Kurt Hochenauer at Okie Funk gives three reasons why Oklahoma legislators should oppose the cynically named Higher Education Sunshine Act (HB 2600):

(1) It could cost universities staggering amounts of money to prepare the reports each year. This would just add another senseless, bureaucratic mandate that would once again increase college tuition, which has been skyrocketing in Oklahoma in recent years.

(2) The bill has the potential to influence course content. Everyone knows this is a right-wing initiative so some professors, especially those in the sciences and medicine, may well become too intimidated to teach evolution theory or anything related to the scientific method at certain universities. Other professors may well feel too intimidated to express mainstream political positions or teach any political or world historical content that might cast progressive political ideas in a good light. The bill could limit intellectual arguments in classroom discussions. This will trickle down to high school classrooms.

(3) There is simply no point to the bill. Oklahoma universities have a wide cross section of professors with differing political, lifestyle and religious views. Students have appeal rights on each campus if they feel they have been mistreated or graded lowered because of their religious or political views. Students also consistently evaluate instructors. The system is not broken. If anything, universities should find ways to eliminate paperwork, not create more of it.

Well said.