A. A university or community college shall not restrict a student’s right to speak, including verbal speech, holding a sign or distributing fliers or other materials, in a public forum, but may impose reasonable time, place and manner restrictions as allowed in this section.

Terms Used In Arizona Laws 15-1864

  • Action: includes any matter or proceeding in a court, civil or criminal. See Arizona Laws 1-215
  • 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.
  • Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
  • including: means not limited to and is not a term of exclusion. See Arizona Laws 1-215
  • Individual conduct that materially and substantially infringes on the rights of other persons to engage in or listen to expressive activity: means conduct by a person who, with the intent to or the knowledge of doing so, materially and substantially prevents the communication of a message or prevents the transaction of the business of a lawful meeting, gathering or procession by doing any of the following:

    (a) Engaging in fighting or violent or other unlawful behavior. See Arizona Laws 15-1861

  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • person: means an individual, partnership, corporation, association or public or private organization of any kind. See Arizona Laws 15-101
  • Public forum: includes both a traditional public forum, which is any open, outdoor area on the campus of a university or community college, and a designated public forum, which is any facility, building or part of a building that the university or community college has opened to students or student organizations for expression. See Arizona Laws 15-1861
  • Subject: means a division or field of organized knowledge, such as English or mathematics, or a selection from an organized body of knowledge for a course or teaching unit, such as the English novel or elementary algebra. See Arizona Laws 15-101
  • United States: includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Arizona Laws 1-215
  • University: means a university under the jurisdiction of the Arizona board of regents. See Arizona Laws 15-1861

B. A university or community college shall not impose restrictions on the time, place and manner of student speech that occurs in a public forum and that is protected by the first amendment to the United States Constitution unless the restrictions:

1. Are reasonable.

2. Are justified without reference to the content of the regulated speech.

3. Are necessary to achieve a compelling governmental interest.

4. Are the least restrictive means to further that compelling government interest.

5. Leave open ample alternative channels for communication of the information.

6. Allow spontaneous assembly and distribution of literature.

C. A person who is lawfully present on a university or community college campus may engage in expressive activity, including a protest or demonstration, in any area where the person is lawfully present. Individual conduct that materially and substantially infringes on the rights of other persons to engage in or listen to expressive activity is not allowed and is subject to sanction. This subsection does not prohibit:

1. A university or community college from regulating economic activity on the university’s or community college’s campus.

2. Faculty members from maintaining order in the classroom.

D. The public areas of university and community college campuses are public forums and are open on the same terms to any speaker.

E. University and community college campuses are open to any speaker whom a student, student group or faculty member has invited.

F. A university or community college shall make reasonable efforts and make available reasonable resources to address the safety of an invited speaker and other persons in attendance. A university or community college may not charge security fees based on the content of the speech of the person who invited a speaker or of the invited speaker. A university or community college may restrict the use of its nonpublic facilities to invited individuals.

G. An individual student or a faculty or staff member of a university or community college may take a position on the public policy controversies of the day, but the institution is encouraged to attempt to remain neutral, as an institution, on the public policy controversies of the day unless the administrative decisions on such issues are essential to the day-to-day functioning of the university or community college.

H. A university or community college may not take action, as an institution, on the public policy controversies of the day in a way that requires students or faculty members to publicly express or endorse a particular view of a public policy controversy.

I. The following persons may bring an action in a court of competent jurisdiction to enjoin any violation of this article by any university, community college, faculty member or administrator or to recover reasonable court costs and reasonable attorney fees:

1. The attorney general.

2. A person whose expressive rights were violated by a violation of this article.

J. In an action brought under subsection I of this section, if the court finds that a violation of this article occurred, the court shall award the aggrieved person injunctive relief for the violation and shall award reasonable court costs and reasonable attorney fees. The court shall also award damages of $1,000 or actual damages, whichever is greater.

K. A person shall bring an action for a violation of this article within one year after the date the cause of action accrues. For the purpose of calculating the one-year limitation period, each day that the violation persists or each day that a policy in violation of this article remains in effect constitutes a new violation of this article and shall be considered a day that the cause of action has accrued.