As OU prepares for a more normal fall semester, campus officials are assessing the potential impacts of legislation that would prohibit schools, including higher education facilities, from requiring COVID-19 vaccines for admission or attendance as well as ordering mask mandates for the unvaccinated.
Sen. Rob Standridge (R-Norman) is among the supporters of the measure, Senate Bill 658.
Cleveland County lawmakers Sen. Mary Boren and Reps. Jacob Rosencrants, Emily Virgin and Merleyn Bell all voted against it.
The bill, which would make exceptions in public or private health care settings, reached the office of Gov. Kevin Stitt on Wednesday after passing the House 76-18 and the Senate 38-8.
The OU chapter of the American Association of University Professors urged OU to set COVID-19 vaccination requirements for the university’s community before allowing students and employees to return to in-person activities in fall 2021, according to a May 24 press release.
After OU lifted its university-wide masking requirements and social distancing policies following the CDC’s recent change in guidelines, the association wrote OU did not justify why proof of COVID-19 vaccinations will not be required from students, faculty and staff.
OU Director of Media Relations Kesha Keith wrote in an email to The Daily OU “is aware of the legislation” and is “assessing its potential impacts” as it prepares for an in-person return in fall 2021.
