Nicole Neily founded both Speech First and Defending Education. Both were built around the same fundamental principle: students should not surrender their constitutional rights when they walk through the doors of a school or university.
The Speech First name will go away, but its mission will not. Its First Amendment work and legal rights will continue at Defending Education, backed by a larger legal, research, government relations and communications operation.
Same leadership. Same commitment to students’ constitutional rights. Greater capacity to carry the work forward.
Speech First Lawsuits
All legal rights associated with Speech First’s court cases are being transferred to Defending Education, including the ability to return to court if an institution backslides on a settled matter.
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Free Speech in the Crosshairs: Bias Reporting on College Campuses
Free speech is under attack. Today, higher education is ground zero for testing out dangerous forms of censorship that instill fear, propel viewpoint discrimination, and restrict vital academic discourse. This 2022 Report, ‘Free Speech in the Crosshairs: Bias Reporting on College Campuses,’ is the first comprehensive report covering these issues.
Frequently Asked Questions
Speech First is merging into Defending Education. Its separate brand will end, but its mission, legal rights and First Amendment work will continue within Defending Education under the same leadership.
Speech First has achieved important litigation victories, while Defending Education has built a larger operation capable of protecting those gains and pursuing the nextgeneration of legal and policy reforms. Combining the organizations allows that work to happen under one roof.
No. The landscape has improved, but institutions can backslide, laws and regulations still need attention, and political administrations change. Continued vigilance, litigation and policy work remain necessary.
Nicole Neily founded and leads both organizations, and their missions have increasingly converged. Defending Education also has greater research, litigation, communications and government relations capacity and works across K-12 and higher education.