3357:12-12-12-Campus Free Speech Policy

CAMPUS FREE SPEECH POLICY 3357:12-12-12

A. POLICY
Pursuant to Ohio Revised Code, Zane State College must adopt a policy on campus free speech that is consistent with and adheres to the principles set forth in R.C. 3345.0215. As used in this policy, the following terms are defined and will be adhered to as follows:

1.  “Constitutional time, place, and manner restrictions” means restrictions on the time, place, and manner of free speech that do not violate the First Amendment to the United States Constitution or Article I, Sections 3 and 11 of the Ohio Constitution that are reasonable, content- and viewpoint-neutral, narrowly tailored to satisfy a significant institutional interest, and leave open ample alternative channels for the communication of the information or message to its intended audience.
2. “Faculty” or “faculty member” means any person, whether or not the person is compensated by a state institution of higher education, and regardless of political affiliation, who is tasked with providing scholarship, academic research, or teaching. For purposes of this part, the term “faculty” includes tenured and nontenured professors, adjunct professors, visiting professors, lecturers, graduate student instructors, and thosein comparable positions, however titled. For purposes of this section, the term “faculty” does not include persons whose primary responsibilities are administrative or managerial.
3. “Free speech” means speech, expression, or assemblies protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution or Article I, Sections 3 and 11 of the Ohio Constitution, verbal or written, including, but not limited to, all forms of peaceful assembly, protests, demonstrations, rallies, vigils, marches, public speaking, distribution of printed materials, carrying signs, displays, or circulating petitions. “Free speech” does not include the promotion, sale, or distribution of any product or service.
4. “Student” has the same meaning as in section 3345.0211 of the Revised Code, except that “student” also includes “student group.”
5. “Student group” has the same meaning as in section 3345.0211 of the Revised Code.

B. POLICY GUIDELINES

 

The College affirms the following principles from Ohio Revised Code Section 3345.0215, which are the stated public policy of the State of Ohio:

1. Students have a fundamental constitutional right to free speech.
2. The College is committed to giving students broad latitude to speak, write, listen,challenge, learn, and discuss any issue.
3. The College is committed to maintaining a campus as a marketplace of ideas for all students and all faculty in which the free exchange of ideas is not to be suppressed because the ideas put forth are thought by some or even by most members of the institution’s community to be offensive, unwise, immoral, indecent, disagreeable, conservative, liberal, traditional, radical, or wrong-headed.
4. It is up to the College’s individual students and faculty to make judgments about ideas for themselves, and to act on those judgments not by seeking to suppress free speech, but by openly and vigorously contesting the ideas that they oppose.
5. It is not the proper role of the College to attempt to shield individuals from free speech, including ideas and opinions they find offensive, unwise, immoral, indecent, disagreeable, conservative, liberal, traditional, radical, or wrong-headed.
6. Although the College greatly values civility and mutual respect, concerns about civility and mutual respect shall never be used by the College as a justification for closing off the discussion of ideas, however offensive, unwise, immoral, indecent, disagreeable, conservative, liberal, traditional, radical, or wrong-headed those ideas may be to some students or faculty.
7. Although all students and all faculty are free to state their own views about and contest the views expressed on campus, and to state their own views about and contest speakers who are invited to express their views on campus, they may not substantially obstruct or otherwise substantially interfere with the freedom of others to express views they reject or even loathe. To this end, the College has a responsibility to promote a lively and fearless freedom of debate and deliberation and protect that freedom.
8. The College is committed to providing an atmosphere that is most conducive to speculation, experimentation, and creation by all students and all faculty, who shall always remain free to inquire, to study and to evaluate, and to gain new understanding.
9. The primary responsibility of faculty is to engage an honest, courageous, and persistent effort to search out and communicate the truth that lies in the areas of their competence.

Nothing contained in this policy shall be construed as prohibiting a state institution of higher education from imposing measures that do not violate the First Amendment to the United States Constitution or Article I, Sections 3 and 11 of the Ohio Constitution such as:

1. Constitutional time, place, and manner restrictions;
2. Reasonable and viewpoint-neutral restrictions in nonpublic forums;
3. Restricting the use of the state institution’s property to protect the free speech rights of students and teachers and preserve the use of the property for the advancement of the institution’s mission;
4. Prohibiting or limiting speech, expression, or assemblies that are not protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution or Article I, Sections 3 and 11 of the Ohio Constitution;
5. Content restrictions on speech that are reasonably related to a legitimate pedagogical purpose, such as classroom rules enacted by teachers. Nothing in this policy shall be construed to grant students the right to disrupt previously scheduled or reserved activities occurring in a traditional public forum.

PROCEDURE
Under this Policy, a student, student group, or faculty member of Zane State College may submit a complaint about an alleged violation of this Policy by an employee of the College, including any penalty imposed on a student’s grade for an assignment or coursework that is unrelated to ordinary academic standards of substance and relevance, including any legitimate pedagogical concerns,and is instead based on the contents of the student’s free speech. The College’s incident reporting process will be used to file a complaint. The complaint process shall be fair and equitable and comply with the standards adopted by the chancellor of higher education.

The Board of Trustees authorizes and delegates to the President the authority to determine an appropriate resolution for any violation of this Policy, and the written Procedure established by the President may further delegate that authority to other Zane State College employees.
Under the complaint process, the College shall investigate the alleged violation and conduct a fair and impartial hearing regarding the alleged violation. If the hearing determines this Policy was violated, the President shall determine a resolution to address the violation and prevent any further violation of Policy, which may include discipline of the employee, up to and including termination of employment. The process for complaints, investigations, and hearings shall be established by the President in a written procedure.

CONFIDENTIALITY
In reviewing complaints, investigating, and conducting hearings under this Policy, the College and its employees shall maintain as much confidentiality as possible, including complying with its obligation to maintain confidentiality of student education records under the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, 20 U.S.C. 1232g and 34 C.F.R. Part 99 (FERPA).

NO RETALIATION
Retaliation by any member of the Zane State College community against any individual who has filed a complaint, any employee against whom a complaint is made, or any individual participating in the processing, investigation, hearing, or review of a complaint is prohibited. Any member of the College who commits retaliation will be subject to prompt and appropriate disciplinary action. For purposes of this Policy, retaliation does not include action taken by the College regarding an employee who is alleged or found to have violated this Policy.

C. POLICY HISTORY

• Policy approved by President Cabinet and Board of Trustees May 2023