SB 657 — Relating to free expression on state institution of higher education campuses

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Eng.COMMISSION JOINT RULES STAFF INFO BILL STATUS BILL STATUS BILL TRACKING STATE LAW WEST VIRGINIA CODE ACTS OF THE LEGISLATURE CODE OF 1931 WV CONSTITUTION US CONSTITUTION REPORTS AGENCY REPORTS AGENCY GRANT AWARDS PERFORMANCE EVALUATIONS POST AUDITS EDUCATIONAL CITIZEN’S GUIDE INTERNSHIP PROGRAM PAGE PROGRAM PUBLICATIONS PHOTO GALLERY CAPITOL HISTORY HOW A BILL BECOMES LAW CONTACT SENATE ROSTER HOUSE ROSTER PUBLIC INFO.

Com.NEWS RELEASES HELPFUL LINKS Enrolled Version - Final Version « Senate Bill 657 History OTHER VERSIONS  —  Committee Substitute (2)  |  Engrossed Version  |  Committee Substitute (1)  |  Introduced Version  |   |  Email Key:

Sub.Green = existing Code.

forRed Senate= Billnew 657—Acode Bill to amendbe theenacted CodeWEST ofvirginia Westlegislature Virginia,regular 1931,session asEnrolled amended,Committee bySubstitute addingfor theretoCommittee aSubstitute newfor article,Senate designatedBill §18B-20-1,657 §18B-20-2,By §18B-20-3,Senators §18B-20-4,Phillips, §18B-20-5,Azinger, §18B-20-6,Rucker, §18B-20-7,Smith, §18B-20-8,Sypolt, andTarr, §18B-20-9,Woodrum, allRoberts, relatingKarnes, toGrady, freeand expressionMaynard on[ statePassed institutionApril of9, higher2021; education campuses;

in effect 90 days from passage]     AN ACT to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding thereto a new article, designated §18B-20-1, §18B-20-2, §18B-20-3, §18B-20-4, §18B-20-5, §18B-20-6, §18B-20-7, §18B-20-8, and §18B-20-9, all relating to free expression on state institution of higher education campuses;

 Be  it  enacted Adoptedby Rejectedthe  Legislature of West Virginia:

ARTICLE 20.

Free expression on campus.

§18B-20-1.

Definitions.

As used in this article:

 (1) “Campus community” includes students, administrators, faculty, and staff at the institution of higher education, and their invited guests.

(2) “Harassment” means an expression that is unwelcome, so severe, pervasive, and subjectively and objectively offensive that a student is effectively denied equal access to educational opportunities or benefits provided by the state institution of higher education or sexual harassment as defined by federal law and federal regulations applicable to state institutions of higher education.

(3) “Materially and substantially disrupts” means an occurrence where a person or group significantly hinders another person’s or group’s expressive activity, prevents the communication of the message, prevents the transaction of the business of a lawful meeting, gathering, or procession, or interferes with or prevents the operations and functions of a state institution of higher education by:

(A) Engaging in fighting, violent, or other unlawful behavior;

(B) Physically blocking or using threats of violence to prevent any person from attending, listening to, viewing, or otherwise participating in an expressive activity;

(C) Using sound to drown out or muffle expressive activity;

or (D) Violating a state institution of higher education’s reasonable time, place, and manner restrictions.

(E) Conduct that “materially and substantially disrupts” shall not include conduct that is protected under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution or West Virginia Constitution.

The protected conduct includes, but is not limited to, lawful protests in the outdoor areas of campus generally accessible to the members of the public (except during times when those areas have been reserved in advance for other events), or minor, brief, or fleeting nonviolent disruptions of events that are isolated and short in duration.

(4) “Outdoor areas of campus” means the generally accessible outside areas of campus where members of the campus community are commonly allowed, such as grassy areas, walkways, or other similar common areas and does not include outdoor areas where access is restricted from a majority of the campus community.

(5) “State institution of higher education” means any university, college, or community and technical college under the jurisdiction of a governing board as defined in §18B-1-2 of this code.

(6) “Student” means any person who is enrolled on a full-time or part-time basis in a state institution of higher education.

(7) “Student organization” means an officially recognized group at a state institution of higher education, or a group seeking official recognition, comprised of admitted students that receive, or are seeking to receive, benefits through the institution of higher education as defined in this section.

§18B-20-2.

Protected expressive activities.

Expressive activities protected under the provisions of §18-1-1 et seq.

of this code include, but are not limited to, any lawful verbal and nonverbal speech.  This may include lawful and protected forms of peaceful assembly, protests, speeches and guest speakers, distribution of literature, carrying signs, and circulating petitions.

§18B-20-3.

Public forums;

establishment of “free speech zones” prohibited.

The outdoor areas of campuses of state institutions of higher education shall be considered public forums for the campus community, and state institutions of higher education shall not limit free speech by creating “free speech zones” or other designated areas of campus outside of which expressive activities are prohibited.  Nothing in this section shall be interpreted as limiting the right of student expression elsewhere on campus.

§18B-20-4.

Time, place, and manner restrictions.

(a) Any person who wishes to engage in protected and lawful expressive activity on campus shall be permitted to do so freely, as long as the person’s conduct is not unlawful, and does not materially and substantially disrupt the functioning of the state institution of higher education.

(b) To enable the state institutions of higher education to function in a safe and secure manner and to advance their missions and objectives, the state institutions of higher education may enact reasonable time, place, and manner restrictions which are content neutral and narrowly tailored to serve a significant state institution of higher education or other governmental interest.   A state institution of higher education may deny, cancel, or postpone a reservation, or immediately terminate any ongoing activity that represents a violation of its time, place, and manner restrictions.

A state institution of higher education shall endeavor to allow members of the campus community to spontaneously and contemporaneously engage in protected expressive activities.

(c) Nothing in this article shall be interpreted as preventing state institutions of higher education from prohibiting, limiting, or restricting expression not protected by the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States such as true threats, expression designed to provoke imminent lawless actions and likely to produce it or prohibiting harassment as defined in §18B-20-2 of this code, or sexual harassment as prohibited by federal law and defined by federal regulations applicable to state institutions of higher education.

 (d) Nothing in this article shall be construed to authorize a person or group to intentionally, materially, and substantially disrupt another person or group’s expressive activity if that activity is occurring in a campus space reserved for that activity under the exclusive use or control of a particular group.