Oklahoma Administrative Code › Title 1 - EXECUTIVE ORDERS › Section 1:2023-31

Current through Vol. 41, No. 20, July 1, 2024
EXECUTIVE ORDER 2023-31
WHEREAS, the Equal Protection Clause contained within the
			 Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution provides: "No state
			 shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities
			 of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of
			 life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person
			 within its jurisdiction the equal protection of laws."; and
WHEREAS, the United States Supreme Court examined the Equal
			 Protection Clause and its meaning regarding the college admission process in
Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard
			 College
, 143 S.Ct. 2141 (June 29, 2023); and
WHEREAS, the Supreme Court explained that "[e]liminating racial
			 discrimination means eliminating all of it. And the Equal Protection Clause, we
			 have accordingly held, applies 'without regard to any differences of race, of
			 color, or of nationality'-it is 'universal in [its] application.'"; and
WHEREAS, likewise, the State of Oklahoma's Constitution was
			 amended in 2012, Okla. Const. art. II, § 36A, to prohibit the state from
			 granting "preferential treatment to, or discriminat[ing] against, any
			 individual or group on the basis of race, color, sex, ethnicity or national
			 origin in the operation of public employment, public education or public
			 contracting," with limited exceptions; and
WHEREAS, to the extent education theories of diversity, equity,
			 and inclusion have led state entities to grant preferential treatment to, or
			 discriminate against, a person based on his or her race, color, sex, ethnicity,
			 or national origin, this Executive Order clarifies the legal prohibition
			 against such treatment.
NOW THEREFORE, I, J. Kevin Stitt, Governor of the State of
			 Oklahoma pursuant to the power and authority vested in me by Sections 1 and 2
			 of Article VI of the Oklahoma Constitution, and to the fullest extent permitted
			 by law, hereby order as follows:
Executive state agencies shall not utilize state funds,
			 property, or resources to:
1. Grant or
		  support diversity, equity, and inclusion positions, departments, activities,
		  procedures, or programs to the extent they grant preferential treatment based
		  on one person's particular race, color, ethnicity, or national origin over
		  another's;
2. mandate any person to
		  participate in, listen to, or receive any education, training, activities,
		  procedures, or programming to the extent such education, training, activity, or
		  procedure grants preferences based on one person's particular race, color, sex,
		  ethnicity, or national origin over another's;
3. mandate any person swear, certify, or
		  agree to any loyalty oath that favors or prefers one particular race, color,
		  sex, ethnicity, or national origin over another's;
4. mandate any person to certify or declare
		  agreement with, recognition of, or adherence to, any particular political,
		  philosophical, religious, or other ideological viewpoint;
5. mandate any applicant for employment
		  provide a diversity, equity, and inclusion statement or give any applicant for
		  employment preferential consideration based on the provision of such a
		  diversity, equity, and inclusion statement; or
6. mandate any person to disclose their
		  pronouns.
Further, executive state agencies, including institutions of
			 higher education, shall initiate a review of diversity, equity, and inclusion
			 positions, departments, activities, procedures, and programs and, if deemed
			 necessary, restructure and/or eliminate functions that are not necessary for
			 compliance, accreditation, or student and employee support services intended to
			 support success broadly.
Notwithstanding the limitations and mandates set forth above,
			 nothing in this Executive Order may be construed to limit or prohibit
			 institutions of higher education, including executive state agencies supporting
			 those institutions' work, from applying for a grant or complying with the
			 accreditation requirements by an accrediting or licensing agency, including,
			 but not limited to, submitting to the grantor or accreditation agency a
			 statement that:
1. highlights the
		  agency's work in supporting:
a.
		  first-generation college students, or
b. students from low-income families,
		  or
c. students with unique
		  abilities, or
d. underserved student
		  populations; or