AB 553

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.

The bill also establishes certain due process standards in disciplinary

proceedings at UW System institutions and technical colleges. For violation of these

standards, a UW institution or technical college may become ineligible for Wisconsin

grant funding allocation.

free speech and academic freedom

First Amendment protections

Under the bill, a UW institution or technical college may not do any of the

following: 1) restrict speech protected under the First Amendment, if the speaker's

conduct is not unlawful and does not materially and substantially disrupt the

functioning of the UW institution or technical college; 2) maintain and enforce time,

place, and manner restrictions on expressive activities on the publicly accessible,

open outdoor areas of its campus and indoor areas that have been designated as

public forums, except classrooms while they are in use for instructional purposes,

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) subject to an exception,

require a permit as a condition of being allowed to engage in expressive activities

protected under the bill; 5) charge security fees, as part of a permit application, based

on the content of expression or anticipated reaction; or 6) sanction individuals or

groups for discriminatory harassment unless the speech targets its victim on the

basis of a protected class under law, and is so severe, pervasive, and objectively

offensive that it effectively bars a student from receiving equal access to educational

opportunities or benefits. Under the bill, if a permit is required, the permitting

process and any security fee must be content and viewpoint neutral.

The bill also specifies that all of an institution's or technical college's indoor

areas that have been designated as public forums and publicly accessible outdoor

areas, except classrooms while they are in use for instructional purposes, are

governed by rules applicable to traditional public forums. The bill specifies that its

provisions do not 1) enable individuals to engage in conduct that intentionally,

materially, and substantially disrupts another's expressive activity in a campus

space reserved for that activity; or 2) limit the right of student expression at campus

locations not specified in the bill.

The bill requires an institution or technical college to do all of the following: 1)

conduct a survey biennially of students and employees on First Amendment rights,

academic freedom, perceived political or other bias at the institution or technical