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General Assembly Raised Bill No. 5355
February Session, 2020
LCO No. 1791
Referred to Committee on HIGHER EDUCATION AND
EMPLOYMENT ADVANCEMENT
Introduced by:
(HED)
AN ACT CONCERNING FR EEDOM OF EXPRESSION ON COLLEGE
CAMPUSES.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. (Effective July 1, 2020) (a) Not later than January 1, 2021, the 1
governing board of each institution of higher education in the state shall 2
develop and adopt a policy on freedom of expression for any campus of 3
such institution. Such policy shall include, but not be limited to, (1) the 4
goal of prioritizing freedom of expression in the fulfillment of such 5
institution's mission, including, but not limited to, freedom of 6
expression in research, teaching, discussion and debate, (2) the role of 7
the institution in protecting freedom of expression on campus, 8
including when the ideas or opinions expressed are disagreeable or 9
offensive, (3) reasonable limitations on time, place and manner of 10
expression, provided such limitations are content neutral and necessary 11
to a compelling institutional interest, (4) allowance for protest or 12
demonstration by any person lawfully present on campus, including a 13
spontaneous protest or demonstration, provided such protest or 14
demonstration does not substantially or materially interfere with such 15 Raised Bill No. 5355
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institution's function or in the ability of others to engage in or listen to 16
an expressive activity, (5) the designation of public areas on campus as 17
public forums that are open on the same terms to any speaker, (6) the 18
availability of resources for protecting the safety and freedom of 19
expression of any speaker invited on campus by any student, student 20
group or faculty member, which resources shall be available on the same 21
terms to any invited speaker. 22
(b) Not later than February 1, 2021, the governing board of each 23
institution of higher education shall submit, in accordance with the 24
provisions of section 11-4a of the general statutes, to the joint standing 25
committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters 26
relating to higher education the policy adopted by such institution in 27
accordance with subsection (a) of this section. 28
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 July 1, 2020 New section
Statement of Purpose:
To require institutions of higher education in the state to adopt a policy
on freedom of expression.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except
that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not
underlined.]