Supreme Court Declines to Hear Challenge to College Bias Response Teams
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to weigh in on the constitutionality of bias response teams on college campuses, turning away a lawsuit brought by Speech First, a group advocating for students’ First Amendment rights.
The case targeted Indiana University’s use of these teams, which solicit anonymous reports of perceived bias and can initiate disciplinary action against students. Speech First argued that such practices chill free speech, effectively silencing students through intimidation rather than open censorship.
While the Court denied the petition, Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito issued a sharp dissent. They warned that allowing these policies to stand unchecked creates a fractured legal landscape—where a student’s speech rights may vary dramatically depending on geography.
Speech First had hoped this case would settle the constitutional debate, arguing that universities use bias response teams as a tool to discourage controversial speech without explicitly banning it.
