The American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana is suing Indiana University and Purdue University over Senate Enrolled Act 202, which requires faculty to have “ intellectual diversity” in the classroom.
Professors’ tenure and promotion could be in jeopardy if they don’t discuss diverse ideas or foster a culture of free expression in the classroom. Faculty could be reported to the university or disciplined. SEA 202 was signed into law this year, and Indiana public colleges are adapting and adopting policies to comply with the law.
IU and Purdue recently approved policies to follow SEA 202, and the ACLU said that violates faculty’s free speech and academic freedom, citing the First and Fourteenth Amendments.
This marks the ACLU's second lawsuit against SEA 202. The first lawsuit was dismissed in August.
Read more: Rokita motions to dismiss ACLU suit blocking tenure law
“As we stated in our initial lawsuit in May, this law puts professors in an impossible situation. One of our plaintiffs has already been the subject of multiple student complaints under the new university policy, all of which were ultimately dismissed,” said ACLU staff attorney Stevie J. Pactor. “Professors should never be put in the position of choosing between their careers and their academic freedom.”
The complaints, filed in U.S District Court of Southern Indiana, named the trustees of IU and Purdue as defendants. The lawsuits are similar, highlighting concerns over vague policies for fostering free inquiry and free expression.
An IU spokesperson said the university doesn’t comment on pending litigation. But in a news release about IU’s SEA 202 complaint policies, which the trustees passed Friday, IU said it remains committed to protecting freedom of expression. The trustees approved diversity committees for each campus as well as a policy on institutional neutrality.
Purdue is working on interim policies. A spokesperson referred to an August statement, when the ACLU’s first lawsuit failed.
Purdue said it never took a position on whether the merits of the ACLU’s claims against SEA 202, but instead opted “to make a procedural argument that the claims are not ripe, and thus the court did not have jurisdiction.”
“Purdue never wavered in its commitment to academic freedom and faculty tenure,” the university said.
Aubrey is our higher education reporter and a Report For America corps member. Contact her at aubmwrig@iu.edu or follow her on X @aubreymwright .
