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Earlier this year OKHPR helped to pass SB 658. This legislation prohibits public schools and higher education from mandating the covid-19 vaccine and from discriminatory mask mandates for unvaccinated students only. (To read what else the law does, click here). SB 658 was signed into law by Governor Kevin Stitt on May 28th.

In a recent news article, University of Oklahoma Dean of Students, David Surratt and and OU Chief COVID Officer Dr. Dale Bratzler revealed that SB 658 halted their plans to mandate the covid-19 vaccine for students. When asked why OU was not mandating the vaccine Bratzler said “I would love to, but state law was passed and signed by the governor … that explicitly prohibits in-state institutions, colleges, universities and schools from requiring vaccination as a condition of attendance or admittance. We cannot mandate (the) vaccine in Oklahoma.”

OU also lifted its campus mask mandate on June 7th, following Governor Kevin Stitt’s executive order prohibiting Oklahoma agencies from requiring masks. “The executive order … explicitly keeps us from requiring a mask for unvaccinated individuals, which is one thing we wanted to do but cannot do now,” Bratzler said.

We are very thankful for Governor Stitt’s leadership in the area of medical freedom. This interview is proof that SB 658 and the executive order signed by the Governor were necessary pieces of legislation in order to ensure that Oklahomans’ medical freedoms continue to be protected!

Read the full interview with OU staff here.

We are getting many questions about children who are currently in summer school. SB 658 goes into effect on July 1st. Email SB 658 to your local schools and let them know you will notify your legislators and advocacy groups if they do not revise their policies by July 1st to be in compliance with the new law. After July 1st you can report non-compliance with SB 658 here.

2021 has been a HUGE success for health freedom & parental rights in Oklahoma. There are many more small victories that we couldn’t fit here but if you get our weekly newsletter then you know! You can sign up as a member to receive weekly newsletters here.

One thing that we have learned is that NOW is not the time to get complacent. Keep inviting people to join and donate using the button below!

You may have seen that last Friday after signing SB 658 into law, Governor Kevin Stitt issued an executive order that bans state agencies from requiring covid-19 vaccines or masks. 

Under the order “all buildings and office space, owned or leased by the State of Oklahoma and open to the public shall rescind any mandate for the wearing of masks in order to receive government services.”

The action also stated that “all state agencies are hereby prohibited from requiring a vaccination against COVID-19 as a condition of admittance to any public building.”

Send a thank you to Governor Stitt for providing health freedom for state employees and all Oklahoma
citizens who use and visit those state services.

While this is an important first step, we are still requesting that the Governor sign an executive order that protects all Oklahomans from vaccine passports. Please sign and share the petition against vaccine passports using the button below.

Thank you to the OK House! We appreciate you! Big thanks to Representative Kevin West for authoring this bill and presenting it on the floor. You can read the full press release from Representative Kevin West here. There is one final hurdle that this bill has to go through. It needs to be signed by the Governor. Here is what to do!

1. Send a thank you email to your State Senator and Representative if they voted yes on SB 658. You can check the House votes here, and the Senate votes here.
2. Call Governor Kevin Stitt’s office at 405-521-2342 and ask that he support parental rights by signing SB 658! Then send an email to him using this link.
3. Donate to OKHPR. We rely on your generous donations to work on legislation that protects parental rights in health choice. We appreciate all donations, big or small!

Lastly, Sign the petition against Vaccine Passports. SB 658 only protects students. It is a great first step but we need to codify health choice for all! This petition urges the Governor to protect adults from vaccine passports, mandates, and discrimination in Oklahoma. We are close to 10k signatures! 

You can share the petition on social media using the hashtags #KidsFirst, #WhatAboutAdults, and #SupportSB658. We don’t have a PR team, so we rely on you guys to help us get the word out!

After that, forward this email on to your friends and family and ask them to do the same!

Thank you to the OK Senate! We appreciate you! Big thanks to the leadership of Senators Treat, David, and Standridge. SB 658 now goes back to the OK House for its last hearing. This bill addresses many health choice concerns of parents; read the full bill here. In a few words, this bill prevents vaccine mandates and discrimination and supports parental rights.

Action Alert!! Needs to be completed ASAP!

All members need to contact your State Representative and ask that they vote YES on SB 658! Here is exactly what to do.

1. If you are not sure who your State Representative is, use this link.  Once you enter your address you need to scroll ALL the way down to “State House”. This will be the final legislator that is listed. Do NOT contact your U.S. House Representative; they work in Washington D.C. and will not be voting on this bill! This is a common mistake. 
2. Make a quick call to your State Representative. You can say something along the lines of “My name is _______. I am a constituent and I am calling to ask that Representative __________ vote yes on SB 658. Thank you”
3. After you have called, send a quick email. All representative emails follow the format firstname.lastname@okhouse.gov. If you need any help identifying your Representative’s email, you can email us at info@okhpr.com and we will be happy to assist you!
4. In the subject line of your email type “FROM YOUR CONSTITUENT: Yes on SB 658!”
5. In the body of your email write a short and polite message asking your Representative to vote yes on SB 658. Pick only one talking point. You can talk about how confusing enrollment notices are whenever exemption information is excluded. If you have pictures or screenshots of unclear enrollment notices, please include those. Tell your legislator about your child’s experience wearing a mask at school, your concerns over the Covid-19 vaccine being mandated or creating two segregated classes of students, the vaccinated and the unvaccinated. In summary, this bill prevents vaccine mandates and discrimination and supports parental rights.
6. Finish your email with your full name and address. Your Representative’s assistant will use this information to verify that you are registered to vote in the district.
7. Send a quick thank you email to rob.standridge@oksenate.gov, greg.treat@oksenate.gov, and kim.david@oksenate.gov. Senator Standridge authored and presented the bill in the Senate. Senators Treat and David are Senate leadership who made sure the bill received a hearing in the Senate. We are very appreciative that they agreed to hear this measure and they also voted in favor of it! Sending a thank you will take no more than five minutes of your time and it is very important when building relationships with legislators. We want to show that we appreciate their courage and hard work!
8. Lastly, send this action alert to your spouse, friends, family and share it on social media! Help us get the word out!

We had a great mini-capitol day today advocating for SB 685. New language will protect health and mask freedom while strengthening parental rights through transparency from our schools. This bill will be heard in the Senate on 5/25  so call and email BOTH your state senator and state representative to ask for a yes vote for health freedom and transparency that strengthens parental rights and choice. You can find your Senator here, and remember to both call & email!

Read the full language of SB 658

GOOD NEWS! After much discussion, input, and feedback from many sources, ORU is discontinuing their “Safe Pin” policy we previously alerted you to and, as of June 1st, masks will be voluntary for all faculty, staff, and students on campus. Thank you to all who took the time to send feedback to the university and pray over this issue. Your voice makes a difference!

Listen to the full statement from ORU here.