A new Missouri law will protect belief-based organizations on campus. Governor Mike Kehoe signed Senate Bill 160 into law in July and it took effect Thursday.
The bill covers a wide array of education topics, including preventing discrimination in public schools based on hair textures or protective hairstyles, and establishes the anti-hazing "Danny's Law."
The bill states that all public universities must recognize student organizations regardless of their political or religious affiliation. Action can only be taken against an organization if there is substantial evidence that the group's viewpoint would disrupt the educational environment or interfere with others' rights.
The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, or FIRE, is a nonpartisan organization whose goal includes protecting freedom of speech on college campuses nationwide.
"This bill prohibits this state and university and campus administrators from erecting those roadblocks," said FIRE Lead Counsel Tyler Coward, "ensuring that student groups can form without having to compromise their shared beliefs or values."
Last year, the University of Missouri barred Mizzou Students for Justice in Palestine from participating in the MU Homecoming parade, citing disturbances the international organization, Students for Justice in Palestine, had caused, along with a verbal altercation that happened on Mizzou's campus between the MSJP president and a community member. The MSJP announced a lawsuit against the University of Missouri on Wednesday.
Mizzou spokesperson Christopher Ave says the university does not plan to change any established policies due to the law.
"The University of Missouri already recognizes political, ideological, and religious student organizations and does not take actions against them based on their viewpoints," Ave said in an email July 31.
Brenden Poteet is president of the Mizzou College Republicans and supports the law.
"I'm all for the basis of it, which is you can't discriminate in hiring, acceptance, discipline or anything like that in regard to students who expressed certain political or religious beliefs, or any belief for that matter," Poteet said.
However, TJ Benoist, the vice president of Mizzou College Democrats, said he has concerns with the bill.
"I certainly could see a world where this could be used negatively by certain types of organizations to exclude members that they don't deem to be good enough for their group," Benoist said.
Steven Hoffman is an associate attorney at Klein Thomas Lee and Fresard, based in St. Louis. He said while this bill may come across as pro-First Amendment, some critics disagree.
"It was really designed as what progressive groups would call 'a right-to-discriminate law,'" Hoffman said, "and the original intent of this bill has passed in all sorts of states to allow student groups to avoid getting in trouble for violating their universities' codes of conduct."
Hoffman says while this bill protects existing belief-based student groups, it could also allow hate groups to form.
"The university has a strong anti-discrimination policy at this moment," he said. "This bill, in a way, undermines the universities' ability to enforce certain parts of that."
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