A Bad Idea - $500 Fines for Professors

by Dr. Bill Smith, ARRA Editor: Education blogs and websites are hot with discussions over a proposal in Arizona banning professors from taking "one side of a social, political, or cultural issue that is a matter of partisan controversy" and threatening them with lawsuits and fines. The chief sponsor of the bill is the State Senate Republican majority leader. The bill would ban public college and university professors, while working, from doing several items. While there are many left-wing professors who use their classrooms for political purposes and have participated in advocacy situations far beyond the scope of their employment, I must join with them and others in stating that this is a bad idea.

Some professors push the envelope beyond their positions (sometimes with the administration's support). They say and do things that are beyond any given right of free speech. As identified by David French, public university professors often forget that they don’t have “free speech rights” that are comparable to the rights of their students. University professors are public employees, and when speaking in their official capacities (such as during class time), they are speaking not as private citizens but as representatives of the state government. To read more about a court decision that begins to delineate the limits on the free speech of professors, read: Professors’ Academic Freedom and the Seventh Circuit.

Again, this legislature should be defeated. Yes, I know Arizona bill is trying to restrain left-wing professors who have gone beyond extremes in free speech and participated in advocacy beyond the scope of the assigned disciplines. I also oppose Hate Crimes legislation which would lead to limiting free speech even when repugnant to another group.

Unfortunately, many faculty members and university officials seem oblivious to the fact that their abuses are leading them down the road of regulation. For many years, professors have enjoyed academic freedom greater in scope than their rights guaranteed by the First Amendment. Abuse of this freedom is going to continue to incite legislatures and universities to roll back previously "allowed freedom" that extends beyond the scope of the discipline they teach. On the other side of the issue, there are educational institutions restricting the free speech of employees (staff as well as faculty) in areas like religion expression, speech outside of the classroom and designated workspace, speech off the campus or speech made in private associations. Officials at these institutions display arrogance beyond ignorance in restricting their employee's free speech rights. I hope that employees of these situations discover that they have far more power over their own expression than allowed by the officials at their institution.

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