This study examines teacher perceptions of academic freedom and how these perceptions relate to the teaching of controversial issues. By drawing on the literature of the field and recent research, we describe threats, challenges, and variables at work that have led to the decline of academic freedom. We then explore the imperative of academic freedom broadly, its necessary connection to teaching controversial issues, and current barriers to this kind of instruction. Finally, we provide the results of a regional survey of pre-service teachers that sought to understand their conceptualizations of academic freedom and the degree to which they are comfortable addressing controversial issues in their classrooms. (Contains 8 tables.)