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LRBs0303/1
ARG:klm
2021 - 2022 LEGISLATURE
ASSEMBLY SUBSTITUTE AMENDMENT 1,
TO ASSEMBLY BILL 735
January 12, 2022 - Offered by Representatives Cabral-Guevara and Murphy.
AB735-ASA1,1,4 1An Act to create 36.41 and 38.34 of the statutes; relating to: free speech and
2academic freedom at University of Wisconsin System institutions and technical
3colleges, and causes of action against the Board of Regents of the University of
4Wisconsin System and technical college district boards.
Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau
This bill establishes certain standards related to free speech and academic
freedom at University of Wisconsin System institutions and technical colleges. For
violation of these standards, the Board of Regents of the UW System or technical
college district board may be subject to a civil cause of action and must provide
certain public notice of the violation.
First Amendment protections
Under the bill, a UW institution or technical college may not do any of the
following: 1) restrict noncommercial speech protected under the First Amendment;
2) maintain and enforce time, place, and manner restrictions on expressive activities
on the publicly accessible, open outdoor areas of its campus unless those restrictions
meet specified requirements; 3) designate any area of a campus a “free speech zone”
or otherwise create policies restricting noncommercial expressive activities to a
particular area of a campus; 4) charge fees for additional security based on the
anticipated content of speech or anticipated reaction to speech; or 5) sanction

individuals or groups for discriminatory harassment unless the speech is
unwelcome, targets its victim on the basis of a protected class under law, and is
demonstrably so severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive that it effectively bars
a student from receiving equal access to educational opportunities or benefits. The
bill also specifies that all of an institution's or technical college's indoor and outdoor
public areas, except classrooms, are considered public forums. An institution or
technical college must make every reasonable effort to prevent protected speech and
sanctioned events, activities, and instruction from being disrupted.
The bill requires an institution or technical college to annually do all of the
following: 1) conduct a survey of all students and employees on First Amendment
rights, academic freedom, perceived political or other bias at the institution or
technical college, and whether campus culture promotes self-censorship; 2) submit
a report to the legislature detailing the results of this survey; and 3) provide all
students and employees with instruction in academic freedom, due process, and First
Amendment protections.
Academic freedom
Under the bill, an institution or technical college may not sanction an
individual on the basis of content or viewpoints expressed while the individual is
directly engaged in instruction, research, or service explicitly related to the
individual's role as a student or faculty member of the institution or technical college.
Penalty and cause of action
The bill requires a UW institution or technical college that is found by a state
or federal court, by a preponderance of the evidence, to have violated any of the free
speech or academic freedom provisions described above to include, for 10 years, the
following disclaimer on all notices to individuals regarding admission to the UW
institution or technical college: “NOTICE: We are required by the State of Wisconsin
to inform you that within the last 10 years ... [insert name of UW institution or
technical college] has violated the free speech or academic freedom provisions in the
Wisconsin statutes.”
Under the bill, the attorney general, a district attorney, or any person whose
expressive rights were violated may bring a court action against the Board of Regents
of the UW System or the technical college district board for violation by a UW
institution or technical college of any of the free speech or academic freedom
provisions described above and may seek an injunction and recovery of compensatory
damages for persons aggrieved by the violation. In such an action, if the court finds
a violation, the court must award to the plaintiffs all of the following: 1) total
damages for all persons aggrieved by the violation of not less than $500 for the initial
violation plus $50 for each day after the complaint is served that the violation
remains ongoing, but not exceeding an aggregate amount of $100,000 for all cases
stemming from a single controversy; and 2) court costs and reasonable attorney fees.

An award to the plaintiffs of damages, court costs, or attorney fees must be paid from
the UW institution's or technical college's administrative expense moneys.
The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do
enact as follows:
AB735-ASA1,1 1Section 1 . 36.41 of the statutes is created to read:
AB735-ASA1,3,4 236.41 Campus free speech and academic freedom. (1) Definition. In this
3section, “employee” means a member of the faculty, academic staff, or university staff
4assigned to an institution.
AB735-ASA1,3,6 5(2) First Amendment protections. (a) An institution may not do any of the
6following:
AB735-ASA1,3,87 1. Restrict noncommercial speech protected under the First Amendment of the
8U.S. Constitution.
AB735-ASA1,3,119 2. Maintain and enforce time, place, and manner restrictions on expressive
10activities on the open outdoor areas of its campus that are generally accessible to the
11public unless those restrictions meet all of the following requirements:
AB735-ASA1,3,1412 a. The restrictions are reasonable, in furtherance of a significant institutional
13interest, and employ clear, published, content-neutral, and viewpoint-neutral
14criteria.
AB735-ASA1,3,1715 b. The restrictions provide for ample alternative means for communication and
16allow for members of the institution's community to spontaneously and
17contemporaneously distribute literature and assemble.
AB735-ASA1,3,2018 3. Designate any area of a campus a “free speech zone” or otherwise create
19policies restricting noncommercial expressive activities to a particular area of a
20campus.
AB735-ASA1,4,2
14. Charge fees for additional security based on the anticipated content of speech
2or anticipated reaction to speech.
AB735-ASA1,4,113 5. Sanction individuals or groups for discriminatory harassment unless the
4speech is unwelcome, targets its victim on the basis of the victim's real or perceived
5membership in a class protected under federal, state, or local law, and is
6demonstrably so severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive that it effectively bars
7a student from receiving equal access to educational opportunities or benefits. This
8subdivision does not preclude an institution from providing additional resources to
9a student affected by speech that cannot be sanctioned under this subdivision or from
10taking nonpunitive actions designed to promote a welcoming, inclusive
11environment.
AB735-ASA1,4,1312 (b) All indoor and outdoor public areas operated by an institution or under the
13institution's jurisdiction, except classrooms, shall be considered public forums.
AB735-ASA1,4,1814 (c) An institution shall make every reasonable effort to prevent protected
15speech and institution-sanctioned events, activities, and instruction from being
16disrupted. Nothing in this section shall prevent or inhibit an institution from
17preventing disruptions or punishing disrupters if the institution, to do so, does not
18prevent or punish expression that is protected under the First Amendment.
AB735-ASA1,4,1919 (d) An institution shall do all of the following:
AB735-ASA1,4,2220 1. Conduct an annual survey of all students and employees on First
21Amendment rights, academic freedom, perceived political, ideological, or other bias
22at the institution, and whether campus culture promotes self-censorship.
AB735-ASA1,4,2423 2. Annually submit to the legislature under s. 13.172 (2) a report detailing the
24results of the survey under subd. 1.
AB735-ASA1,5,2
13. Annually provide all students and employees with instruction in academic
2freedom, due process, and First Amendment protections.
AB735-ASA1,5,6 3(3) Academic freedom. An institution may not sanction an individual on the
4basis of the content or viewpoints expressed while the individual is directly engaged
5in instruction, research, or service explicitly related to the individual's role as a
6student or faculty member of the institution.
AB735-ASA1,5,14 7(4) Penalties; institutional aid. (a) An institution that violates this section,
8for 10 years following the date of the finding of the violation under par. (b), shall
9include a disclaimer on all notices, both printed or electronic, to individuals
10regarding admission to the institution, in a type size no smaller than the majority
11of the rest of the notice, in substantially the following form: “NOTICE: We are
12required by the State of Wisconsin to inform you that within the last 10 years ...
13[insert name of institution] has violated the free speech or academic freedom
14provisions in the Wisconsin statutes.”
AB735-ASA1,5,1715 (b) The penalty under par. (a) applies if a state or federal court in this state
16finds, on the basis of a preponderance of the evidence, that the institution violated
17this section.
AB735-ASA1,5,20 18(5) Cause of action. (a) Any person identified in par. (b) may bring an action
19in circuit court against the board for violation of this section by an institution and
20may seek any of the following:
AB735-ASA1,5,2121 1. An injunction against violation of this section.
AB735-ASA1,5,2322 2. Recovery from the board of compensatory damages for persons aggrieved by
23the violation.
AB735-ASA1,5,2424 (b) Any of the following persons may bring an action under par. (a):
AB735-ASA1,5,2525 1. The attorney general.
AB735-ASA1,6,1
12. A district attorney.
AB735-ASA1,6,32 3. Any person whose expressive rights were violated through the violation of
3this section.
AB735-ASA1,6,54 (c) Subject to par. (d), in an action brought under par. (a), if the court finds a
5violation, the court shall award to the plaintiffs all of the following:
AB735-ASA1,6,86 1. Total damages for all persons aggrieved by the violation of not less than $500
7for the initial violation plus $50 for each day the violation remains ongoing, which
8shall accrue starting on the day after the complaint is served on the board.
AB735-ASA1,6,99 2. Notwithstanding s. 814.04 (1), court costs and reasonable attorney fees.
AB735-ASA1,6,1410 (d) In an action brought under par. (a), the total damages, excluding court costs
11and attorney fees, that may be awarded to plaintiffs in a case or cases stemming from
12a single controversy may not exceed an aggregate amount of $100,000. In violations
13harming multiple plaintiffs, the court shall divide the damages equitably among
14them until the maximum award is exhausted, if applicable.
AB735-ASA1,6,1815 (e) If a court awards to plaintiffs damages, court costs, or attorney fees in an
16action brought under this subsection, the board shall pay the total amount of the
17award from moneys allocated under s. 36.09 (1) (h) to the violating institution for the
18institution's administrative expenses.
AB735-ASA1,2 19Section 2 . 38.34 of the statutes is created to read:
AB735-ASA1,6,21 2038.34 Campus free speech and academic freedom. (1) Definitions. In
21this section:
AB735-ASA1,6,2322 (a) “Employee” means a staff member, faculty member, or administrator
23employed by a district board.
AB735-ASA1,6,2424 (b) “Student” means an individual enrolled in a district school.
AB735-ASA1,7,2
1(2) First Amendment protections. (a) A district board may not do any of the
2following:
AB735-ASA1,7,43 1. Restrict noncommercial speech protected under the First Amendment of the
4U.S. Constitution.
AB735-ASA1,7,75 2. Maintain and enforce time, place, and manner restrictions on expressive
6activities on the open outdoor areas of district campuses that are generally accessible
7to the public unless those restrictions meet all of the following requirements:
AB735-ASA1,7,108 a. The restrictions are reasonable, in furtherance of a significant interest of the
9district board, and employ clear, published, content-neutral, and viewpoint-neutral
10criteria.
AB735-ASA1,7,1311 b. The restrictions provide for ample alternative means for communication and
12allow for members of the district campus's community to spontaneously and
13contemporaneously distribute literature and assemble.
AB735-ASA1,7,1614 3. Designate any area of a district campus a “free speech zone” or otherwise
15create policies restricting noncommercial expressive activities to a particular area
16of a district campus.
AB735-ASA1,7,1817 4. Charge fees for additional security based on the anticipated content of speech
18or anticipated reaction to speech.
AB735-ASA1,8,219 5. Sanction individuals or groups for discriminatory harassment unless the
20speech is unwelcome, targets its victim on the basis of the victim's real or perceived
21membership in a class protected under federal, state, or local law, and is
22demonstrably so severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive that it effectively bars
23a student from receiving equal access to educational opportunities or benefits. This
24subdivision does not preclude a district board from providing additional resources to
25a student affected by speech that cannot be sanctioned under this subdivision or from

1taking nonpunitive actions designed to promote a welcoming, inclusive
2environment.
AB735-ASA1,8,43 (b) All indoor and outdoor public areas owned or operated by a district board,
4except classrooms, shall be considered public forums.
AB735-ASA1,8,95 (c) A district board shall make every reasonable effort to prevent protected
6speech and district board–sanctioned events, activities, and instruction from being
7disrupted. Nothing in this section shall prevent or inhibit a district board from
8preventing disruptions or punishing disrupters if the district board, to do so, does not
9prevent or punish expression that is protected under the First Amendment.
AB735-ASA1,8,1010 (d) A district board shall do all of the following:
AB735-ASA1,8,1311 1. Conduct an annual survey of all students and employees on First
12Amendment rights, academic freedom, perceived political, ideological, or other bias
13at the district schools, and whether campus culture promotes self-censorship.
AB735-ASA1,8,1514 2. Annually submit to the legislature under s. 13.172 (2) a report detailing the
15results of the survey under subd. 1.
AB735-ASA1,8,1716 3. Annually provide all students and employees with instruction in academic
17freedom, due process, and First Amendment protections.
AB735-ASA1,8,21 18(3) Academic freedom. A district board may not sanction an individual on the
19basis of the content or viewpoints expressed while the individual is directly engaged
20in instruction, research, or service explicitly related to the individual's role as a
21student or faculty member of a district school.
AB735-ASA1,9,4 22(4) Penalties; institutional aid. (a) A district board that violates this section,
23for 10 years following the date of the finding of the violation under par. (b), shall
24include a disclaimer on all notices, both printed or electronic, to individuals
25regarding admission to a technical college of the district, in a type size no smaller

1than the majority of the rest of the notice, in substantially the following form:
2“NOTICE: We are required by the State of Wisconsin to inform you that within the
3last 10 years ... [insert name of technical college] has violated the free speech or
4academic freedom provisions in the Wisconsin statutes.”
AB735-ASA1,9,75 (b) The penalty under par. (a) applies if a state or federal court in this state
6finds, on the basis of a preponderance of the evidence, that the district board violated
7this section.
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