HB 2675 Summary

• Creates the Oklahoma School Employee Religious Liberty Act of 2014 to protect school employees' religious expression and free speech rights in public schools.

• Establishes permitted activities for school employees including reading religious books during noninstructional time, saying grace before meals, wearing religious garb or jewelry, and meeting with other employees for prayer or scriptural study before/after school or during lunch.

• Requires school employees to exhaust administrative remedies (complaints to principal and superintendent) before pursuing judicial action for alleged violations.

• Allows school employees to assert violations as a cause of action or defense in court and permits recovery of reasonable attorney fees and costs if prevailing in a claim.

• Explicitly states the act does not authorize violations of the Establishment Clause and clarifies the act does not exclude other religious liberty or free speech rights protected by federal, state, or local law; effective July 1, 2014.