Oklahoma Governor Signs Bill To Create 'Free Speech Committee' for Public Universities and CollegesBill sponsor had expressed concern about students and faculty being punished for their political beliefs.
EMMA CAMP
4.23.2022
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) signed a bill into law Wednesday that creates a free speech oversight committee for the state's public colleges and universities. House Bill 3543 was passed with bipartisan support by the state's Senate earlier this week.
H.B. 3543 would create the Oklahoma Free Speech Committee to the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education, which is the governing agency for the states public higher education institutions. The bill tasks the new committee with reviewing and recommending college free speech policies and training, as well as reviewing complaints from students and faculty who believe their First Amendment rights were violated.
The bill signals a break from current culture war practices by encouraging more free speech on college campuses. H.B. 3543 seems far more consistent with a belief in the importance of free speech rights and culture than either conservative efforts to forbid the discussion of "divisive concepts" and abolish tenure or liberal efforts to demand students and faculty adhere to progressive groupthink.
The bill's sponsor, Chad Caldwell, (R–Enid) argues that H.B. 3543 would establish an "understanding of just some general concerns, mainly that our colleges and universities are prepared to protect the rights and the free speech rights for all our faculty and staff."
When writing the bill, Caldwell took inspiration from the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), a First Amendment organization focused on colleges and universities. Zero Oklahoma schools have achieved FIRE's greenlight rating, which is given to universities with written policies that protect student speech rights and academic freedom for faculty.
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Source:
https://reason.com/2022/04/23/oklahoma-governor-signs-bill-to-create-free-speech-committee-for-public-universities-and-colleges/
