A state board tasked with investigating free speech violations on Oklahoma university campuses must have increased enforcement power to properly protect people’s constitutional rights, one advocate said.

But leaders of the Oklahoma Free Speech Committee said the body doesn’t need more power beyond its advisory role when it comes to enforcing changes in free speech policy or investigating violations.

The debate over the committee’s role comes as the state’s three largest universities have faced complaints of free speech violations in recent months, ranging from political and religious discrimination to press censorship.

The nine-member committee, created by House Bill 3543 in 2022 , is part of the State Regents for Higher Education and is a purely advisory body that issues recommendat

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