101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2019 and 2020
HB4968

 

Introduced 2/18/2020, by Rep. Allen Skillicorn

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
New Act

    Creates the Campus Free Speech and Expression Act. Requires the board of trustees of each public university and community college in this State to adopt a policy that includes a statement that (1) the primary function of an institution of higher education is the discovery, improvement, transmission, and dissemination of knowledge by means of research, teaching, discussion, and debate; (2) it is not the proper role of an institution of higher education to shield individuals from speech protected by the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States; (3) it is the proper role of an institution of higher education to encourage diversity of thoughts, ideas, and opinions and to encourage the peaceful, respectful, and safe exercise of First Amendment rights; (4) students and faculty have the freedom to discuss any problem that presents itself, assemble, and engage in spontaneous expressive activity on campus, within the bounds of established principles of the First Amendment and subject to reasonable time, place, and manner restrictions; and (5) the outdoor areas of campus of an institution of higher education are public forums open on the same terms to any invited speaker, subject to reasonable time, place, and manner restrictions. Sets forth provisions concerning activities that are protected under the Act, deeming the outdoor areas of campuses public forums on campus, freedom of association, remedies, a statute of limitations, and immunity.


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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY
STATE MANDATES ACT MAY REQUIRE REIMBURSEMENT

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

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1    AN ACT concerning education.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Campus
5Free Speech and Expression Act.
 
6    Section 5. Definitions. In this Act:
7    "Benefit", with respect to a student organization at a
8public institution of higher education, means any of the
9following:
10        (1) Recognition.
11        (2) Registration.
12        (3) Use of facilities for meetings or speaking
13    purposes.
14        (4) Use of channels of communication.
15        (5) Access to funding sources that are otherwise
16    available to other student groups.
17    "Campus community" means students, administrators,
18faculty, and staff at a public institution of higher education
19and guests invited to a public institution of higher education
20by the institution's students, administrators, faculty, or
21staff.
22    "Intentionally, materially, and substantially disrupts"
23means when a person, with the intent to or with knowledge of

 

 

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1doing so, engages in violent or other disorderly conduct that
2significantly hinders a previously scheduled or reserved
3activity occurring on campus grounds, buildings, and
4facilities. "Materially and substantially disrupts" does not
5include conduct that is protected under the First Amendment of
6the Constitution of the United States, including, but not
7limited to, lawful protests and counter-protests.
8    "Outdoor areas of campus" means the generally accessible
9outside areas of campus where students, administrators,
10faculty, and staff at a public institution of higher education
11are commonly allowed, such as grassy areas, walkways, or other
12similar common areas, and does not include areas outside health
13care facilities, including both stand-alone facilities and
14mixed-use facilities that are embedded within another
15facility, veterinary medicine facilities, a facility or
16outdoor area used by the institution's athletics program or
17teams, or other outdoor areas where access is restricted to a
18majority of the campus community. In recognition of the healing
19environment that is essential to its clinical purposes, the
20areas outside health care facilities, including both
21stand-alone facilities and mixed-use facilities that are
22embedded within another facility, are not designated as public
23forums under this Act.
24    "Public institution of higher education" means a public
25university or public community college in this State.
26    "Student" means an individual who is enrolled on a

 

 

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1full-time or part-time basis at a public institution of higher
2education.
3    "Student organization" means a group officially recognized
4at or officially registered by a public institution of higher
5education or a group seeking such official recognition or
6official registration comprised of students who are admitted
7and in attendance at the public institution of higher education
8and who receive or are seeking to receive student organization
9benefits or privileges through the public institution of higher
10education.
 
11    Section 10. Policy adoption. The board of trustees of each
12public institution of higher education shall adopt a policy
13that includes all of the following statements:
14        (1) That the primary function of an institution of
15    higher education is the discovery, improvement,
16    transmission, and dissemination of knowledge by means of
17    research, teaching, discussion, and debate. This statement
18    shall provide that, to fulfill this function, the
19    institution must strive to ensure the fullest degree of
20    intellectual freedom and free expression allowed under the
21    First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States.
22        (2) That it is not the proper role of an institution of
23    higher education to shield individuals from speech
24    protected by the First Amendment of the Constitution of the
25    United States, which may include ideas and opinions the

 

 

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1    individual finds unwelcome, disagreeable, or even
2    offensive.
3        (3) That it is the proper role of an institution of
4    higher education to encourage diversity of thoughts,
5    ideas, and opinions and to encourage, within the bounds of
6    the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United
7    States, the peaceful, respectful, and safe exercise of
8    First Amendment rights.
9        (4) That students and faculty have the freedom to
10    discuss any problem that presents itself, assemble, and
11    engage in spontaneous expressive activity on campus,
12    within the bounds of established principles of the First
13    Amendment of the Constitution of the United States and
14    subject to reasonable time, place, and manner restrictions
15    that are consistent with established First Amendment
16    principles.
17        (5) That the outdoor areas of campus of an institution
18    of higher education are public forums open on the same
19    terms to any invited speaker, subject to reasonable time,
20    place, and manner restrictions that are consistent with
21    established principles of the First Amendment of the
22    Constitution of the United States.
 
23    Section 15. Protected activities.
24    (a) Noncommercial expressive activities protected under
25this Act include, but are not limited to, any lawful oral or

 

 

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1written means by which members of the campus community may
2communicate ideas to one another, including, but not limited
3to, all forms of peaceful assembly, protests, speeches,
4including by invited speakers, distribution of literature,
5circulating petitions, and publishing, including publishing or
6streaming on an Internet site, audio or video recorded in
7outdoor areas of campus.
8    (b) A member of the campus community who wishes to engage
9in noncommercial expressive activity in outdoor areas of campus
10shall be permitted to do so freely, subject to reasonable time,
11place, and manner restrictions, as long as the member's conduct
12is not unlawful, does not impede others' access to a facility
13or use of walkways, and does not disrupt the functioning of the
14public institution of higher education, subject to the
15protections of subsection (a). The public institution of higher
16education may designate other areas of campus available for use
17by the campus community according to institutional policy, but
18in all cases access to designated areas of campus must be
19granted on a viewpoint-neutral basis within the bounds of
20established First Amendment principles.
21    (c) A public institution of higher education shall not deny
22benefits or privileges available to student organizations
23based on the viewpoint of a student organization or the
24expression of the viewpoint of a student organization by the
25student organization or its members protected by the First
26Amendment of the Constitution of the United States. In

 

 

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1addition, a public institution of higher education shall not
2deny any benefit or privilege to a student organization based
3on the student organization's requirement that the leaders of
4the student organization agree to and support the student
5organization's beliefs, as those beliefs are interpreted and
6applied by the organization, and to further the student
7organization's mission.
8    (d) This Section shall not be interpreted as limiting the
9right of student expression in a counter demonstration held in
10an outdoor area of campus as long as the conduct at the counter
11demonstration is not unlawful, does not materially and
12substantially prohibit the free expression rights of others in
13an outdoor area of campus or disrupt the functioning of the
14public institution of higher education, and does not impede
15others' access to a facility or use of walkways, subject to
16reasonable time, place, and manner restrictions that are
17consistent with established principles of the First Amendment
18of the Constitution of the United States.
19    (e) This Section shall not be interpreted as preventing
20public institutions of higher education from prohibiting,
21limiting, or restricting expression that the First Amendment of
22the Constitution of the United States does not protect,
23including, but not limited to, a threat of serious harm and
24expression directed or likely directed to provoke imminent
25unlawful actions, or from prohibiting harassment, including,
26but not limited to, expression that is so severe, pervasive,

 

 

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1and subjectively and objectively offensive that the expression
2unreasonably interferes with an individual's access to
3educational opportunities or benefits provided by a public
4institution of higher education.
 
5    Section 20. Public forums on campus; freedom of
6association.
7    (a) The outdoor areas of campuses of public institutions of
8higher education shall be deemed public forums. Public
9institutions of higher education may maintain and enforce
10clear, published, reasonable viewpoint-neutral time, place,
11and manner restrictions that are narrowly tailored in
12furtherance of a significant institutional interest but shall
13allow members of the campus community to engage in spontaneous
14expressive activity and to distribute literature. Restrictions
15instituted by a public institution of higher education under
16this Section shall provide for ample alternative means of
17expression.
18    (b) Except as provided in this Act, and subject to
19reasonable time, place, and manner restrictions, a public
20institution of higher education shall not designate any area of
21campus a free-speech zone or otherwise create policies
22restricting expressive activities to a particular outdoor area
23of campus.
24    (c) Nothing in this Section shall be construed to grant
25individuals the right to engage in conduct that intentionally,

 

 

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1materially, and substantially disrupts the expressive activity
2of a person or student organization if the public institution
3of higher education has reserved space in an outdoor area of
4campus for activity by the person or student organization in
5accordance with this Section.
 
6    Section 25. Remedies; statute of limitations; immunity.
7    (a) A member of the campus community aggrieved by a
8violation of this Act may file a complaint with the board of
9trustees of the public institution of higher education.
10    (b) A member of the campus community aggrieved by a
11violation of this Act may assert such violation as a defense or
12counterclaim in a disciplinary action or in a civil or
13administrative proceeding brought against the member of the
14campus community.
15    (c) A member of the campus community shall bring a claim
16for violation of this Act pursuant to this Section no later
17than one year after the day the cause of action accrues.
18    (d) This Section shall not be interpreted to limit any
19other remedies available to a member of the campus community.
20    (e) Nothing in this Section shall be construed to make any
21administrator, officer, employee, or agent of a public
22institution of higher education personally liable for acts
23taken pursuant to the individual's official duties.