OKLAHOMA CITY – State Sen. Rob Standridge, R-Norman, has filed legislation to ensure parental control over materials children can access at their schools.  Senate Bill 95 would require informed parental consent before any book or other medium containing sexually explicit material can be given to their children.

“Over the past several years, I’ve worked with my fellow Senators to give parents the power to guard against material they believe is inappropriate for their child,” Standridge said. “It’s content some feel is too explicit for committee or floor debate, or even for news stories about the subject, and yet we’ve been unsuccessful in making sure parents and guardians have the ability to say no, this material isn’t appropriate for my child and I don’t want their school to give them access to it. My legislation is simply about ensuring parents and guardians have informed consent.”

SB 95 would apply to public school districts, public charter schools, and their employees, and would prohibit them from providing any sexually explicit material without written consent from the student’s parent or legal guardian. Under the legislation, parents or guardians would be able to file lawsuits against those schools/employees who provide such materials without proper consent.

For those parents that do not believe your children are being given explicit material without your consent or knowledge, here is a quote from a Moore Junior High School Librarian justifying giving The Absolute True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie to junior high children, 6^th thru 8^th grade, as it relates to sexually explicit acts described in the book, “Masturbation is a topic that most young boys are curious about, have questions about and will found out about from friends, etc. In this book, masturbation is explained and done in a funny way to help kids through this topic, so educational.”

Standridge noted that he and other senators had attempted to address this issue in past sessions, including Josh Brecheen, R-Coalgate, who was elected to Congress in 2022. Brecheen applauded Standridge’s bill.

“Exposing youth to sexually explicit material on the taxpayer dime is unconscionable. Parental consent, as this bill calls for, is just plain common sense,” Brecheen said.

SB 95 can be heard after the Legislature formally begins the 2023 session Feb. 6.

 “SB 95 puts the power and rights back into the hands of parents to decide what is appropriate for their children, a right respected by every court in our land since our nation’s founding,” Standridge said.

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For more information, contact:  Sen. Rob Standridge at 405-521-5535 or email Rob.Standridge@oksenate.gov.