1. A. The Oklahoma Free Speech Committee shall either develop a First Amendment training or approve of an outside First Amendment training that shall be required for all college deans, heads of departments, and individuals responsible for establishing university free speech policies or handling free speech complaints. The Committee shall either revise or reapprove the training every two (2) years. The training shall be required every two (2) years, or upon hire or promotion to one of the positions described by this section.
2. B. The Oklahoma Free Speech Committee shall develop a free speech training that shall include information on the expressive activities that are protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution and Section 2120 of this title. The training shall be completed by all students in their first year of enrollment at an institution of higher education within The Oklahoma State System of Higher Education including students who transferred from another institution and graduate students. An institution of higher education may develop its own free speech training, consistent with the provisions of this subsection and subject to a recommendation for approval from the Oklahoma Free Speech Committee to the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education.

3. C. Each institution’s training shall include the policies regarding free expression on campus that are specific to the institution. The training shall, at a minimum:

   1. 1. Explain that the generally accessible outdoor areas of campus are public forums where members of the campus community can engage in expressive activities including, but not limited to, peaceful assembly, protests, speeches and guest speakers, distribution of literature, carrying signs, and circulating petitions;
   2. 2. Explain the institution’s content- and viewpoint-neutral time, place, and manner restrictions including that any such restrictions shall allow for members of the campus community to spontaneously and contemporaneously assemble and distribute literature;
   3. 3. Explain that freedom of speech does not enable individuals to engage in conduct that intentionally, materially, and substantially disrupts another person’s expressive activity in a space reserved for such activity, nor does it enable individuals to prevent any person from attending, listening to, viewing, or otherwise participating in the activity, but freedom of speech does protect lawful counter-protests in the outdoor areas of campus that have not been reserved in advance;
   4. 4. Explain that speech including speech that some individuals find offensive or hateful is protected by the First Amendment unless it is subject to a reasonable time, place, and manner restriction or constitutes incitement to imminent lawless action, true threats, fighting words, fraud, defamation, obscenity, speech integral to criminal acts, harassment as defined in Section 2120 of this title, or a material and substantial disruption as defined in Section 2120 of this title. The institution shall explain each of the limitations and exceptions as defined in statute or by the United States Supreme Court, as applicable;
   5. 5. Provide examples of protected expressive activities and unprotected expressive activities to help students understand the concepts previously outlined by this subsection;

   6. 6. Explain that the academic freedom of any individual faculty member protects:

      1. a. the right of an individual faculty member to direct the instruction within his or her own course, and
      2. b. the scholarly research or creative work of students, faculty, or other research personnel as well as the dissemination of such research or work;
   7. 7. Explain why hearing a wide variety of viewpoints, even those that some individuals may find offensive or hateful, is a necessary part of the higher education experience;
   8. 8. Encourage students to respond to speech or expressive activities they disagree with by making their own arguments in response and explain the institution will not intervene to prevent or punish speech that complies with the institution’s time, place, and manner restrictions and is protected by the First Amendment, the provisions of Section 2120 of this title, or other provisions in law;
   9. 9. Explain that any student or student organization whose rights provided by Section 2120 of this title are violated may file a complaint with the institution of higher education or the Oklahoma Free Speech Committee or bring a lawsuit against the institution of higher education and its employees in their official capacities. Failure to file a complaint with the institution or the Committee shall not bar a student or student organization from bringing a lawsuit; and
   10. 10. Identify where students can find more information about the institution’s free speech policies and procedures.

Laws 2022, HB 3543, c. 18, § 5; Amended by Laws 2026, SB 1725, c. 399, § 2, emerg. eff. July 1, 2026 (superseded document available).