Journalist: Shelby Tannehill (OSU)
“If at first you don’t succeed, try try again,” is a proverb that more likely than not
resonates with the authors of House Bill No. NWOSU-501, also known as the “Comprehensive
Sex Education” Act of 2025. The bill, which was first brought through the chambers last fall,
would require all Oklahoma schools, both public and charter, to provide mandatory sexual
education yearly to students grades 5-12. The bill passed the House 38-11.
Senator Kline and Representative Williams (NWOSU) first presented this bill at session
last fall where it passed the house. “The bill was received well, but there were a lot of
amendments and the senate felt like the original intention just wasn’t there,” Sen. Kline said.
Though the bill did fail in the senate in fall 2024, “they did encourage us to bring the bill back, so we brought it back this year.”
They worked to make it more palatable this time around,
removing a section pursuant to penalties and other aspects which made it harder to support, and
brought it back to the legislature this afternoon. “Last year it was close, but I know sex bills can
be sensitive,” Sen. Kline said. “I was pleasantly surprised by how many people supported the bill
this time around.”
While the bill did pass with a 27-vote margin, not all representatives agreed with it. One
nay vote belonged to Representative Adrien LaBonte (OU). “The most obvious issue with this
bill is its application to charter schools,” Rep. LaBonte said. NWOSU-501 would require all
Oklahoma schools, including charters, to comply. “Charters should have more flexibility when it
comes to academics, and that applies to sex ed.”
Though the bill does include provisions that
allow parents to exempt their children, LaBonte isn’t convinced. “The mandate still applies to the
institution itself. We must have alternative methods.”
The bill skated through the house, but now the authors must once again attempt to pass it
through the senate. Sen. Kline is hopeful that with the changes that were made, H.B.
NWOSU-501 might have a better chance at leaving the Senate bound for the governor’s desk.