In Wisconsin, a Free Speech Law with Teeth

The Wisconsin university system has been criticized for upholding unconstitutional free speech laws that infringe on students’ rights, leading the Wisconsin Assembly to pass in February a bill aimed at preventing disruption of protected speech, and the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents to recently adopt a similar rule that would sanction anyone who does so.

The Wisconsin State Assembly passed a bill that would require the Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin to adopt a policy on free expression. Assembly Bill 444, passed in February, applies to four-year and two-year institutions of the University of Wisconsin system. The new policy revokes existing policies or rules that restrict freedom of expression.

"That any person lawfully present on campus may protest or demonstrate, but that protests and demonstrations that interfere with the expressive rights of others are subject to sanction"   

The Wisconsin Board of Regents voted Thursday in favor of similar rules:

This bill outlines that it is not the proper role of an institution to prevent individuals from engaging in speech protected by the Constitution.

"Students and faculty have the freedom to discuss any problem as permitted by the First Amendment and within specified limits," it states. The legislation allows for demonstrations and protests on college campuses, provided they do not disrupt others' speech.

According to the bill, individuals who disrupt free expression on the University of Wisconsin System and Wisconsin Technical College System campuses twice are subject to suspension and, if they violate the free speech of others three times, they would be expelled from the institutions.

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