The number of American colleges with restrictive free speech policies has fallen for the tenth year in a row, according to a recent study by the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education.
About one-third of the 461 campuses surveyed by FIRE maintained policies this year that “clearly and substantially restrict freedom of speech,” according to FIRE. That’s down from 74.2 percent in 2008.
That’s clearly a move in the right direction. Free speech zones and other similarly restrictive policies undermine the free exchange of ideas on college campuses to the detriment of faculty, students and ultimately society as a whole.
The fewer restrictive policies at American colleges there are, the better. Alas, there remain considerable opportunities for improvement.
In addition to 32.3 percent of colleges given a “red light” rating for “clearly and substantially” restrictive policies on speech, FIRE gives another 58.6 percent “yellow light” ratings. Those are schools that restrict speech less than red light schools or have vaguely worded policies that could be used to suppress speech.
Restrictive policies can take a number of forms.
For example, 11 percent of colleges were found to have free speech zones to physically confine free expression to certain areas of campus. Less explicitly, though perhaps just as pernicious, is the bias response teams 30 percent of colleges maintain. Tasked with addressing “bias” and “hate speech,” which often amounts to unpopular protected speech, and sometimes on the basis of anonymous reports from students, these teams can have a chilling effect on the expression and thus discussion of controversial ideas.
Fortunately, restrictive speech policies and practices are continually being challenged, including in courts and legislatures.
In the courts, FIRE’s Stand Up For Speech Litigation Project, for instance, is helping Pierce College student Kevin Shaw sue for changes to restrictive policies in the Los Angeles Community College District. Colorado, Utah and Tennessee have passed legislation to protect free speech on campuses. We encourage further efforts in 2018 to scale back restrictive speech policies and restore the status of American colleges as places where the free exchange of ideas is the norm.