For Administrators
FIRE’s Stand Up For Speech Litigation Project is a national campaign that aims to eliminate unconstitutional speech codes from our nation’s public university campuses. We hope that college administrators will join us in achieving this important goal.
In spite of a virtually unbroken string of legal defeats for speech codes at public universities dating back over two decades, unconstitutional speech codes remain a serious problem on campuses nationwide. In fact, 32.3% of the largest and most prestigious public universities nationwide maintain unconstitutional policies that clearly and substantially prohibit protected speech. This percentage is down from 79% in 2007, but even a single public university violating the First Amendment is unacceptable.
FIRE remains ready and willing to work with you to review speech codes. We’ve spent more than fifteen years offering our services without charge to help make that happen, and we renew that offer now. Please visit FIRE’s Spotlight database and look up your school’s speech code rating. If your institution maintains speech codes—as the vast majority do—contact FIRE and let us know you’d like help revising your policies. We would love to issue a press release about the great work being done by administrators at your university.
We hope to hear from you soon.