ALEC Celebrates Free Speech Week
Free speech is not a partisan issue; it is an American value.
This week, Oct. 20-26, ALEC celebrates Free Speech Week, an annual celebration of our First Amendment rights!
ALEC’s Center to Protect Free Speech was founded to educate legislators and concerned citizens on the importance of free speech; promote policies that ensure the ability for all to speak freely and equip the public with the resources necessary to preserve and protect the free speech rights of all people.
The Center works to protect free speech across multiple policy areas, including campus speech, online speech, and donor privacy.
Campus Speech
In collaboration with the ALEC Center to Protect Free Speech, ALEC’s Education and Workforce Development Task Force has passed three campus speech policies: the Forming Open and Robust University Minds (FORUM) Act, the Free Speech in Higher Education Act, and the Freedom from Indoctrination Act.
The FORUM Act requires that outdoor areas of public colleges and universities be deemed public forums where members of the campus community can express themselves freely. It requires these universities to educate students on their free speech rights and responsibilities, and it requires that administrators, campus police, and others understand their role regarding free expression on campus. It also requires universities to report on free speech issues and allows alleged victims to bring a cause of action for a violation of their free speech rights. Provisions of the FORUM Act have now been implemented in 25 states.
The Free Speech in Higher Education Act addresses specific concerns around student-on-student harassment that results in free speech violations (i.e., a student shouting down a classmate, thus preventing the classmate from being heard). It also bans the use of “bias response teams,” which some universities have used to intimidate students into silence under the threat of investigation.
The Freedom from Indoctrination Act prohibits public higher education institutions from mandating that students take DEI or CRT courses as a condition for graduation and from requiring faculty to participate in mandatory DEI/CRT training or include DEI/CRT in their teaching. It also requires freshman orientation materials to affirm students’ First Amendment rights. Now, 19 states have passed legislation addressing DEI mandates.
Online Speech
ALEC’s Communications and Technology Task Force, also in coordination with the Center to Protect Free Speech, has passed a Resolution in Support of Congressional Law to Combat Government Pressuring of Social Media Platforms to Remove Speech. The resolution urges Congress to pass legislation that would prohibit federal employees from using their positions within the government to censor speech or pressure private companies into removing speech. It also urges Congress to perform robust oversight over any attempts by the Biden Administration to censor or limit the speech rights of Americans.
The task force also passed a Statement of Principles on Online Free Speech, which recognizes that keeping the Internet open and free from burdensome regulation is key to protecting both innovation and First Amendment rights.
Donor Privacy
Protecting the privacy of donors to non-profit organizations is essential to preventing the suppression of free speech. Over the past few years, states have considered legislation that requires nonprofit organizations to disclose their donors as well as their donors’ donors through what is called “original source” donor disclosure.
Proponents of increased donor disclosure requirements claim this will increase transparency. In reality, it will intimidate individuals from supporting causes they believe in out of fear of harassment. Ultimately, this leads to the suppression of speech. In the case of original source disclosure, this will also lead to people being publicly associated with organizations they never directly supported. ALEC’s Resolution in Support of Nonprofit Donor Privacy opposes efforts to expand donor disclosure requirements for 501(c) (3) nonprofit organizations. Our Statement of Principles on Philanthropic Freedom supports philanthropy and the privacy of individual donors.
This year, ALEC filed an amicus brief in First Choice Women’s Resource Center v. Platkin, a U.S. Supreme Court case challenging New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin’s sweeping demand for donor lists from a nonprofit pregnancy care provider. The case raises critical concerns about donor privacy, free speech, and access to federal courts. In it, we shared our own experiences of being the target of state investigatory actions, argued in the defense First Amendment-protected liberties, and re-emphasized that federalism provides both state and federal forums to vindicate such constitutionally guaranteed rights. We should expect a decision on the case in 2026.
As we celebrate Free Speech Week, ALEC reaffirms its commitment to defending the First Amendment. Whether on college campuses, online, or through the protection of donor privacy, the Center to Protect Free Speech continues to champion policies that ensure every American can speak, think, and associate freely without fear of government retaliation.
Free speech is not a partisan issue; it is an American value. As new challenges arise in legislatures, classrooms, and the digital sphere, ALEC will remain steadfast in promoting policies that protect open debate, encourage innovation, and preserve the marketplace of ideas that makes our country strong.