AB 299

This bill requires the Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System

to adopt a policy on free expression that applies at the four-year and two-year

institutions of the system and supersedes and nullifies any prior Board of Regents

or institution policies or rules restricting free expression. The bill allows the Board

of Regents to adopt the policy without promulgating rules and requires the policy to

be adopted no later than 120 days after the bill's effective date. The policy must

contain statements regarding the following: 1) that the primary function of an

institution is the discovery, improvement, transmission, and dissemination of

knowledge; 2) that it is not the proper role of an institution to shield individuals from

speech protected by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution; 3) that students

and faculty have the freedom to discuss any problem as permitted by the First

Amendment and within specified limits; 4) that any person lawfully present on

campus may protest or demonstrate, but that protests and demonstrations that

interfere with the expressive rights of others are subject to sanction; 5) that

campuses are open to invited speakers; 6) that public areas are public forums and

open on the same terms to any speaker; and 7) that institutions must remain neutral

on public policy controversies.

The policy must include a range of disciplinary sanctions for anyone under an

institution's jurisdiction who engages in violent, abusive, indecent, profane,

boisterous, obscene, unreasonably loud, or other disorderly conduct that interferes

with the free expression of others. In addition, the policy must provide that in

disciplinary cases involving expressive conduct, students are entitled to a

disciplinary hearing under published procedures that include specified rights. Also,

the second time that a student is found responsible for interfering with the

expressive rights of others, the policy must require the student to be suspended for

a minimum of one semester or expelled.

The bill also provides that institutions may restrict student expression only for

expressive activity that is not protected by the First Amendment, including state or

federal law violations, defamation, specified types of harassment and threats,

certain invasions of privacy or confidentiality, and violations of reasonable time,

place, or manner restrictions on expressive activities.

The bill also requires the Board of Regents to appoint a council on free

expression to make annual reports to the Board of Regents, legislature, and governor

that describe institutional neutrality, free expression barriers and disruptions, and

administrative handling and discipline relating to those barriers and disruptions.

The council must consist of 13 members who represent each four-year university and

the chairpersons of the assembly and senate standing committees with jurisdiction

over universities.

The bill also does the following:

1. Allows a person whose expressive rights are violated by a violation of the