Protecting Academic Freedom for Faculty and Students

Legal Issues Concerning Academic Freedom
Read about the core principles of law that define and limit the right to academic freedom. You'll find summaries of specific legal actions and suggested model language for collective bargaining in this document. ( pdf, 45k)

Academic Freedom Presentation
View this presentation (pdf, 108 kb, or ppt, 1.2 mb) for a look at the history of academic freedom, recent threats to academic freedom, and NEA's role in protecting academic freedom.

Model Contract Language
This document (pdf, 81 kb) focuses on contract language relevant to academic freedom.   Using NEA's Higher Education Contract Analysis System (HECAS), a selection of contracts from various states, 2 and 4 year institutions and employee groups were analyzed for model bargaining agreement language.

NEA and PSEA Leaders Testify on Threats to Free Exchange of Ideas
Read the testimony of President Kathy Sproles of the National Council for Higher Education, President Jane Munley of the Pennsylvania Association of Higher Education, and PSEA-Student Program member Jessica Sabol, who testified on behalf of NEA and PSEA at the final hearing held by the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Select Committee on Student Academic Freedom.  Read the press release on their testimony.

South Dakota Defeats Attack on Academic Freedom
Members of our higher education affiliate in South Dakota, the Council of Higher Education, lobbied their legislators to successfully defeat the South Dakota House Bill 1222.

Florida Legislature Battles with Academic Freedom
Florida held two sessions to discuss the Academic Bill of Rights. Our higher ed member, United Faculty of Florida President Tom Auxter, testified at both sessions. David Horowitz was chosen by the Florida House leadership to start the testimony. The second session also included testimony from students. Listen to the testimony on the Academic Bill of Rights, H.B. 837. This legislation did not clear the Florida Senate.