I 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 7229 

To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to protect student rights, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 10, 2018 

Mr. BRAT (for himself, Mr. BUDD, Mr. MEADOWS, Mr. GAETZ, Mr. GOSAR, 

Mr. LAMBORN, Mr. GIANFORTE, and Mr. NORMAN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the 

Workforce 

A BILL 

To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to protect 

student rights, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Student Rights Act 

5 of 2018’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) Freedom of speech is a fundamental natural 

9 right. 


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1 (2) Freedom of assembly and freedom of asso2 ciation are a necessary part of such freedom of 

3 speech. 

4 (3) The First Amendment of the Constitution 

5 of the United States, ratified on December 15, 

6 1791, protects freedom of speech for Americans. 

7 (4) Freedom of inquiry, impossible without the 

8 freedom of speech, should be a first principle 

9 amongst American public institutions of higher edu10 cation to promote civic deliberation, the discourse of 

11 ideas, and the search for truth. 

12 (5) Freedom of speech has been abridged at 

13 many public institutions of higher education. 

14 (6) It is necessary to clarify the rights of stu15 dents to assemble, associate, speak, and think freely. 

16 (7) It is necessary to notify students at public 

17 institutions of higher education of their rights under 

18 the First Amendment of the Constitution of the 

19 United States and ensure a fair judicial process for 

20 such students to challenge violations of their rights. 

21 SEC. 3. RIGHT TO FREE SPEECH IN OUTDOOR AREAS. 

22 Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

23 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.) is amended— 

24 (1) in section 487(a), by adding at the end the 

25 following: 


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1 ‘‘(30) In the case of a public institution, the in2 stitution will comply with the expressive activity pro3 tections described in section 493E.’’; and 

4 (2) in part G, by adding at the end the fol5 lowing: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 493E. CAMPUS INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS. 

7 ‘‘(a) DEFINITION OF EXPRESSIVE ACTIVITIES.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In this section, the term 

9 ‘expressive activity’ includes— 

10 ‘‘(A) peacefully assembling, protesting, or 

11 speaking; 

12 ‘‘(B) distributing literature; 

13 ‘‘(C) carrying a sign; or 

14 ‘‘(D) circulating a petition. 

15 ‘‘(2) EXCLUSIONS.—In this section, the term 

16 ‘expressive activity’ does not include violence, har17 assment, or obscenity (as defined by applicable stat18 utory law in accordance with the precedents of the 

19 Supreme Court of the United States). 

20 ‘‘(b) EXPRESSIVE ACTIVITIES AT AN INSTITUTION.— 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each public institution of 

22 higher education participating in a program under 

23 this title may not prohibit, subject to paragraph (2), 

24 a student from freely engaging in noncommercial exVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:48 Dec 11, 2018 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7229.IH H7229

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1 pressive activity in an outdoor area on the institu2 tion’s campus if the student’s conduct is lawful. 

3 ‘‘(2) RESTRICTIONS.—An institution of higher 

4 education described in paragraph (1) may maintain 

5 and enforce reasonable time, place, or manner re6 strictions on an expressive activity in an outdoor 

7 area of the institution’s campus, if the restriction— 

8 ‘‘(A) is narrowly tailored to serve a signifi9 cant institutional interest; 

10 ‘‘(B) is based on previously published, con11 tent-neutral, and viewpoint-neutral criteria; and 

12 ‘‘(C) leaves open ample alternative chan13 nels for communication. 

14 ‘‘(3) APPLICATION.—The protections provided 

15 under paragraph (1) do not apply to expressive ac16 tivity in an area on an institution’s campus that is 

17 not an outdoor area. 

18 ‘‘(c) CAUSES OF ACTION.— 

19 ‘‘(1) AUTHORIZATION.—The following persons 

20 may bring an action in a Federal court of competent 

21 jurisdiction to enjoin a violation of this section or 

22 any of paragraphs (31) through (34) of section 

23 487(a), or to recover compensatory damages, reason24 able court costs, or reasonable attorney fees: 

25 ‘‘(A) The Attorney General. 


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1 ‘‘(B) A person claiming that the person’s 

2 expressive activity rights, as described in sub3 section (b)(1), were violated. 

4 ‘‘(2) ACTIONS.—In an action brought under 

5 this subsection, if the court finds a violation of this 

6 section, the court— 

7 ‘‘(A) shall— 

8 ‘‘(i) enjoin the violation; and 

9 ‘‘(ii) if a person whose expressive ac10 tivity rights were violated brought the ac11 tion, award the person— 

12 ‘‘(I) not less than $1,000 for an 

13 initial violation; and 

14 ‘‘(II) if the person notifies the in15 stitution of the violation, $100 for 

16 each day the violation continues after 

17 the notification if the institution did 

18 not act to discontinue the cause of the 

19 violation; and 

20 ‘‘(B) may award a prevailing plaintiff— 

21 ‘‘(i) compensatory damages; 

22 ‘‘(ii) reasonable court costs; or 

23 ‘‘(iii) reasonable attorney fees. 

24 ‘‘(d) STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para2 graph (3), an action under this section may not be 

3 brought later than 1 year after the date on which 

4 the cause of action accrues. 

5 ‘‘(2) CONTINUING VIOLATION.—Each day that 

6 a violation of this section continues after an initial 

7 violation of this section, and each day that an insti8 tution’s policy in violation of this section remains in 

9 effect, shall constitute a continuing violation of this 

10 section. 

11 ‘‘(3) EXTENSION.—For a continuing violation 

12 described in paragraph (2), the limitation described 

13 in paragraph (1) shall extend to 1 year after the 

14 date on which the most recent violation occurs.’’. 

15 SEC. 4. FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION. 

16 Section 487(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

17 (20 U.S.C. 1094(a)), as amended by section 3, is further 

18 amended by adding at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘(31) In the case of a public institution, the in20 stitution will allow a religious or political student or21 ganization to determine that ordering the organiza22 tion’s internal affairs, selecting the organization’s 

23 leaders and members, defining the organization’s 

24 doctrines, and resolving the organization’s disputes 

25 are in furtherance of the organization’s religious or 


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1 political mission and that only persons committed to 

2 that mission should conduct such activities. 

3 ‘‘(32) In the case of a public institution that 

4 has granted recognition and access to any student 

5 organization or group, the institution shall not dis6 criminate against any such student organization or 

7 group that exercises its rights under this Act.’’. 

8 SEC. 5. RIGHT FOR STUDENTS GROUPS TO INVITE SPEAK9 ERS. 

10 Section 487(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

11 (20 U.S.C. 1094(a)), as amended by sections 3 and 4, is 

12 further amended by adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘(33) In the case of a public institution, the in14 stitution will not abridge the freedom of any indi15 vidual, including enrolled students, faculty, other 

16 employees, and the invited guests of any such indi17 viduals, to speak on campus, except that the institu18 tion may restrict the use of its nonpublic facilities by 

19 invited guests. 

20 ‘‘(34) In the case of a public institution, the in21 stitution— 

22 ‘‘(A) will make all reasonable efforts and 

23 will make available all reasonable resources to 

24 ensure the safety of invited speakers; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) will not charge security fees based 

2 on— 

3 ‘‘(i) the content of the speech of an 

4 individual or organization that invites a 

5 speaker; or 

6 ‘‘(ii) the content of the speech of an 

7 invited speaker.’’. 

8 SEC. 6. DISCLOSURE OF FREEDOM OF SPEECH ON CAMPUS 

9 POLICIES. 

10 Section 487(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

11 (20 U.S.C. 1094(a)), as amended by sections 3 through 

12 5, is further amended by adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘(35) In the case of a public institution, the in14 stitution will— 

15 ‘‘(A) develop a written policy guaranteeing 

16 free speech, assembly, and association on cam17 pus in a manner that is consistent with the 

18 First Amendment, including the policy of the 

19 institution with respect to— 

20 ‘‘(i) invitations by students to speak21 ers to speak at such institution; and 

22 ‘‘(ii) student and faculty rights to 

23 free-speech, rights of association, and 

24 rights to publish; 


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1 ‘‘(B) include in a statement that it is not 

2 the proper role of an institution to deprive indi3 viduals from speech protected by the First 

4 Amendment of the Constitution of the United 

5 States, including ideas and opinions they find 

6 unwelcome, disagreeable, or offensive; 

7 ‘‘(C) if the institution is sued for an al8 leged violation of a right guaranteed by the 

9 First Amendment, submit a report with a copy 

10 of the complaint to— 

11 ‘‘(i) the Secretary; 

12 ‘‘(ii) the Committees on Education 

13 and the Workforce and Oversight and Gov14 ernment Reform of the House of Rep15 resentatives; and 

16 ‘‘(iii) the Committees on Health, Edu17 cation, Labor, and Pensions and Homeland 

18 Security and Government Affairs of the 

19 Senate; 

20 ‘‘(D) notify students of the information de21 scribed in subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C) an22 nually by mail or email and at freshman ori23 entation classes or seminars, if such seminars 

24 are offered; and 


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1 ‘‘(E) publish the information described in 

2 subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C) on a publicly 

3 accessible website of the institution.’’. 

4 SEC. 7. APPLICABILITY TO CERTAIN INSTITUTIONS. 

5 Nothing in this Act or the amendments made by this 

6 Act shall apply to a student or a student organization at 

7 a public institution of higher education the primary mis8 sion of which is to prepare individuals for service in the 

9 Armed Forces or the merchant marine. 

Æ 


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