1. The state board of regents and the board of directors of each community college shall adopt a policy that includes all of the following statements:

 a. That the primary function of an institution of higher education is the discovery, improvement, transmission, and dissemination of knowledge by means of research, teaching, discussion, and debate. This statement shall provide that, to fulfill this function, the institution must strive to ensure the fullest degree of intellectual freedom and free expression allowed under the first amendment to the Constitution of the United States.
 b. (1) That it is not the proper role of an institution of higher education to shield individuals from speech protected by the first amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which may include ideas and opinions the individual finds unwelcome, disagreeable, or even offensive.

 (2) That it is the proper role of an institution of higher education to encourage diversity of thoughts, ideas, and opinions and to encourage, within the bounds of the first amendment to the Constitution of the United States, the peaceful, respectful, and safe exercise of first amendment rights.
 c. That students and faculty have the freedom to discuss any problem that presents itself, assemble, and engage in spontaneous expressive activity on campus, within the bounds of established principles of the first amendment to the Constitution of the United States, and subject to reasonable time, place, and manner restrictions that are consistent with established first amendment principles.
 d. That the outdoor areas of campus of an institution of higher education are public forums, open on the same terms to any invited speaker subject to reasonable time, place, and manner restrictions that are consistent with established principles of the first amendment to the Constitution of the United States.

Terms Used In Iowa Code 261H.2

  • Amendment: A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, thelegislature must agree to it.
  • Campus community: means students, administrators, faculty, and staff at a public institution of higher education and guests invited to a public institution of higher education by the institution's students, administrators, faculty, or staff. See Iowa Code 261H.1
  • Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
  • Degree: means a postsecondary credential conferring on the recipient the title of associate, bachelor, master, or doctor, or an equivalent title, signifying educational attainment based on study which may be supplemented by experience or achievement testing. See Iowa Code 261B.2
  • Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
  • following: when used by way of reference to a chapter or other part of a statute mean the next preceding or next following chapter or other part. See Iowa Code 4.1
  • Outdoor areas of campus: means the generally accessible outside areas of campus where students, administrators, faculty, and staff at a public institution of higher education are commonly allowed, such as grassy areas, walkways, or other similar common areas and does not include areas outside health care facilities including both stand-alone facilities and mixed-use facilities that are embedded within another facility, veterinary medicine facilities, a facility or outdoor area used by the institution's athletics program or teams, or other outdoor areas where access is restricted to a majority of the campus community. See Iowa Code 261H.1
  • Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a Federal agency or program.
  • Public institution of higher education: means a community college established under chapter 260C or an institution of higher learning governed by the state board of regents. See Iowa Code 261H.1
  • state: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories, and the words "United States" may include the said district and territories. See Iowa Code 4.1
  • Student: means an individual who is enrolled on a full-time or part-time basis at a public institution of higher education. See Iowa Code 261H.1
  • United States: includes all the states. See Iowa Code 4.1
 2. The state board of regents shall develop materials, programs, and procedures to ensure that those persons who are responsible for discipline, instruction, or administration of the campus community, or who have oversight of student government organizations, or distribute activity fee funds, including but not limited to presidents, vice-presidents, deans, department directors, administrators, campus police officers, residence life officials, faculty, and members of student government organizations, understand the policies, regulations, and duties of the institution regarding free expression on campus consistent with this chapter.
 3. a. Each public institution of higher education shall protect the first amendment rights of the institution’s students, staff, and faculty and shall establish and publicize policies that prohibit institutional restrictions and penalties based on protected speech, including political speech, to the fullest extent required by the first amendment to the Constitution of the United States. A public institution of higher education shall not retaliate against a member of the campus community who files a complaint for a violation of this subsection pursuant to section 261H.5.

 b. If it is determined, after exhaustion of all available administrative and judicial appeals, that a faculty member knowingly and intentionally restricts the protected speech or otherwise penalizes a student in violation of this subsection, the faculty member shall be subject to discipline by the institution through the normal disciplinary processes of the institution, and such discipline may include termination depending on the totality of the facts. If the faculty member is licensed by the board of educational examiners under chapter 272, the board of educational examiners shall conduct a hearing pursuant to section 272.13, and the faculty member may be subject to disciplinary action by the board.
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