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Legal advocates urge Congress and courts to shield religious student groups and speech on campus
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Summary
Witnesses from legal advocacy groups recounted campus and K–12 harassment and urged legislation and litigation strategies — including an Equal Campus Access Act and DOJ intervention to narrow CLS v. Martinez — to protect religious student organizations and free speech rights.
Legal advocates and students with experience in campus litigation told the commission that public colleges and universities frequently use administrative rules to restrict religious student groups and to silence campus religious speech.
Aliza Lewin of the Louis D. Brandeis Center described instances of antisemitic harassment in K–12 schools and urged a zero‑tolerance approach and training that recognizes contemporary forms of antisemitism. Multiple witnesses from campus litigation recounted no‑contact orders, derecognition of religious student groups and restrictive speech‑zone practices that they said chilled religious speech.
Several witnesses urged Congress to pass an "Equal Campus Access Act" modeled on the 1984 Equal Access Act for high schools, and some called on the Department of Justice to seek legal clarification from the Supreme Court that would limit the reach of CLS v. Martinez, which some witnesses said has been used to justify derecognizing religious groups.
Chike Usabunam and other litigants described cases that reached appellate courts and the Supreme Court, where ruling patterns can determine whether administrators will be held personally liable when they suppress protected speech. Kimberly Kolbe and other attorneys recommended training for superintendents and college administrators, use of DOJ and solicitor‑general litigation strategies, and legislation that would clearly protect student groups’ rights to choose leaders who share their beliefs.
Witnesses said remedies often take years and impose costs on students. Commissioners asked for concrete legislative and enforcement recommendations that can be incorporated into the commission’s final report.
