Shown verbatim: the complete text as captured from the official PDF posted by the Oklahoma Legislature, fetched 2026-07-23. Page and line markers are part of the official record; nothing is edited or removed. The official bill page.
1 STATE OF OKLAHOMA
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2 1st Session of the 60th Legislature (2025)
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3 SENATE BILL 792 By: Jett
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6 AS INTRODUCED
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7 An Act relating to the School Safety and Bullying
7 Prevention Act; amending 70 O.S. 2021, Section 24-
8 100.4, as amended by Section 6, Chapter 15, O.S.L.
8 2023 (70 O.S. Supp. 2024, Section 24-100.4), which
9 relates to discipline and bullying policies; updating
9 statutory language; requiring policy to recognize
10 certain right of students to take certain actions to
10 defend himself or herself; requiring policy to
11 contain certain confirming statements; requiring
11 policy to include statement regarding a zero
12 tolerance disciplinary policy; defining term;
12 requiring policy to include statement relating to
13 students who engage in self-defense; providing an
13 effective date; and declaring an emergency.
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16 BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
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17 SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 70 O.S. 2021, Section 24-100.4, as
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18 amended by Section 6, Chapter 15, O.S.L. 2023 (70 O.S. Supp. 2024,
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19 Section 24-100.4), is amended to read as follows:
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20 Section 24-100.4. A. Each school district board of education
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21 shall adopt a policy for the discipline of all children attending
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22 public school in that district, and for the investigation of
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23 reported incidents of bullying. The policy shall provide options
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24 for the discipline of the students and shall define standards of
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Req. No. 1227 Page 1
1 conduct to which students are expected to conform. The policy
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2 shall:
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3 1. Specifically address bullying by students at school and by
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4 electronic communication, if the communication is specifically
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5 directed at students or school personnel and concerns bullying at
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6 school;
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7 2. Contain a procedure for reporting an act of bullying to a
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8 school official or law enforcement agency, including a provision
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9 that permits a person to report an act anonymously. No formal
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10 disciplinary action shall be taken solely on the basis of an
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11 anonymous report;
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12 3. Contain a requirement that any school employee that has
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13 reliable information that would lead a reasonable person to suspect
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14 that a person is a target of bullying shall immediately report it to
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15 the principal or a designee of the principal;
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16 4. Contain a statement of how the policy is to be publicized
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17 including a requirement that:
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18 a. an annual written notice of the policy be provided to
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19 parents, guardians, staff, volunteers, and students,
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20 with age-appropriate language for students,
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21 b. notice of the policy be posted at various locations
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22 within each school site, including, but not limited
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23 to, cafeterias, school bulletin boards, and
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24 administration offices,
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Req. No. 1227 Page 2
1 c. the policy be posted on the Internet website for the
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2 school district and each school site that has an
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3 Internet website, and
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4 d. the policy be included in all student and employee
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5 handbooks;
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6 5. Require that appropriate school district personnel involved
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7 in investigating reports of bullying make a determination regarding
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8 whether the conduct is actually occurring;
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9 6. Contain a procedure for providing timely notification to the
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10 parents or guardians of a victim of documented and verified bullying
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11 and to the parents or guardians of the perpetrator of the documented
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12 and verified bullying;
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13 7. Identify by job title the school official responsible for
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14 enforcing the policy;
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15 8. Contain procedures for reporting to law enforcement all
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16 documented and verified acts of bullying which may constitute
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17 criminal activity or reasonably have the potential to endanger
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18 school safety;
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19 9. Recognize the fundamental right of every student to take
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20 reasonable actions as may be necessary to defend himself or herself
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21 from an attack by another student who has evidenced bullying or
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22 threatening behavior, as defined by Section 24-100.3 of this title.
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23 The policy shall contain statements confirming the following:
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1 a. a student who is physically attacked shall be entitled
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2 to use physical force that is reasonable and necessary
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3 for self-protection,
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4 b. a student who witnesses another person being
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5 physically attacked is entitled to use reasonable and
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6 necessary physical restraint, defined as the placing
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7 of hands on another in a manner that is reasonable or
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8 necessary, to protect the person from physical harm,
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9 and
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10 c. a school district shall investigate a student's use of
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11 physical force and may not reprimand or discipline a
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12 student who is found through the investigation to have
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13 more likely than not used physical force for self-
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14 protection or in protection of another;
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15 10. Require training for administrators and school employees as
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16 developed and provided by the State Department of Education in
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17 preventing, identifying, responding to, and reporting incidents of
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18 bullying. The training shall be completed the first year an
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19 administrator or school employee is employed by a school district,
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20 and then once every fifth academic year thereafter;
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21 10. 11. Provide for an educational program as designed and
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22 developed by the State Department of Education and in consultation
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23 with the Office of Juvenile Affairs for students and parents in
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1 preventing, identifying, responding to, and reporting incidents of
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2 bullying;
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3 11. 12. Establish a procedure for referral of a person who
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4 commits an act of bullying to a delinquency prevention and diversion
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5 program administered by the Office of Juvenile Affairs;
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6 12. 13. Address prevention by providing:
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7 a. consequences and remedial action for a person who
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8 commits an act of bullying,
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9 b. consequences and remedial action for a student found
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10 to have falsely accused another as a means of
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11 retaliation, reprisal, or as a means of bullying, and
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12 c. a strategy for providing counseling or referral to
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13 appropriate services, including guidance, academic
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14 intervention, and other protection for students, both
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15 targets and perpetrators, and family members affected
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16 by bullying, as necessary;
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17 13. 14. Establish a procedure for:
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18 a. the investigation, determination, and documentation of
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19 all incidents of bullying reported to school
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20 officials,
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21 b. identifying the principal or a designee of the
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22 principal as the person responsible for investigating
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23 incidents of bullying,
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24 c. reporting the number of incidents of bullying, and
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1 d. determining the severity of the incidents and their
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2 potential to result in future violence;
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3 14. 15. Establish a procedure whereby, upon completing an
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4 investigation of bullying, a school may recommend that available
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5 community mental health care, substance abuse, or other counseling
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6 options be provided to the student, if appropriate; and
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7 15. 16. Establish a procedure whereby a school may request the
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8 disclosure of any information concerning students who have received
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9 mental health, substance abuse, or other care pursuant to paragraph
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10 14 15 of this subsection that indicates an explicit threat to the
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11 safety of students or school personnel, provided the disclosure of
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12 the information does not violate the requirements and provisions of
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13 the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, the Health
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14 Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, Section 2503
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15 of Title 12 of the Oklahoma Statutes, Section 1376 of Title 59 of
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16 the Oklahoma Statutes, or any other state or federal laws regarding
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17 the disclosure of confidential information.
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18 B. The policy adopted by a school district board of education
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19 for the investigation of reported incidents of bullying or
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20 threatening behavior pursuant to this section shall include:
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21 1. A statement, relating to victims of bullying, that the
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22 school district prohibits, does not have, and will not adopt, in
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23 name or in practice, a zero-tolerance disciplinary policy. For the
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24 purposes of this section, "zero-tolerance disciplinary policy" means
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Req. No. 1227 Page 6
1 a policy or practice of discipline that results in an automatic
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2 disciplinary consequence such as suspension or expulsion for any
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3 student who commits one or more acts of school violence or violent
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4 behavior even if school district administrators have some discretion
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5 to modify the consequence on a case-by-case basis; and
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6 2. A statement relating to students who engage in self-defense,
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7 pursuant to paragraph 9 of subsection A of this section, that the
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8 school district administration, when determining the disciplinary
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9 action for the student who has committed an act of school violence
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10 or exhibited violent behavior, will take into account if such act
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11 was committed in self-defense as an immediate response to an act of
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12 school violence or violent behavior committed by another student.
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13 C. In developing the policy, the school district board of
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14 education shall make an effort to involve the teachers, parents,
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15 administrators, school staff, school volunteers, community
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16 representatives, local law enforcement agencies, and students. The
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17 students, teachers, and parents or guardian of every child residing
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18 within a school district shall be notified by the school district
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19 board of education of its adoption of the policy and shall receive a
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20 copy upon request. The school district policy shall be implemented
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21 in a manner that is ongoing throughout the school year and is
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22 integrated with other violence prevention efforts.
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23 C. D. The teacher of a child attending a public school shall
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24 have the same right as a parent or guardian to control and
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1 discipline such child according to district policies during the time
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2 the child is in attendance or in transit to or from the school or
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3 any other school function authorized by the school district or
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4 classroom presided over by the teacher.
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5 D. E. Except concerning students on individualized education
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6 plans (IEP) pursuant to the Individuals with Disabilities Education
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7 Act (IDEA), P.L. No. 101-476, the State Board of Education shall not
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8 have authority to prescribe student disciplinary policies for school
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9 districts or to proscribe corporal punishment in the public schools.
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10 The State Board of Education shall not have authority to require
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11 school districts to file student disciplinary action reports more
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12 often than once each year and shall not use disciplinary action
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13 reports in determining a school district's or school site's
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14 eligibility for program assistance including competitive grants.
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15 E. F. The board of education of each school district in this
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16 state shall have the option of adopting a dress code for students
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17 enrolled in the school district. The board of education of a school
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18 district shall also have the option of adopting a dress code which
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19 includes school uniforms.
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20 F. G. The board of education of each school district in this
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21 state shall have the option of adopting a procedure that requires
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22 students to perform campus-site service for violating the district's
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23 policy.
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24 G. H. The State Board of Education shall:
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Req. No. 1227 Page 8
1 1. Promulgate rules for periodically monitoring school
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2 districts for compliance with this section and providing sanctions
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3 for noncompliance with this section;
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4 2. Establish and maintain a central repository for the
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5 collection of information regarding documented and verified
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6 incidents of bullying; and
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7 3. Publish a report annually on the State Department of
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8 Education website regarding the number of documented and verified
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9 incidents of bullying in the public schools in the state.
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10 SECTION 2. This act shall become effective July 1, 2025.
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11 SECTION 3. It being immediately necessary for the preservation
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12 of the public peace, health, or safety, an emergency is hereby
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13 declared to exist, by reason whereof this act shall take effect and
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14 be in full force from and after its passage and approval.
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Req. No. 1227 Page 9Every fact on this page links to its source, starting with the official bill record.