Enacted Campus Free Speech Statutes – Indiana

In 2022, Indiana enacted HB 1190 and it takes effect on July 1, 2022.

HB 1190 summary

HB 1190 is a campus free speech bill that prohibits public institutions of higher education from quarantining expressive activities in the open outdoor areas of campus to misleadingly labled “free speech zones”; adopts the United States Supreme Court definition of harassment; and protects student organizations from content or viewpoint based discrimination.

Key Provisions

• Prohibits public institutions from quarantining speech with “free speech zones”;
• Defines student-on-student harassment consistent with the United States Supreme Court standard in Davis v. Monroe County Board of Education;
• Prohibits institutions from discriminating against belief-based student organizations by preventing them from requiring that leaders or members of the organization affirm and adhere to an organization’s sincerely held beliefs or statement of principles;
• Requires state colleges and universities to adopt “student protected expressive activity policies” in student handbooks and to “develop materials, programs, and procedures” that educate campus administrators and other university officials on their responsibilities with regards to expressive activity on campus; and
• Provides a cause of action for students and student organizations if rights provided by the bill are violated by a public college or university.

FIRE Commentary

Indiana passes bill establishing protections for campus free speech in state law