KRS 164.348: Campus free speech protection -- Governing board to adopt policies

ensuring freedom of expression and assembly -- Statement of policies made

available to students and faculty -- Disruption of another's expressive activity.

(1) For purposes of this section:

(a) "Faculty" means any person tasked by a public postsecondary education

institution with providing scholarship, academic research, or teaching,

regardless of whether the person is compensated by the public postsecondary

education institution; and

(b) "Student" means an individual currently enrolled in at least one (1) credit hour

at a public postsecondary education institution or a student organization

registered pursuant to the policies of a public postsecondary education

institution.

(2) Consistent with its obligations to respect the rights secured by the Constitutions of

the United States and the Commonwealth of Kentucky, a governing board of a

public postsecondary education institution shall adopt policies to ensure that:

(a) The institution protects the fundamental and constitutional right of all students

and faculty to freedom of expression;

(b) The institution grants students and faculty the broadest possible latitude to

speak, write, listen, challenge, learn, and discuss any issue;

(c) The institution commits to maintaining a marketplace of ideas where the free

exchange of ideas is not suppressed because an idea put forth is considered by

some or even most of the members of the institution's community to be

offensive, unwise, disagreeable, conservative, liberal, traditional, or radical;

(d) Students and faculty do not substantially obstruct or otherwise substantially

interfere with the freedom of others to express views they reject so that a

lively and fearless freedom of debate and delib eration is promoted and

protected;

(e) The expression of a student's religious or political viewpoints in classroom,

homework, artwork, and other written and oral assignments is free from

discrimination or penalty based on the religious or political conten t of the

submissions;

(f) 1. The selection of students to speak at official events is made in a

viewpoint-neutral manner;

2. The prepared remarks of the student are not altered before delivery,

except in a viewpoint -neutral manner, unless requested by the student.

However, student speakers shall not engage in speech that is obscene,

vulgar, offensively lewd, or indecent; and

3. If the content of the student's speech is such that a reasonable observer

may perceive affirmative institutional sponsorship or endorsement of the

student speaker's religious or political viewpoint, the institution shall

communicate, in writing, orally, or both, that the student's speech does

not reflect the endorsement, sponsorship, position, or expression of the

institution;

(g) Student religious and political organizations are allowed equal access to

public forums on the same basis as nonreligious and no npolitical

organizations;

(h) No recognized religious or political student organization is hindered or

discriminated against in the ordering of its internal affairs, selection of leaders

and members, defining of doctrines and principles, and resolving of

organizational disputes in the furtherance of its mission, or in its

determination that only persons committed to its mission should conduct such

activities;

(i) Student activity fee funding to a student organization is not denied based on

the viewpoints that the student organization advocates;

(j) The generally accessible, open, outdoor areas of the campus be maintained as

traditional public forums for students and faculty to express their views, so

that the free expression of students and faculty is not li mited to particular

areas of the campus often described as "free speech zones";

(k) There shall be no restrictions on the time, place, and manner of student speech

that occurs in the outdoor areas of campus or is protected by the First

Amendment of the United States Constitution, except for restrictions that are:

1. Reasonable;

2. Justified without reference to the content of the regulated speech;

3. Narrowly tailored to serve a compelling governmental interest; and

4. Limited to provide ample alternative o ptions for the communication of

the information;

(l) Permit requirements do not prohibit spontaneous outdoor assemblies or

outdoor distribution of literature, although an institution may adopt a policy

that grants members of the university community the ri ght to reserve certain

outdoor spaces in advance;

(m) All students and faculty are allowed to invite guest speakers to campus to

engage in free speech regardless of the views of the guest speakers;

(n) Students are not charged fees based on the content of their speech, the content

of the speech of guest speakers invited by students, or the anticipated reaction

or opposition of listeners to the speech; and

(o) The institution does not disinvite a speaker invited by a student, student

organization, or faculty member because the speaker's anticipated speech may

be considered offensive, unwise, disagreeable, conservative, liberal,

traditional, or radical by students, faculty, administrators, government

officials, or members of the public.

(3) (a) Any person aggrieved by a violation of any policy adopted or required to have

been adopted pursuant to subsection (2) of this section shall have a cause of

action against the institution, or any of its agents acting in their official

capacities, for damages arising from the violation, including reasonable

attorney's fees and litigation costs.

(b) A claim brought pursuant to this subsection may be asserted in any court of

competent jurisdiction within one (1) year of the date the cause of action

accrued. The cause of actio n shall be deemed to have accrued at the point in

time the violation ceases or is cured by the institution.

(c) Excluding reasonable attorney's fees and litigation costs, any prevailing

claimant shall be awarded no less than one thousand dollars ($1,000) b ut no

more than one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) cumulatively per action.

If multiple claimants prevail and the damages awarded would exceed one

hundred thousand dollars ($100,000), the court shall divide one hundred

thousand dollars ($100,000) amongst all prevailing claimants equally.

(4) (a) The policies adopted pursuant to subsection (2) of this section shall be made

available to students and faculty using the following methods:

1. Publishing in the institution's student handbook and faculty handb ook,

whether paper or electronic; and

2. Posting to a prominent location on the institution's Web site.

(b) The policies adopted pursuant to subsection (2) of this section may also be

made available to students and faculty using the following methods:

1. Mailing electronically to students and faculty annually using their

institutionally provided e-mail addresses; or

2. Including in orientation programs for new students and new faculty.

(5) (a) Nothing in this section shall be construed to grant students the right to engage

in conduct that intentionally, materially, and substantially disrupts another's

expressive activity if that activity is occurring in a campus space previously

scheduled or reserved for that activity or under the exclusive use or control of

a particular group.

(b) Conduct intentionally, materially, and substantially disrupts another's

expressive activity if it significantly hinders the expressive activity of another

person or group, or prevents the communication of a message or the

transaction of a lawful meeting, gathering, or procession by:

1. Being of a violent or seriously disruptive nature; or

2. Physically blocking or significantly hindering any person from

attending, hearing, viewing, or otherwise participating in an expressive

activity.

(c) Conduct does not intentionally, materially, and substantially disrupt another's

expressive activity if the conduct:

1. Is protected under the First Amendment to the United States

Constitution or the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Kentucky,

including but not limited to lawful protests and counter -protests in the

outdoor areas of campus generally accessible to the public, except

during times when those areas have been reserved in advance for other

events; or

2. Is an isolated occurrence that causes minor, brief, and nonviolent

disruptions of expressive activity.