The Senate Education committee narrowly voted down a proposal that protects free speech on public university campuses.
Senate Bill 198 is backed by a national organization for individual rights in education that wants those protections in state statute.
However, critics of the bill say those protections are in the state and federal constitution.
Joseph Cohn is with the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, or FIRE.
He says there are zero public institutions in the State of South Dakota that are fully compliant with first amendment obligations. His organization gives several of the state’s universities a “red” designation, which means those universities have at least one policy that restricts freedom of speech.
“Censorship has been happening in South Dakota, like everywhere else in the country. I look forward to working with universities in revising their policies,” Cohn says. “We’re hoping to work with the legislature down the line, to lock in those changes permanently. Because, it’s something that will be to the benefit of students forever once they do that.”
Cohn points to an instance at USD where a student organization was forced to show the film at a different time when a counter perspective could be offered.
However, it’s been reported the event was rescheduled to accommodate a larger audience and discussion after.
State Senator Jim Bolin voted against the bill. He says the Board of Regents, which oversees the universities, already has free speech policies in place.
“Hopefully, we can work it out without having to put it into statute,” Bolin says. “But if it can’t be worked out, I have every confidence this bill, or something very similar to it, will pass. In South Dakota, let’s try to work it out, let’s try to negotiate, let’s communicate, let’s talk, let’s discuss and come to a conclusion that way, rather than go the legal road.”
The Board of Regents has indicated it’s already reworking it’s free speech policy. The representative with FIRE says the group would be happy to work with the Board of Regents on that policy.
The bill failed on a 3 to 4 vote.