A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit over Indiana’s intellectual diversity requirements for public universities and colleges.
Senate Enrolled Act 202 requires college faculty to teach what legislators call “intellectually diverse ideas” and promote free speech in the classroom. The law includes a reporting process for professors accused of violating the act. Violations could impact the tenure or promotion review process.
Three professors from Indiana University and Purdue University sued to stop SEA 202 in U.S District Court of Southern Indiana with support from the American Civil Liberties Union.
The ACLU said the act violated the First and Fourteenth Amendments. The professors, who taught political subjects such as race, the Holocaust and the history of Palestine, reported self-censoring.
But Judge Richard Young said they filed the lawsuit too early, and the professors didn’t show how they’ve been harmed by SEA 202 policies at IU and Purdue.
“They do not claim that the Universities have instructed them to change their syllabi or pedagogies or that the Universities have received any complaints against them since these policies took effect,” Young wrote. “In short, no action or threatened action has been taken against Plaintiffs based on any university SEA 202-related policy.”
The interim policies at IU and Purdue are being changed in an ongoing process, Young added.
SEA 202 took effect last summer. Another lawsuit over SEA 202 was dismissed in August 2024. From July 1 to Dec. 31, 2024, Indiana’s public colleges received more than 50 intellectual diversity complaints, though most were not considered legitimate.
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.
