In a stunning development that will surely shock anyone who’s attended a college debate in the last decade, the Oklahoma Senate has passed Senate Bill 1725, a measure aimed at protecting free speech on public college and university campuses. Authored by State Sen. Ally Seifried, the bill promises to ensure students can share their ideas without fear of censorship or retaliation. Unfortunately, in 2026, this has to be on paper.

The legislation lays out rules for event-related security fees, allowing schools to charge them based on practical factors like crowd size, location, and timing, but not on the content of the event or how controversial someone might be. In other words, universities can’t suddenly decide a speaker costs more just because people might get their feelings hurt. Schools that charge these fees will also have to publish their criteria online, presumably so everyone can admire the consistency.

SB 1725 also tightens how colleges define and enforce harassment policies, preventing schools from slapping disciplinary labels on speech that doesn’t actually meet the legal definition of harassment. The bill further directs the Oklahoma Free Speech Committee to develop free speech training for incoming freshmen. "Welcome to College and the First Amendment 101" here we come. Seifried says the goal is to encourage open debate and independent thinking, a concept now heading to the Oklahoma House with coauthor Rep. Anthony Moore for what will likely be another round of spirited, totally civil discussion.