Model Legislation
FIRE’s Legislative and Policy Department works closely with lawmakers from across the country and the political spectrum to protect civil liberties on college campuses. FIRE’s model legislation is available here for consideration.
CAMPUS FREE EXPRESSION (CAFE) ACT
The CAFE Act prohibits public colleges and universities from limiting speech and expressive activity to unconstitutionally restrictive “free speech zones.”
COLLEGE STUDENT FREE SPEECH AND ASSOCIATION ACT
Requires public colleges and universities nationwide to protect their students' free speech and freedom of association rights on campus. The bill also requires private institutions that receive federal funding to disclose their free speech and freedom of association policies annually.
College Student Free Speech and Association Act
COLLEGE FREE PRESS ACT
Prohibits institutions of higher education nationwide from censoring student-run campus media. Protects student journalists from punishment solely for expressive activities.
STUDENT AND ADMINISTRATION EQUALITY ACT
Guarantees critical due process protections to students at public institutions of higher education facing serious non academic disciplinary proceedings.
Student and Administration Equality Act
INTELLECTUAL FREEDOM PROTECTION ACT
Prohibits the use of political litmus tests in college admissions, hiring, and promotion decisions. It bans all loyalty oaths and litmus tests, without regard to viewpoint or ideology.
Intellectual Freedom Protection Act
GUARANTEEING UNIVERSITY ACADEMIC RIGHTS AND DISCOURSE (GUARD) ACT
The GUARD Act draws on decades of First Amendment case law to ensure faculty at public colleges and universities can exercise their academic freedom and private speech rights without fear of state discipline. The bill takes constitutional protections that can be costly and time-consuming to vindicate in court and puts them directly into state law, with clear standards for universities and meaningful remedies for faculty.