The Utah House approved a bill differentiating between protected free speech and harassment on college campuses.
The controversial legislation includes a provision that would prevent a university from punishing any form of speech that doesn’t fall under the Supreme Court’s definition of harassment in the 1999 ruling in Davis vs. Monroe County Board of Education.
Bill sponsor Rep. Kim Coleman, R-West Jordan, called the legislation “simple” and said it affirms speech rights at public universities.
“Our higher education institutions have an obligation to do two things in this space. One is to prevent speech that is not protected in the harassment of other students as well as to protect speech that is protected,” Coleman said.