What's happening
This bill guarantees the right to free speech activities in outdoor areas of New York college campuses, with limited restrictions.
Why it matters
Strengthens protections for all forms of peaceful expression. including protests, distributing literature, and carrying signs—by explicitly defining these as protected activities in outdoor campus spaces, making it harder for colleges to restrict such actions arbitrarily.
Classifies outdoor campus areas as traditional public forums. , forcing colleges to justify any restrictions with clear, content- and viewpoint-neutral rules that must be narrowly tailored, transparent, and allow for spontaneous gatherings—potentially shifting how and when students can organize or respond to events.
Creates legal accountability for colleges. by allowing students or others to sue if their expressive rights are violated, with guaranteed minimum damages and recovery of court costs and attorneys’ fees. This adds a strong deterrent against unlawful restrictions and gives individuals a practical enforcement mechanism.
Limits on disruptive behavior and scheduled events. mean the right to free speech is not absolute: individuals cannot disrupt ongoing reserved activities, helping balance expression with institutional order and the rights of others.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Protect Campus Free Speech
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to higher education
- Print number 4066a
- Amend and recommit to higher education
- Referred to higher education
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Protect Campus Free Speech
In Senate Committee · Higher Education · Sponsor Terrence P. Murphy
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
4066--A
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
February 1, 2017
Introduced by M. of A. PAULIN -- read once and referred to the Committee on Higher Education -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to the right to use campus for free speech activities
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. The education law is amended by adding a new section 6438-a to read as follows:
§ 6438-a. Right to use campus for free speech activities. 1. Expressive activities protected under the provisions of this section include, but are not limited to, all forms of peaceful assembly, protests, speeches, distribution of literature, carrying signs, and circulating petitions.
2. The outdoor areas of college campuses covered by this article shall be deemed traditional public forums. A college may maintain and enforce reasonable time, place, and manner restrictions that are narrowly tailored and in service of a significant institutional interest only when such restrictions employ clear, published, content and viewpointneutral criteria and provide for ample alternative means of expression. Any such restrictions must allow for members of the university community to spontaneously and contemporaneously distribute literature and assemble.
3. Any person who wishes to engage in noncommercial expressive activity on campus shall be permitted to do so freely, as long as their conduct is not unlawful and does not materially and substantially disrupt the functioning of the institution, subject to the requirements of subdivision two of this section. Nothing in this section grants any person the right to materially disrupt previously scheduled or reserved activities in a portion or section of the campus at that scheduled time.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD08624-02-7
A. 4066--A 2
4. Nothing in this section shall be interpreted as limiting the right of student expression elsewhere on campus.
5. a. The attorney general may bring an action in a court of competent jurisdiction to enjoin a violation of this section.
b. Persons whose expressive rights were violated through the violation of this section may bring an action in a court of competent jurisdiction to enjoin a violation of this section and to recover compensatory damages, reasonable court costs, and attorneys' fees. In an action brought pursuant to this paragraph, if the court finds a violation of this section, the court shall award an aggrieved person damages of no less than five hundred dollars for the initial violation, plus fifty dollars for each day the violation remains ongoing, which shall accrue starting on the day after the complaint is served on the institution of higher education. The total damages, excluding court costs and attorney's fees, available to a plaintiff or set of plaintiffs, in a case or cases stemming from a single controversy shall not exceed two hundred fifty thousand dollars in total. In violations harming multiple plaintiffs, the court shall divide the damages equally among them until the maximum award is exhausted, if applicable.
c. A violation of this section is established by demonstrating that an institution subject to this section maintains a policy that does not conform with the requirement herein or by demonstrating that an institution, by an action of one of its agents or by the enforcement of a policy, violated the free speech rights guaranteed under this section.
d. A person must bring suit for a violation of this section not later than one year after the day the cause of action accrues. For purposes of calculating the one-year limitation period, each day that the violation of this section persists, and each day that a policy in violation of this section remains in effect, shall constitute a new violation of this section and, therefore, a new day that the cause of action has accrued.
§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.