Administrators Must Face First Amendment Suit

A federal trial court in Illinois ruled a few weeks ago that university administrators must face a free speech claim from a former student. The plaintiff was a student in the Master of Art Therapy Counseling program at Southern Illinois University.  While she was in the program, another student told the Title IX office that some of the plaintiff's statements and social media posts about topics such as vaccine mandates, political beliefs, and religion caused discomfort.

Several days later, the university issued several no-contact orders (NCOs) forbidding the plaintiff and several other students from having any contact with one another.  According to the court decision, the NCOs "provided no factual basis other than 'upon information and belief that interactions between [plaintiff] and [the other students] would not be welcome or appropriate at this time.'”  After 18 days, the university rescinded the NCOs, and the university eventually concluded that the plaintiff's actions did not violate any university policies.

In the interim, the Master's program held a community meeting, where students again complained about the plaintiff's social media posts. One of the defendants, an associate professor at the university, followed up with an email, stating that it "shed light onto our collective need to step up and into empowerment around ensuring anti-oppression acts in our community.”

After her graduation, the plaintiff filed suit against several university employees, alleging censorship and various damages. The university staff members named as defendants filed a motion to dismiss. The court granted the motion as to some claims regarding school policies, but denied it in regard to the NCOs. The court also determined that the defendants were not entitled to qualified immunity prior to discovery.

The case illustrates the difficulty that universities have in protecting their students' feelings consistent with First Amendment principles. As the Court noted, "[I]t would be clear to a reasonable university official that issuing NCOs to a student due to their expressed viewpoints on social media, in conversations with other students, and during class discussions collides with that student’s First Amendment rights.”  

Students expressing "discomfort" is not sufficient grounds to restrict another student's speech.