT

Changed the requirement for notifying law enforcement to apply to 'formal' investigations and questioning, rather than any investigation.

Added a requirement for school employees to annually sign an attestation acknowledging their duty to report suspected child abuse.

TECHNICAL

Corrected formatting errors, page numbers, and citation references found in the introduced version.

Schools; requiring public and private school employees to report certain disclosure, allegation, or information to law enforcement within certain time period; requiring school employees to annually sign certain attestation. Effective date. Emergency.

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