{"data":{"id":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-70-70-2120","jurisdiction":"us-ok","citation":"Okla. Stat. tit. 70, § 70-2120","heading":"Protected expressive activities on campus","body":"A. As used in this act:\n\n1. \"Campus community\" means students, administrators, faculty\n\nand staff at the public institution of higher education and their\n\ninvited guests;\n\n2. \"Harassment\" means only that expression that is unwelcome,\n\nso severe, pervasive and subjectively and objectively offensive that\n\na student is effectively denied equal access to educational\n\nopportunities or benefits provided by the public institution of\n\nhigher education;\n\n3. \"Materially and substantially disrupts\" means when a person,\n\nwith the intent to or with knowledge of doing so, significantly\n\nhinders another person's or group's expressive activity, prevents\n\nthe communication of the message or prevents the transaction of the\n\nbusiness of a lawful meeting, gathering or procession by:\n\na. engaging in fighting, violent or other unlawful\n\nbehavior, or\n\nb. physically blocking or using threats of violence to\n\nprevent any person from attending, listening to,\n\nviewing or otherwise participating in an expressive\n\nactivity. Conduct that \"materially disrupts\" shall\n\nnot include conduct that is protected under the First\n\nAmendment to the United States Constitution or Section\n\n22 of Article 2 of the Oklahoma Constitution. Such\n\nprotected conduct includes but is not limited to\n\nlawful protests in the outdoor areas of campus\n\ngenerally accessible to the members of the public,\n\nexcept during times when those areas have been\n\nreserved in advance for other events, or minor, brief\n\nor fleeting nonviolent disruptions of events that are\n\nisolated and short in duration;\n\n4. \"Outdoor areas of campus\" means the generally accessible\n\noutside areas of campus where members of the campus community are\n\ncommonly allowed, such as grassy areas, walkways or other similar\n\ncommon areas and does not include outdoor areas where access is\n\nrestricted from a majority of the campus community;\n\n5. \"Public institution of higher education\" means any\n\ninstitution within The Oklahoma State System of Higher Education or\n\ntechnology center schools overseen by the State Board of Career and\n\nTechnology Education; and\n\n6. \"Student organization\" means an officially recognized group\n\nat a public institution of higher education, or a group seeking\n\nofficial recognition, comprised of admitted students that receive or\n\nare seeking to receive benefits through the public institution of\n\nhigher education.\n\nB. Expressive activities protected under the provisions of this\n\nsection include but are not limited to any lawful verbal, written,\n\naudio-visual or electronic means by which individuals may\n\ncommunicate ideas to one another, including all forms of peaceful\n\nassembly, protests, speeches and guest speakers, distribution of\n\nliterature, carrying signs and circulating petitions.\n\nC. 1. The outdoor areas of campuses of public institutions of\n\nhigher education in this state shall be deemed public forums for the\n\ncampus community, and public institutions of higher education shall\n\nnot create \"free speech zones\" or other designated areas of campus\n\noutside of which expressive activities are prohibited. Public\n\ninstitutions of higher education may maintain and enforce reasonable\n\ntime, place and manner restrictions narrowly tailored in service of\n\na significant institutional interest only when such restrictions\n\nemploy clear, published, content- and viewpoint-neutral criteria and\n\nprovide for ample alternative means of expression. Any such\n\nrestrictions shall allow for members of the campus community to\n\nspontaneously and contemporaneously assemble and distribute\n\nliterature.\n\n2. Nothing in this subsection shall be interpreted as limiting\n\nthe right of student expression elsewhere on campus.\n\nD. 1. Any person who wishes to engage in noncommercial\n\nexpressive activity on campus shall be permitted to do so freely, as\n\nlong as the person's conduct is not unlawful and does not materially\n\nand substantially disrupt the functioning of the public institutions\nute\n\nliterature.\n\n2. Nothing in this subsection shall be interpreted as limiting\n\nthe right of student expression elsewhere on campus.\n\nD. 1. Any person who wishes to engage in noncommercial\n\nexpressive activity on campus shall be permitted to do so freely, as\n\nlong as the person's conduct is not unlawful and does not materially\n\nand substantially disrupt the functioning of the public institutions\n\nof higher education, subject only to the requirements of subsection\n\nC of this section.\n\n2. Nothing in this subsection shall prohibit public\n\ninstitutions of higher education from maintaining and enforcing\n\nreasonable time, place and manner restrictions that are narrowly\n\ntailored to serve a significant institutional interest only when\n\nsuch restrictions employ clear, published, content- and viewpoint-\n\nneutral criteria. Any such restrictions shall allow for members of\n\nthe campus community to spontaneously and contemporaneously\n\nassemble, speak and distribute literature.\n\n3. Nothing in this subsection shall be interpreted as\n\npreventing public institutions of higher education from prohibiting,\n\nlimiting or restricting expression that the First Amendment does not\n\nprotect or prohibiting harassment as defined by this section.\n\n4. Nothing in this section shall enable individuals to engage\n\nin conduct that intentionally, materially and substantially disrupts\n\nanother person's expressive activity if that activity is occurring\n\nin a campus space reserved for that activity under the exclusive use\n\nor control of a particular group.\n\nE. Public institutions of higher education shall make public in\n\ntheir handbooks, on their websites and through their orientation\n\nprograms for students the policies, regulations and expectations of\n\nstudents regarding free expression on campus consistent with this\n\nsection.\n\nF. Public institutions of higher education shall develop\n\nmaterials, programs and procedures to ensure that those persons who\n\nhave responsibility for discipline or education of students,\n\nincluding but not limited to administrators, campus police officers,\n\nresidence life officials and professors, understand the policies,\n\nregulations and duties of public institutions of higher education\n\nregarding free expression on campus consistent with this section.\n\nG. 1. Each public institution of higher education shall\n\npublicly post on its website, as well as submit to the Governor, the\n\nLegislature, and the Chancellor of The Oklahoma State System of\n\nHigher Education annually by December 31, a report that details the\n\ncourse of action implemented to be in compliance with the\n\nrequirements of this section. A report shall also be given in the\n\ninstance of any changes or updates to the chosen course of action.\n\nThe information required in the report shall be:\n\na. accessible from the institution's website home page by\n\nuse of not more than three links,\n\nb. searchable by key words and phrases, and\n\nc. accessible to the public without requiring\n\nregistration or use of a user name, password or\n\nanother user identification.\n\n2. The report shall include:\n\na. a description of any barriers to or incidents of\n\ndisruption of free expression occurring on campus,\n\nincluding but not limited to attempts to block or\n\nprohibit speakers and investigations into students or\n\nstudent organizations for their speech. The\n\ndescription shall include the nature of each barrier\n\nor incident, as well as what disciplinary action, if\n\nany, was taken against members of the campus community\n\ndetermined to be responsible for those specific\n\nbarriers or incidents involving students without\n\nrevealing those students' personally identifiable\n\ninformation, and\n\nb. any other information each public institution of\n\nhigher education deems valuable for the public to\n\nevaluate whether free expression rights for all\n\nmembers of the campus community have been equally\nbers of the campus community\n\ndetermined to be responsible for those specific\n\nbarriers or incidents involving students without\n\nrevealing those students' personally identifiable\n\ninformation, and\n\nb. any other information each public institution of\n\nhigher education deems valuable for the public to\n\nevaluate whether free expression rights for all\n\nmembers of the campus community have been equally\n\nprotected and enforced consistent with this act.\n\n3. If a public institution of higher education is sued for an\n\nalleged violation of First Amendment rights, a supplementary report\n\nwith a copy of the complaint, or any amended complaint, shall be\n\nsubmitted to the Governor and the Legislature within thirty (30)\n\ndays.\n\nH. Any person or student organization aggrieved by a violation\n\nof this section may bring an action against the public institution\n\nof higher education and its employees acting in their official\n\ncapacities responsible for the violation and seek appropriate\n\nrelief, including but not limited to injunctive relief, monetary\n\ndamages, reasonable attorneys' fees and court costs. Any person or\n\nstudent organization aggrieved by a violation of this section may\n\nassert such violation as a defense or counter claim in any\n\ndisciplinary action or in any civil or administrative proceedings\n\nbrought against such student or student organization. Nothing in\n\nthis subsection shall be interpreted to limit any other remedies\n\navailable to any person or student organization.\n\nI. A person shall be required to bring suit for violation of\n\nthis section no later than one year after the day the cause of\n\naction occurs. For purposes of calculating the one-year limitation\n\nperiod, each day that the violation persists and each day that a\n\npolicy in violation of this section remains in effect shall\n\nconstitute a new day that the cause of action has occurred.\n\nJ. If any provision of this section or any application of such\n\nprovision to any person or circumstance is held to be\n\nunconstitutional, the remainder of the section and the application\n\nof the provision to any other person or circumstance shall not be\n\naffected.","path":["OK Code","Title 70"],"source_url":"https://www.oklegislature.gov/OK_Statutes/CompleteTitles/os70.pdf","current_through":"2026-08-14","vintage":"open-us-law v2026.08, retrieved 2026-09-14","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T18:32:36Z","sha256":"7cda05d100c4382b663c61c067932573e3011c8bb2145e5924c58cce39b586df","source_id":"us-ok","stale":false,"prev":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-70-70-2119.4","next":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-70-70-2127"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}