I
104TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 4207
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to protect the speech and
association rights of students attending institutions of higher education.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
SEPTEMBER 26, 1996
Mr. LIVINGSTON introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Economic and Educational Opportunities
A BILL
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to protect
the speech and association rights of students attending
institutions of higher education.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Freedom of Speech
and Association on Campus Act of 1996’’.
SEC. 2. PROTECTION OF STUDENT SPEECH AND ASSOCIA-
TION RIGHTS.
Title XII of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20
U.S.C. 1141 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end
the following new section:
‘‘SEC. 1214. PROTECTION OF STUDENT SPEECH AND ASSO-
CIATION RIGHTS.
‘‘(a) PROTECTION OF RIGHTS.—No student attend-
ing an institution of higher education on a full- or part-
time basis shall, on the basis of protected speech and asso-
ciation, be excluded from participation in, be denied the
benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination or official
sanction under any education program, activity, or divi-
sion directly or indirectly receiving financial assistance
under this Act, whether or not such program, activity, or
division is sponsored or officially sanctioned by the institu-
tion.
‘‘(b) SANCTION.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—No funds shall be made
available under this Act to any institution of higher
education that the Secretary finds, after notice and
opportunity for a hearing, has violated subsection
(a) of this section.
‘‘(2) INAPPLICABILITY
TO
STUDENT
ASSIST-
ANCE.—Paragraph (1) shall not apply to any funds
that are provided under this Act for student finan-
cial assistance.
‘‘(c) EXCEPTION.—This section shall not apply to an
institution of higher education that is controlled by a reli-
gious or military organization, if the speech or association
is not consistent with the religious tenets or military train-
ing of the institution.
‘‘(d) SANCTIONS
FOR DISRUPTION PERMITTED.—
Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent the
imposition of an official sanction on a student that has
willfully participated in the disruption or attempted dis-
ruption of a lecture, class, speech, presentation, or per-
formance made or scheduled to be made under the aus-
pices of the institution of higher education.
‘‘(e) DEFINITIONS.—
‘‘(1) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—
The term ‘institution of higher education’ has the
meaning given in section 1201(a).
‘‘(2) PROTECTED
SPEECH.—The term ‘pro-
tected speech’ means speech that is protected under
the 1st and 14th amendments to the United States
Constitution, or would be so protected if the institu-
tion of higher education were subjected to those
amendments.
‘‘(3) PROTECTED
ASSOCIATION.—The term
‘protected association’ means the right to join, as-
semble, and reside with others that is protected
under the 1st and 14th amendments to the United
States Constitution, or would be protected if the in-
stitution of higher education were subject to those
amendments.
‘‘(4) OFFICIAL SANCTION.—The term ‘official
sanction’—
‘‘(A) means expulsion, suspension, proba-
tion, censure, condemnation, reprimand, or any
other disciplinary, coercive, or adverse action
taken by an institution of higher education or
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.’’.
Æ