[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 980 Introduced in House (IH)]







105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 980

  To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to protect the speech and 
    association rights of students attending institutions of higher 
                               education.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 6, 1997

Mr. Livingston (for himself, Mr. LaHood, Mr. Mica, Mr. Tiahrt, and Mr. 
Sensenbrenner) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                Committee on Education and the Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to protect the speech and 
    association rights of students attending institutions of higher 
                               education.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Freedom of Speech and Association on 
Campus Act of 1997''.

SEC. 2. PROTECTION OF STUDENT SPEECH AND ASSOCIATION RIGHTS.

    Title XII of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1141 et 
seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following new section:

``SEC. 1214. PROTECTION OF STUDENT SPEECH AND ASSOCIATION RIGHTS.

    ``(a) Protection of Rights.--No student attending an institution of 
higher education on a full- or part-time basis shall, on the basis of 
protected speech and association, be excluded from participation in, be 
denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination or official 
sanction under any education program, activity, or division directly or 
indirectly receiving financial assistance under this Act, whether or 
not such program, activity, or division is sponsored or officially 
sanctioned by the institution.
    ``(b) Sanction.--
            ``(1) In general.--No funds shall be made available under 
        this Act to any institution of higher education that the 
        Secretary finds, after notice and opportunity for a hearing, 
        has violated subsection (a) of this section.
            ``(2) Inapplicability to student assistance.--Paragraph (1) 
        shall not apply to any funds that are provided under this Act 
        for student financial assistance.
    ``(c) Exception.--This section shall not apply to an institution of 
higher education that is controlled by a religious or military 
organization, if the speech or association is not consistent with the 
religious tenets or military training of the institution.
    ``(d) Sanctions for Disruption Permitted.--Nothing in this section 
shall be construed to prevent the imposition of an official sanction on 
a student that has willfully participated in the disruption or 
attempted disruption of a lecture, class, speech, presentation, or 
performance made or scheduled to be made under the auspices of the 
institution of higher education.
    ``(e) Definitions.--
            ``(1) Institution of higher education.--The term 
        `institution of higher education' has the meaning given in 
        section 1201(a).
            ``(2) Protected speech.--The term `protected speech' means 
        speech that is protected under the 1st and 14th amendments to 
        the United States Constitution, or would be so protected if the 
        institution of higher education were subjected to those 
        amendments.
            ``(3) Protected association.--The term `protected 
        association' means the right to join, assemble, and reside with 
        others that is protected under the 1st and 14th amendments to 
        the United States Constitution, or would be protected if the 
        institution of higher education were subject to those 
        amendments.
            ``(4) Official sanction.--The term `official sanction'--
                    ``(A) means expulsion, suspension, probation, 
                censure, condemnation, reprimand, or any other 
                disciplinary, coercive, or adverse action taken by an 
                institution of higher education or administrative unit 
                of the institution; and
                    ``(B) includes an oral or written warning made by 
                an official of an institution of higher education 
                acting in the official capacity of the official.''.
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