This document records testimony from a hearing before the Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Development of the Committee on Education and the Workforce on protecting free speech on college campuses. Opening statements were provided by: (1) Honorable Burgess Owens, Chairman, Subcommittee on Higher Education and the Workforce…

As the 2006 Supreme Court decision in "Garcetti v. Ceballos" continues to reverberate in academe, the best way for faculty members to defend their academic freedom is not through the courts but through clear university policies. A promising alternative to the First Amendment approach is to follow the example of private universities in…

Since its first publication in 2005, the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) has distributed more than 138,000 print and online copies of its "Guide to Free Speech on Campus." In that time, FIRE's commitment to advocating on behalf of the essential rights discussed in the pages that follow has remained unwavering;…

As public agencies created by State legislative mandate, school districts and the officers thereof are obligated to abide by several provisions of the United States Constitution. School boards can reduce many of the sources of current student unrest by complying with these provisions. Courts have held that under the Fourteenth Amendment school…

Examines the issue of a professor's First Amendment right to academic freedom vs. a student's right to an effective learning environment free from sexual harassment in a 1996 case, Cohen vs. San Bernardino Valley College. Also explored is the right of a public employee to free speech. Recommendations are offered to college administrators on…