Committee backs campus free‑speech bill after debate over fees, remedies and definitions

The House Committee on Education voted to send House Bill 240 to the floor with a due‑pass recommendation after sponsors and witnesses described the measure as aligning Idaho law with U.S. Supreme Court First Amendment precedents and creating clearer campus speech policies.

Representative Barbara Ehart, sponsor of the bill, said the measure addresses university “speech codes” and would prevent institutions from confining protected expression to small designated zones. "We don't check our First Amendment at the curb of a college campus," she said, quoting the Supreme Court's view that the First Amendment applies on campus.

Zach Pruitt, senior counsel at Alliance Defending Freedom, described the bill's provisions as drawn from Supreme Court decisions and existing precedent. He summarized three substantive sections: definitions, a prohibition on restrictive free‑speech zones while permitting reasonable time‑place‑manner rules that are content‑neutral, and limits on security fees tied to…