Free Speech Advocacy Group Reaches Settlement With Iowa State
“We will continue to monitor Iowa State and its approach to students’ freedom of expression.”
Speech First is doing some great work to defend free expression on college campuses.
From their website:
SPEECH FIRST V. ISU; SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT
– In January 2020, Speech First sued Iowa State University to defend our student members’ First Amendment rights. We challenged the school’s ban on chalking, its prohibition on student emails related to campaigns and elections, and its Campus Climate Reporting System.
– Not long after we sued, the University made several substantive changes to the policies that we challenged; specifically, it abandoned its prohibition on political emails sent by students and abandoned its ban on chalking. All students can now chalk, regardless of their viewpoint or their membership in a student organization, in certain areas of the campus.
– To lock in these reforms, Speech First negotiated a settlement agreement with the University. Iowa State now agrees to never reinstate the political email policy or the chalking ban; in addition, the school’s Campus Climate Reporting System will not contact or meet with students accused of “biased” speech.
– We will continue to monitor Iowa State and its approach to students’ freedom of expression. The settlement reserves our right to challenge the CCRS again in the future, and to challenge the new chalking policy if it effectively chills speech.
Read the full settlement agreement here.
DONATE
Donations tax deductible
to the full extent allowed by law.
