The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do
enact as follows:
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1Section
1. 36.02 of the statutes is created to read:
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236.02 Campus Free Speech Act.
(1) Legislative findings. The legislature
3finds all of the following:
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(a) Article I, section 3, of the Wisconsin Constitution recognizes the right to
5speak freely and prohibits laws abridging the liberty of speech.
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(b) The system has historically embraced a commitment to freedom of
7expression in policy.
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(c) In recent years, institutions have abdicated their responsibility to uphold
9free speech principles and these failures make it appropriate for the system to restate
10and confirm its commitment in this regard.
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(d) In 1974, the Committee on Free Expression at Yale issued a statement
12known as the Woodward Report that stands as a classic defense of free expression
13on campuses; in 2015, the Committee on Freedom of Expression at the University
14of Chicago issued a similar and widely respected report; and in 1967, the Kalven
15Committee Report of the University of Chicago articulated the principle of
16institutional neutrality regarding political and social issues and the essential role of
17such neutrality in protecting freedom of thought and expression at universities. The
18principles affirmed by these 3 highly regarded reports are inspiring articulations of
19the critical importance of free expression in higher education.
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1(e) The legislature views freedom of expression as being of critical importance
2and requires that each institution ensure free, robust, and uninhibited debate and
3deliberation by students whether on or off campus.
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(f) The legislature has determined that it is a matter of statewide concern that
5all institutions officially recognize freedom of speech as a fundamental right.
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6(2) Short title. This section shall be known as the “Campus Free Speech Act.”
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7(3) Definitions. In this section:
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(a) “Institution” means a college campus or university.
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(b) “Materially and substantially disrupts” means when a person, with the
10intent to or knowledge of doing so, significantly hinders another person's or group's
11expressive activity, prevents the communication of a message, or prevents the
12transaction of the business of a lawful meeting, gathering, or procession by engaging
13in fighting, violence, or seriously disruptive behavior, or physically blocking or
14hindering another person from attending, listening to, viewing, or otherwise
15participating in an expressive activity. “Materially and substantially disrupts” does
16not include engaging in conduct that is protected under the First Amendment of the
17U.S. Constitution, including any of the following:
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1. Lawful protests or counterprotests in the outdoor areas of campus generally
19accessible to the members of the public, except during times when those areas have
20been reserved in advance for other events.
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2. Minor, brief, or fleeting nonviolent disruptions of events that are isolated and
22short in duration.
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(c) “Peer-on-peer harassment” means conduct directed by one student towards
24another individual student, on the basis of that other student's race, color, creed,
25religion, political views, sex, national origin, disability, ancestry, age, sexual
1orientation, gender identity, pregnancy, marital status, parental status, or military
2status, that is so severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive that it effectively
3deprives the victim of access to the educational opportunities or benefits provided by
4an institution.
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(d) “Quid pro quo sexual harassment” means explicitly or implicitly
6conditioning a student's participation in an education program or activity or basing
7an educational decision on the student's submission to unwelcome sexual advances,
8requests for sexual favors, or other verbal, nonverbal, or physical conduct of a sexual
9nature.
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(e) “True threat” means a statement that a speaker would reasonably foresee
11that a listener would reasonably interpret as a serious expression of an intent to
12commit an unlawful act of violence to a particular individual or group of individuals,
13as distinguished from hyperbole, jest, innocuous talk, expressions of political views,
14or other speech that is similarly protected under the First Amendment of the U.S.
15Constitution, regardless of whether the speaker has the ability to carry out the
16threat.
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17(4) Free expression policy. (a)
Statements. No later than 120 days after the
18effective date of this paragraph .... [LRB inserts date], the Board of Regents shall
19develop and adopt a policy on free expression that contains statements of at least all
20the following:
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1. That the primary function of an institution is the discovery, improvement,
22transmission, and dissemination of knowledge by means of research, teaching,
23discussion, and debate. This statement shall provide that, to fulfill this function, an
24institution must strive to ensure the fullest degree of intellectual freedom and free
25expression.
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12. That it is not the proper role of an institution to shield individuals from
2speech protected by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, including ideas
3and opinions they find unwelcome, disagreeable, or even deeply offensive.
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3. That students and faculty have the freedom to discuss any problem that
5presents itself, as the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution permits and within
6the limits of reasonable viewpoint-neutral and content-neutral restrictions on time,
7place, and manner of expression that are consistent with this section and that are
8in furtherance of a significant institutional interest, provided that these restrictions
9are clear, published, and provide ample alternative means of expression. Students
10and faculty shall be permitted to assemble and engage in spontaneous expressive
11activity as long as such activity is not unlawful and does not materially and
12substantially disrupt the functioning of an institution, subject to the requirements
13of this section.
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4. That any person lawfully present on campus may protest or demonstrate
15there. This statement shall make clear that persons may not engage in conduct that
16materially and substantially disrupts another's expressive activity if that activity is
17occurring in a campus space reserved for that activity under the exclusive control of
18a particular group.
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5. That the campuses of the institution are open to any speaker whom students,
20student groups, or members of the faculty have invited.
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6. That the public areas of institutions are public forums and open on the same
22terms to any speaker.
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7. That each institution may not take action, as an institution, on the public
24policy controversies of the day in such a way as to require students or faculty to
25publicly express a given view of social policy.
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1(b)
Discipline. The policy required under par. (a) shall satisfy all of the
2following:
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1. Include a range of disciplinary sanctions for anyone under the jurisdiction
4of the institution who engages in violent or other disorderly conduct that materially
5and substantially disrupts the free expression of others.
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2. Provide that in all disciplinary cases involving expressive conduct, students
7are entitled to a disciplinary hearing under published procedures, including at least
8all of the following: