Campus Free Speech Restoration Act

As part of the Department of Education's June 7-11, public hearing on Title IX, FIRE provided verbal testimony and a written comment to provide our input on the Department's enforcement of Title IX. We emphasized the need to maintain robust due process protections and ensure that enforcement of Title IX was consistent with judicial precedents on fair procedures and free speech. We also met with the Office for Civil Rights to discuss the same. FIRE also met with members of Congress to discuss amendments FIRE would make to the the Campus Free Speech Restoration Act (H.R. 4007) to ensure that it tracks the judicial precedent and is a helpful tool for protecting free speech on college campuses. In meetings with staff for members of the House of Representatives, we shared our perspective on the direction would like the Department of Education to go, explaining our hope that the Department would maintain policies that protect campus free speech and due process. We also engaged Senate offices to share our concerns about Catherine Lhamon's nomination to return to the Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights as the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, a position we think she should not be confirmed to unless she makes concrete commitments under oath to maintain the robust due process protections and the U.S. Supreme Court compliant definition of sexual harassment in the Title IX regulations. Finally, on the request of a Senate office, we reviewed draft language regarding a proposal to ensure that Court Orders signed electronically have security measures to ensure their authenticity. Ultimately, we concluded that proposal was outside the scope of FIRE's mission.

Client expense: $10,000 · Firm income: Not reported

Government targets: Education, Dept of, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE