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1 STATE OF OKLAHOMA
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2 2nd Session of the 60th Legislature (2026)
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3 SENATE BILL 1720 By: Pugh
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6 AS INTRODUCED
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7 An Act relating to schools; amending 25 O.S. 2021,
7 Section 2002, which relates to the Parents' Bill of
8 Rights; providing for additional rights of parents;
8 prohibiting state agencies, political subdivisions,
9 and certain schools from retaliating against a parent
9 or child for certain reasons; defining term; allowing
10 a parent to submit a written complaint of certain
10 alleged violation; allowing a parent to submit a
11 written complaint to the State Department of
11 Education; directing the Department to conduct
12 certain investigation and require corrective action
12 if violation is found; allowing the Department to
13 make certain recommendation for repeated or willful
13 violations; providing a cause of action; requiring
14 sealing of certain actions unless expressly waived;
14 providing for waiving of sovereign immunity to
15 certain extent; requiring cause of action to be
15 brought within certain time period; updating
16 statutory language; providing an effective date; and
16 declaring an emergency.
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19 BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
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20 SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 25 O.S. 2021, Section 2002, is
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21 amended to read as follows:
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22 Section 2002. A. All parental rights are reserved to a parent
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23 of a minor child without obstruction or interference from this
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24 state, any political subdivision of this state, any other
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1 governmental entity, or any other institution, including, but not
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2 limited to, the following rights:
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3 1. The right to direct the education of the minor child;
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4 2. All rights of parents identified in Title 70 of the Oklahoma
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5 Statutes, including the right to access and review all school
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6 records relating to the minor child;
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7 3. The right to direct the upbringing of the minor child;
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8 4. The right to direct the moral or religious training of the
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9 minor child;
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10 5. The right to make healthcare health care decisions for the
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11 minor child, unless otherwise prohibited by law;
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12 6. The right to access and review all medical records of the
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13 minor child unless otherwise prohibited by law or the parent is the
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14 subject of an investigation of a crime committed against the minor
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15 child and a law enforcement official requests that the information
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16 not be released;
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17 7. The right to consent in writing before a biometric scan of
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18 the minor child is made, shared, or stored;
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19 8. The right to consent in writing before any record of the
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20 minor child's blood or deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is created,
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21 stored, or shared, except as required by Sections 1-516 and 1-524.1
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22 of Title 63 of the Oklahoma Statutes, or unless authorized pursuant
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23 to a court order;
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1 9. The right to consent in writing before the state or any of
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2 its political subdivisions makes a video or voice recording of the
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3 minor child, unless the video or voice recording is made during or
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4 as a part of a court proceeding, by law enforcement officers during
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5 or as part of a law enforcement investigation, during or as part of
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6 a forensic interview in a criminal or Department of Human Services
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7 investigation, or to be used solely for any of the following:
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8 a. safety demonstrations, including the maintenance of
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9 order and discipline in the common areas of a school
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10 or on student transportation vehicles,
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11 b. a purpose related to a legitimate academic or
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12 extracurricular activity,
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13 c. a purpose related to regular classroom instruction,
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14 d. security or surveillance of buildings or grounds, and
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15 e. a photo identification card; and
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16 10. The right to be notified promptly if an employee of this
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17 state, any political subdivision of this state, any other
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18 governmental entity, or any other institution suspects that a
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19 criminal offense has been committed against the minor child by
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20 someone other than a parent, unless the incident has first been
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21 reported to law enforcement and notification of the parent would
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22 impede a law enforcement or Department of Human Services
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23 investigation. This paragraph does not create any new obligation
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24 for school districts and charter schools to report misconduct
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1 between students at school, such as fighting or aggressive play,
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2 that is routinely addressed as a student disciplinary matter by the
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3 school;
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4 11. The right to bring any individual of the parent's choosing,
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5 including an individual with unique knowledge or expertise regarding
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6 the child, to any meeting with school personnel including, but not
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7 limited to, meetings regarding an individualized education program
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8 (IEP) pursuant to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
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9 (IDEA), meetings conducted pursuant to Section 504 of the
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10 Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and meetings concerning the academics,
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11 behavior, discipline, attendance, health, or any other matter
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12 involving the child;
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13 12. The right, upon written request, to receive copies of all
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14 education records of a minor child as defined by the Family
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15 Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA) within ten (10)
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16 business days of receipt of the written request. Copies shall be
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17 provided at no cost to the parent. A parent shall also have the
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18 right, upon written request, to receive annual notification from a
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19 school district of the procedures for requesting such records;
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20 13. The right to review all documents including, but not
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21 limited to, evaluations, reports, progress monitoring data, work
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22 samples, behavior logs, and discipline records, at least five (5)
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23 business days prior to any meeting regarding an IEP, a meeting
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24 conducted pursuant to Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973,
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1 or any other meeting regarding accommodations for a student with a
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2 disability. A parent may agree in writing to a review period of
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3 fewer than five (5) business days; and
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4 14. The right to receive from a school district a written
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5 incident report by no later than the end of the business day on
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6 which his or her child is suspected of having been injured, involved
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7 in an alleged incident of bullying, or is the alleged victim or
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8 perpetrator of conduct requiring such notice pursuant to the School
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9 Safety and Bullying Prevention Act. A copy of the incident report
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10 shall be maintained in the student's education record and shall
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11 include at a minimum:
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12 a. the time, date, and location of the incident,
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13 b. a description of the injury or alleged conduct,
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14 c. actions taken by school personnel including first aid
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15 or disciplinary actions,
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16 d. the names and titles of school personnel who witnessed
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17 or responded to the incident,
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18 e. whether law enforcement or the Department of Human
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19 Services was notified, and
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20 f. the name and contact information of the school
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21 employee designated for further contact.
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22 B. This section does not authorize or allow a parent to engage
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23 in conduct that is unlawful or to abuse or neglect a child in
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24 violation of the laws of this state. This section shall not be
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1 construed to apply to a parental action or decision that would end
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2 life. This section does not prohibit courts, law enforcement
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3 officers, or employees of a government agency responsible for child
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4 welfare from acting in their official capacity within the reasonable
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5 and prudent scope of their authority. This section does not
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6 prohibit a court from issuing an order that is otherwise permitted
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7 by law.
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8 C. Any attempt to encourage or coerce a minor child to withhold
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9 information from the child's parent shall be grounds for discipline
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10 of an employee of this state, any political subdivision of this
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11 state, or any other governmental entity, except for law enforcement
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12 personnel.
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13 D. Unless those rights have been legally waived or legally
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14 terminated, parents have inalienable rights that are more
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15 comprehensive than those listed in this section. The Parents' Bill
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16 of Rights does not prescribe all rights of parents. Unless
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17 otherwise required by law, the rights of parents of minor children
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18 shall not be limited or denied. The Parents' Bill of Rights shall
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19 not be construed to apply to a parental action or decision that
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20 would end life.
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21 E. 1. No state agency, political subdivision of this state,
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22 public school district, charter school, virtual charter school, or
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23 employee or contractor of any such entity shall intimidate,
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1 threaten, coerce, discipline, discriminate against, or otherwise
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2 retaliate against a parent or minor child because:
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3 a. the parent exercised or attempted to exercise any
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4 right provided pursuant to this section, Title 70 of
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5 the Oklahoma Statutes, or federal law including, but
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6 not limited to, IDEA, Section 504 of the
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7 Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Americans with
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8 Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), Title VI of the Civil
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9 Rights Act of 1964, or Title IX of the Education
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10 Amendments of 1972,
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11 b. the parent made a complaint, provided information, or
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12 otherwise cooperated with any investigation, hearing,
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13 or proceeding regarding the education, services,
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14 discipline, or safety of his or her minor child, or
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15 c. the parent assisted or encouraged another parent in
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16 exercising rights protected by the laws of this state
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17 or by federal law.
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18 2. For the purposes of this subsection, "retaliate" or
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19 "retaliation" includes, but is not limited to:
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20 a. excluding or barring a parent from school property or
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21 school meetings, except as permitted by a court order
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22 or where necessary to address an actual, documented
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23 safety threat,
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1 b. materially limiting a parent's opportunity to
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2 participate in meetings or decisions about his or her
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3 minor child,
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4 c. initiating a report to law enforcement or the
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5 Department of Human Services in violation of
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6 subsection D of Section 1-2-101 of Title 10A of the
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7 Oklahoma Statutes against a parent because of his or
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8 her advocacy,
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9 d. taking adverse action against a student including
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10 changes in placement, services, or discipline that
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11 would not otherwise have been taken but for the
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12 parent's advocacy, or
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13 e. failure to provide proper notice of any proceeding,
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14 meeting, or disbursement of relative information.
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15 F. 1. A parent who is aggrieved by a knowing and willful
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16 violation of the provisions of this section by a public school
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17 district, charter school, or virtual charter school may:
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18 a. submit a written complaint with the board of education
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19 of a public school district or the governing body of
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20 the charter school or virtual charter school which
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21 shall issue a written response within fifteen (15)
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22 business days of receipt of the complaint describing
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23 any corrective action to be taken, and
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1 b. if dissatisfied with the response from the board of
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2 education of the public school district or the
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3 governing body of the charter school or virtual
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4 charter school or if no response is provided within
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5 the time period prescribed by subparagraph a of this
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6 paragraph, submit a written complaint to the State
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7 Department of Education.
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8 2. Upon receipt of a written complaint pursuant to paragraph 1
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9 of this subsection, the State Department of Education shall
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10 investigate the alleged violation. If the Department finds evidence
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11 of a violation of the provisions of this section, it may require the
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12 public school district, charter school, or virtual charter school to
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13 take corrective action. For repeated or willful violations, the
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14 Department may make a recommendation to the State Board of Education
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15 that accreditation penalties be imposed upon or that a portion of
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16 State Aid be withheld from the school district, charter school, or
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17 virtual charter school.
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18 3. In addition to any other remedy available, a parent whose
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19 rights provided by this section have been violated may bring a civil
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20 action against the public school district, charter school, or
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21 virtual charter school for:
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22 a. declaratory and injunctive relief,
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23 b. actual damages including, but not limited to, the cost
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24 of obtaining replacement services or private
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1 educational services made necessary by the violation,
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2 and
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3 c. reasonable attorney fees and court costs, if the
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4 parent is the prevailing party.
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5 4. Civil actions brought pursuant to this section shall be
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6 automatically sealed unless expressly waived by the petitioner or
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7 upon agreement of the parties involved.
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8 5. A cause of action brought pursuant to paragraph 3 of this
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9 subsection shall be filed within two (2) years of when the parent
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10 knew or reasonably should have known of the violation.
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11 SECTION 2. This act shall become effective July 1, 2026.
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12 SECTION 3. It being immediately necessary for the preservation
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13 of the public peace, health, or safety, an emergency is hereby
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14 declared to exist, by reason whereof this act shall take effect and
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15 be in full force from and after its passage and approval.
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Req. No. 3303 Page 10Every fact on this page links to its source, starting with the official bill record.