III 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 425 

Recognizing the importance of protecting freedom of speech, thought, and 

expression at institutions of higher education. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

OCTOBER 20, 2021 

Mrs. BLACKBURN (for herself, Mr. COTTON, Mr. TILLIS, Mr. LANKFORD, Mr. 

BRAUN, Mr. GRASSLEY, Ms. ERNST, Mr. RUBIO, Mr. HAWLEY, Mr. 

SCOTT of South Carolina, and Mr. CRUZ) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, 

and Pensions 

RESOLUTION 

Recognizing the importance of protecting freedom of speech, 

thought, and expression at institutions of higher education. 

Whereas the First Amendment to the Constitution of the 

United States guarantees that ‘‘Congress shall make no 

law . . . abridging the freedom of speech’’; 

Whereas, in Healy v. James, 408 U.S. 169 (1972), the Supreme Court of the United States held that the First 

Amendment to the Constitution of the United States applies in full force on the campuses of public colleges and 

universities; 

Whereas, in Widmar v. Vincent, 454 U.S. 263 (1981), the 

Supreme Court of the United States observed that ‘‘the 


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•SRES 425 IS 

campus of a public university, at least for its students, 

possesses many of the characteristics of a public forum’’; 

Whereas lower Federal courts have also held that the open, 

outdoor areas of the campuses of public colleges and universities are public forums; 

Whereas section 112(a)(2) of the Higher Education Act of 

1965 (20 U.S.C. 1011a(a)(2)) contains a sense of Congress noting that ‘‘an institution of higher education 

should facilitate the free and open exchange of ideas’’, 

‘‘students should not be intimidated, harassed, discouraged from speaking out, or discriminated against’’, ‘‘students should be treated equally and fairly’’, and ‘‘nothing 

in this paragraph shall be construed to modify, change, 

or infringe upon any constitutionally protected religious 

liberty, freedom, expression, or association’’; 

Whereas, despite the clarity of the applicable legal precedent 

and the vital importance of protecting public colleges in 

the United States as true ‘‘marketplaces of ideas’’, the 

Foundation for Individual Rights in Education has found 

that approximately 1 in 10 of the top colleges and universities in the United States quarantine student expression 

to so-called ‘‘free speech zones’’, and a survey of 466 

schools found that almost 30 percent maintain severely 

restrictive speech codes that clearly and substantially prohibit constitutionally protected speech; 

Whereas, according to the American Civil Liberties Union 

(ACLU), ‘‘Speech codes adopted by government-financed 

state colleges and universities amount to government censorship, in violation of the Constitution. And the ACLU 

believes that all campuses should adhere to First Amendment principles because academic freedom is a bedrock of 

education in a free society.’’; 


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•SRES 425 IS 

Whereas the University of Chicago, as part of its commitment ‘‘to free and open inquiry in all matters’’, issued a 

statement in which ‘‘it guarantees all members of the 

University community the broadest possible latitude to 

speak, write, listen, challenge, and learn’’, and more than 

50 university administrations and faculty bodies have endorsed a version of the ‘‘Chicago Statement’’; 

Whereas, in December 2014, the University of Hawaii at 

Hilo settled a lawsuit for $50,000 after it was sued in 

Federal court for prohibiting students from protesting 

the National Security Agency unless those students were 

standing in the tiny, flood-prone free speech zone at the 

university; 

Whereas, in July 2015, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, settled a lawsuit for $35,000 after it was 

sued in Federal court for prohibiting a student from 

handing out flyers about animal abuse outside of the free 

speech zone at the university, comprising less than 0.01 

percent of campus; 

Whereas, in May 2016, a student-plaintiff settled her lawsuit 

against Blinn College in Texas for $50,000 after administrators told her she needed ‘‘special permission’’ to advocate for Second Amendment rights outside of the tiny 

free speech zone at the college; 

Whereas, in February 2017, Georgia Gwinnett College agreed 

to modify its restrictive speech policies after two students 

sued in Federal court to challenge a requirement that 

students obtain prior authorization from administrators 

to engage in expressive activity within the limits of a tiny 

free speech zone, comprising less than 0.0015 percent of 

campus; 


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•SRES 425 IS 

Whereas, in March 2017, Middlebury College students and 

protesters from the community prevented an invited 

speaker from giving his presentation and then attacked 

his car and assaulted a professor as the two attempted 

to leave, resulting in the professor suffering a concussion; 

Whereas, in January 2018, Kellogg Community College in 

Michigan settled a lawsuit for $55,000 for arresting two 

students for handing out copies of the Constitution of the 

United States while talking with their fellow students on 

a sidewalk; 

Whereas, in June 2018, the University of Michigan agreed to 

change its restrictive speech code on the same day the 

United States Department of Justice filed a statement of 

interest in support of a lawsuit in Federal court challenging the constitutionality of the speech code of the 

university; 

Whereas, in December 2018, the Los Angeles Community 

College District, a 9-campus community college district 

that includes Pierce College, settled a lawsuit for 

$225,000 and changed its restrictive speech policies after 

it was sued in Federal court for prohibiting a Pierce College student from distributing Spanish-language copies of 

the Constitution of the United States on campus unless 

he stood in the free speech zone, which comprised approximately 0.003 percent of the total area of the 426 

acres of the college; 

Whereas, in December 2018, the University of California, 

Berkeley, home of the 1960s campus free speech movement, settled a lawsuit for $70,000 and changed its restrictive policies after it was sued in Federal court for 

singling out one student group, apart from other student 


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groups, with the imposition of stricter rules for inviting 

‘‘high-profile’’ public speakers; 

Whereas the States of Virginia, Missouri, Arizona, Kentucky, 

Colorado, Utah, North Carolina, Tennessee, Florida, 

Georgia, Louisiana, South Dakota, and Iowa have passed 

legislation prohibiting public colleges and universities 

from quarantining expressive activities on the open outdoor areas of campuses to misleadingly labeled free 

speech zones; and 

Whereas free speech zones have been used to restrict political 

speech from all parts of the political spectrum and have 

thus inhibited the free exchange of ideas at campuses 

across the country: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) recognizes that free speech zones and re3 strictive speech codes are inherently at odds with the 

4 freedom of speech guaranteed by the First Amend5 ment to the Constitution of the United States; 

6 (2) recognizes that institutions of higher edu7 cation should facilitate and recommit themselves to 

8 protecting the free and open exchange of ideas; 

9 (3) recognizes that freedom of expression and 

10 freedom of speech are sacred ideals of the United 

11 States that must be vigorously safeguarded in a 

12 world increasingly hostile to democracy; 

13 (4) encourages the Secretary of Education to 

14 promote policies that foster spirited debate, aca15 demic freedom, intellectual curiosity, and viewpoint 


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1 diversity on the campuses of public colleges and uni2 versities; and 

3 (5) encourages the Attorney General to defend 

4 and protect the First Amendment across public col5 leges and universities. 

Æ 


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