Student speech and protest, civic engagement and activism are important aspects of campus life. Institutions of higher education have a responsibility to support the First Amendment rights of all campus community members and to fairly enforce campus free expression policy. Part of this responsibility includes educating all campus stakeholders on the First Amendment and campus policies as well as where there are limitations on free expression, in order to avoid unnecessary conflict or distrust.

To help campuses design effective ways to educate students about their free expression rights, we have compiled the following resources and examples:

Lesson Plans and Modules on Free Expression and the First Amendment 

• ACLU “Speech on Campus” FAQ
• FIRE and First Amendment Watch “Free Speech Lessons for Freshman Orientation & First-Year Experience” curriculum 
• First Amendment Watch freshman orientation “Campus Speech Modules” 
• First Amendment Watch “Teacher Guides” on various first amendment topics
• The Free Speech Project, Georgetown University, Free Speech Modules 
• Heterodox Academy “Why Open Inquiry Matters” Resource Guide
• Middle Tennessee State University’s Free Speech Center “Resources for Teaching” the First Amendment and “Free Speech on College Campuses” lesson plan
• UC National Center for Free Speech and Civic Engagement (Center) Fellow Jonathan Friedman’s Free Speech Guides for various campus stakeholders
• Center Fellow Spoma Jovanovic’s “What Free Speech Boundaries Do We Want” Curricular Assignment  
• Center Fellow Robert Cohen’s Free Speech Lesson Plans for High School and College Students

Free Speech Education Programs

• Iowa State University 2021 “First Amendment Days” 
• Florida Institute of Technology annual “Free Speech Week” (2020 and 2021 agendas)
• Purdue University’s free speech orientation for incoming students
• University of California at Merced 2021 Free Speech Week, a Center VOICE Award Recipient
• University of Chicago student-led free speech conference

Examples of Effective Free Expression Informational Websites

• Claremont McKenna College
• California State Polytechnic University, Pomona
• California State University Long Beach
• California State University, Sacramento
• Columbus State Community College
• Emory University
• Miami University
• Michigan State University
• Saint Louis University
• Southeastern Oklahoma State University
• Texas A&M
• Texas Tech University
• University of Texas at Arlington
• University of California, Davis
• University of North Carolina at Pembroke
• Utah Valley University