Freedom of Speech on Campus Act of 1993

Summary: Freedom of Speech on Campus Act of 1993 - Expresses the sense of the Congress that students attending universities or other institutions of higher education that receive Federal funds should be able to exercise full rights to freedom of speech on campus free from official intrusion. 
Amends the Education Amendments of 1972 to prohibit discrimination by an institution of higher education against a student based on protected speech in any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance under the Higher Education Act of 1965. 
Makes such prohibition inapplicable to religious or military institutions. 
Provides that such prohibition shall not be construed to prevent: (1) imposition of an official sanction on a student determined to have willfully participated in the disruption or attempted disruption of a lecture, class, speech, presentation, or performance made or scheduled to be made under the auspices of the institution of higher education; or (2) actions by such institution that are necessary to ensure the safety of individuals, protection of property, and continuation of the academic and administrative process without interference.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Freedom of Speech on Campus Act of 
1993''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds that--
            (1) free speech is a fundamental right and a safeguard 
        against political and intellectual tyranny;
            (2) curtailment of free speech strikes twice at 
        intellectual freedom, for whoever deprives a person of the 
        right to state unpopular views necessarily deprives other 
        persons of the right to listen to the views;
            (3) the primary and traditional function of a university is 
        to disseminate knowledge and assist in the search for truth, 
        and, in order to carry out the function, to do everything 
        possible to ensure the free exchange of ideas and the fullest 
        degree of intellectual freedom;
            (4) therefore, to carry out the function of the university, 
        every member of the university has an obligation to permit free 
        expression, and every university official has a special 
        obligation to foster freedom of speech and to ensure that the 
        speech is not obstructed, at the university; and
            (5) unfortunately, some universities and other institutions 
        of higher education are using Federal funds to institute prior 
        restraints on speech, by taking action such as instituting 
        behavior codes and harassment policies that require 
        ``politically correct'' speech, with the effect of suppressing 
        unpopular viewpoints.

SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of Congress that students attending universities, 
or other institutions of higher education, that receive Federal funds 
should be able to exercise full rights to freedom of speech on campus 
free from official intrusion.

SEC. 4. PROHIBITION OF DISCRIMINATION.

    (a) In General.--Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 is 
amended by inserting after section 901 (20 U.S.C. 1681) the following 
new section:

``SEC. 901A. PROHIBITION OF DISCRIMINATION BASED ON PROTECTED SPEECH.

    ``(a) Prohibition.--
            ``(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), no 
        student attending an institution of higher education shall, on 
        the basis of protected speech, be excluded from participation 
        in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to 
        discrimination or official sanction under, any education 
        program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance 
        under the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001 et 
        seq.).
            ``(2) Religious and military institutions.--Paragraph (1) 
        shall not apply to an institution of higher education--
                    ``(A) that is controlled by or affiliated with a 
                religious organization, if the application of this 
                section would not be consistent with the religious 
                tenets of such organization; or
                    ``(B) whose primary purpose is the training of 
                individuals for--
                            ``(i) the military service of the United 
                        States; or
                            ``(ii) the merchant marine.
    ``(b) Construction.--Nothing in subsection (a) shall be construed 
to prevent--
            ``(1) the imposition of an official sanction on a student 
        determined to have willfully participated in the disruption or 
        attempted disruption of a lecture, class, speech, presentation, 
        or performance, made or scheduled to be made, under the 
        auspices of the institution of higher education; or
            ``(2) actions by the institution of higher education that 
        are necessary to ensure--
                    ``(A) the physical safety of individuals;
                    ``(B) the protection of property; and
                    ``(C) the continuation of the academic and 
                administrative process without interference.
    ``(c) Definitions.--As used in this section:
            ``(1) Institution of higher education.--The term 
        `institution of higher education' has the meaning given the 
        term in section 1201(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
        U.S.C. 1141(a)).
            ``(2) Protected speech.--The term `protected speech' means 
        speech that is protected under the first and fourteenth 
        amendments to the United States Constitution, or would be so 
        protected if the institution of higher education were subject 
        to those amendments.
            ``(3) Official sanction.--The term `official sanction'--
                    ``(A) means expulsion, suspension, probation, 
                censure, condemnation, reprimand, or any other 
                disciplinary, coercive, or adverse action taken by an 
                institution of higher education or an administrative 
                unit of the institution; and
                    ``(B) includes an oral or written warning made by 
                an official of an institution of higher education 
                acting in the official capacity of the official.''.
    (b) Federal Administrative Enforcement.--Section 902 of the 
Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. 1682) is amended in the first 
sentence by striking out ``section 901'' and inserting ``sections 901 
and 901A''.