Story at a glance
- Senate Bill 294 was signed by GOP Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry and excludes any act that carries a criminal penalty from free-speech protections.
- This means campus free-speech policies no longer protect acts of civil disobedience.
- The law has been decried by both students and faculty who say it criminalizes protected free speech.
(NewsNation) — Louisiana passed a new law this week limiting free speech on campuses, purportedly aimed to curb pro-Palestinian protests in colleges.
Senate Bill 294 was signed by GOP Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry and excludes any act that carries a criminal penalty from free-speech protections. This means campus free-speech policies no longer protect acts of civil disobedience, reported The Louisiana Illuminator.
“What we need on college campuses is education, not activists,” Republican state senator Valarie Hodges, who introduced the bill, said, according to the outlet.
The law has been decried by both students and faculty who say it criminalizes protected free speech and is “not the right answer,” the outlet reported.
“Just because someone does not agree with what students are saying or what they are protesting does not give lawmakers authority to curb their rights,” Pablo Zavala, a Loyola University of New Orleans professor, said during a committee hearing on the bill, according to the outlet.
Under the law, “activities in which an individual or group is knowingly being monetarily funded or organized by any individual, corporation, business, or organization that has been designated as a foreign terrorist organization or foreign adversary by the United States Department of State” is also barred from protection.
Hodges made several references to pro-Palestinian protests that have taken place on Louisiana campuses while introducing the bill last month.
“This bill protects free speech for everyone but makes it very clear that criminal activity and pro-terrorist, giving support to terrorist groups, does not belong on our college campuses,” Hodges said during a committee hearing on the bill, reported the Illuminator.
Pro-Palestinian protesters have held a number of demonstrations, including at Tulane in New Orleans, which were largely peaceful.
Civil disobedience and nonviolent protests have long been used to protest and change policies throughout the nation’s history.
During the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s, several activists broke segregation laws, including with the Montgomery bus boycott and sit-ins. Students also used civil disobedience to protest the Vietnam War.
Protests have been occurring on hundreds of campuses across the country, pushing state leaders and institutions to find ways to quell demonstrations.
Some of these moves have put states at odds with long-held constitutional rights.
Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued an executive order in March directing colleges to revise their free-speech policies.
“Texas supports free speech, especially on university campuses, but that freedom comes with responsibilities for both students and the institutions themselves,” Abbott wrote in his order.
In Florida, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis took a hard line against pro-Palestinian groups, telling schools they should remove students who cross the line separating free speech from targeted harassment, reported Politico.
“You do that in Florida at our universities, we’re showing you the door. You’re going to be expelled when you’re doing that stuff,” he has said.
In California, state legislative committees have advanced a bill that would require California’s public universities to prohibit advocating genocide, reported the outlet.
The measure has faced opposition from civil liberties and student groups.