Legislative Interference in Higher Ed

A toolkit to address legislative interference, typically at the state level, with free speech on campus. Conservative claims that free speech is at risk of disappearing from college campuses have served as a pretext for imposing punitive approaches to regulating and monitoring campus activities, undermining the institutional autonomy of public higher education institutions. Check out the resources below.

Over the past few years, hundreds of bills aiming to suppress teaching about race in American history have been introduced in state and local governments. The legislation would restrict K-12 teachers and college faculty across disciplines from talking about “divisive topics” and teaching about the role of racism in US history and society. These educational gag order bills have the potential to chill the free exchange of ideas at universities and colleges and to violate core AAUP principles.

AAUP chapters and conferences can and should take action to raise awareness of and fight against political interference in higher education. Depending on your chapter’s capacity, here are some actions you could take.

FAQs on Legislative Interference in Higher Ed