The Oklahoma Senate on Feb. 25, 2025 approved Senate Bill 364, a measure that prohibits school district personnel from using corporal punishment on students identified with a disability under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The bill passed the Senate on a 31-16 roll call. A motion to consider the vote as an emergency measure was offered afterward; the presiding officer later announced that the emergency designation failed.

Senator Rader, the bill’s sponsor, read the bill’s operative language on the floor: "School district personnel shall be prohibited from using corporal punishment on any student identified with a disability in accordance with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act." He said the measure was intended to protect students with disabilities after receiving reports of continued corporal punishment in some districts.

Opponents on the floor questioned the bill’s scope and the removal of a parental waiver provision. Senator Jett argued the language is broad and would remove local control and parents’ ability to collaborate with schools: "This bill doesn't say anything about IEPs," Jett said during questioning, and later framed his opposition around parental rights and classroom discipline, citing scripture to underscore his point. Several other senators pressed the sponsor on whether the bill applies only to students with individualized education programs (IEPs) or to anyone who falls within IDEA’s broad disability categories. The sponsor repeatedly said the bill uses the IDEA definition to delineate the covered population and that the intent was to provide statewide protection for that group.

Senator Boren, speaking in debate, flagged what he described as broad enforcement and disclosure risks under current law: he said waivers can be placed in a student file and that state law currently allows a range of actions (including slapping) to be categorized as corporal punishment. "What we're trying to say... is that even if a parent gives you a permission to slap a kid, under Oklahoma law if we change it, a kid with a disability on IEP cannot be slapped at school even with a parent waiver," Boren said, arguing the bill clarifies protections.

Supporters noted the bill emerged from the Senate Education Committee without dissent. Senator Rader reported the education committee approved the bill 11-0. The sponsor said committee members and supporters want to give educators "cover" and a statewide standard for handling discipline for students with disabilities.

The transcript records multiple floor questions and extended debate on whether the bill removes parental involvement and on the practical effects for local school-district discipline plans; several senators described cooperative local arrangements in which parents and districts sign discipline agreements. The sponsor said the bill addresses what state-employed school personnel may or may not do in schools, and that parents retain the ability to discipline their children outside school.

On the final roll call the clerk reported 31 ayes and 16 nays; the presiding officer declared Senate Bill 364 passed. A subsequent request to treat the passage as an emergency measure was considered and ultimately was not sustained in the transcript excerpt.