Story by Nick Kendall
Contributing writer
nkendall1@murraystate.edu
Gov. Matt Bevin was joined by state legislators, administration officials, and advocacy groups Wednesday, June 5 in Frankfort, as he ceremonially signed three recently enacted laws passed by the 2019 General Assembly.
One of the bills signed into law was House Bill 254. The summary of the new law states that HB 254 is to “require public postsecondary institutions to adopt policies ensuring the protection of freedom of speech and expression by students and faculty; require policies to be made available to students and faculty; create a cause of action for a violation of any policy required by the Act.”
Murray State already has policies for free speech on campus but the bill will make universities get rid of their free speech zones and make it unlawful to deny a student organization’s invited speaker due to political, religious, and ideological viewpoints.
All public universities in Kentucky will have to update or create new policies by August 2020 and Shawn Touney, director of communication says we could see these new changes by the beginning of the Fall semester.
“A workgroup comprised of various University individuals has met several times this spring with the goal of developing policies and procedures to be reviewed by the Board of Regents at the next Board meeting,” Touney said.
For more information about the new law visit the Kentucky Legislature website.