Your Turn: Oklahoma takes a step toward shared parenting

By Don Hubin

Recently, Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt signed into law a bill that is small in size but could have a significant effect. This bill passed both chambers of the Oklahoma Legislature by overwhelming margins: 85 to 3 in the House and 45 to 0 in the Senate.

House Bill 1151 amends just one paragraph of Oklahoma’s statutes. It deletes just 13 words and adds only 45 words. How much difference can those small changes in language make? Let’s see.

First, previous Oklahoma law stated a pro-shared parenting policy of the state “provided that parents agree to cooperate.” This could be interpreted as giving one parent a veto over shared parenting. The new text states the pro-shared parenting policy flatly, without that condition. Instead, it says that “[t]he court may consider evidence of the ability of the parents to cooperate on issues related to their minor children." Since we know that parents can cooperate under a shared parenting agreement even if one parent doesn't agree to shared parenting, this is an important change.