Speech First, a national membership group of students, alumni, and others that defends free speech on campus, sued the University of Michigan over its broad definitions of “harassment” and “bullying” and its Bias Response Team. In this settlement agreement, filed in October 2019, the university agreed to three terms:
- It changed its unconstitutional definitions of “harassment” and “bullying,” and will never go back to the old definitions.
- It got rid of its Bias Response Team and replaced it with a Campus Climate Support program that, as it works now, does not punish students.
- If the new program is used to chill student speech, Speech First can sue again.
The settlement followed a September 2019 ruling by the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. That ruling put schools on notice that changing a policy in the middle of a lawsuit, just to try to end the case, will be viewed with suspicion. The court also found that a bias team’s power to refer students to other offices, and its invitations to meet, “objectively chill speech.”
“Speech First is thrilled that the University of Michigan has finally agreed to respect the First Amendment rights of its students,” said president Nicole Neily. “Speech First’s victory paves the way for college students who may have been too fearful or intimidated to express their opinions to finally embrace their free speech rights and engage in true academic discourse. While our battle is far from over, we are pleased that the administration will no longer maintain policies that have both the purpose and the effect of chilling student speech.”
Read the full settlement agreement below:
