I don't regard House Bill 432 (below) as a threat to academic
freedom.  Rather I see it as calling for faculty responsibility and as a
small step towards Quality Enhancement for our students who may feel
aggrieved.



            Its purpose is to keep us focused.  I have been hired to teach
engineering and not to expound my opinions on conservative Constitutional
interpretation, for example.  Perhaps it will be abused but so can other
avenues of student redress such as the grade appeals process.  As current
Chair of the Grade Appeals Committee I do not think this procedure has been
abused.



            Jim Hiestand



Filed for intro on 02/03/2005

HOUSE BILL 432

By Campfield

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 49,

Chapter 7, relative to higher education.

WHEREAS, the General assembly of the state of Tennessee recognizes students'
rights

to academic freedom and rights to freedom from discrimination on the basis
of political or

religious beliefs; and

WHEREAS, students enrolled in state postsecondary educational institutions
have the

right to information concerning grievance procedures for the protection of
their academic

freedoms; and

WHEREAS, it is determined to be in the best interests of the state to direct
the governing

board of state postsecondary educational institutions to adopt a grievance
procedure for use in

enforcing students' rights; now, therefore,

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:

SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 49, Chapter 7, Part 1, is amended
by

adding the following as a new appropriately designated section:

49-7-1(__).

(a) Students enrolled in state postsecondary educational institutions shall

have the following rights:

(1) The right to expect that their academic freedom will not be

infringed upon by instructors who create a hostile environment toward

their political or religious beliefs or who introduce controversial matter
into

the classroom or course work that is substantially unrelated to the subject

of study;

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(2) The right to expect that they will be graded solely on the basis

of their reasoned answers and appropriate knowledge of the subjects

they study and that they shall not be discriminated against on the basis of

their political or religious beliefs;

(3) The right to expect that their academic institutions shall

distribute student fee funds on a viewpoint neutral basis and shall

maintain a posture of neutrality with respect to substantive political or

religious disagreements, differences, and opinions; and

(4) The right to be fully informed of their institutions' grievance

procedures for violations of academic freedom by means of notices

prominently displayed in course catalogues, student handbooks, and on

the institutional web site.

(b) State postsecondary educational institutions shall publicize the

statewide institutional grievance procedure by which a student may seek
redress

for an alleged violation of any of the rights specified in this section in
course

catalogues, student handbooks, and on the institutional website.

SECTION 2. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-7-202(c), is amended by
adding

the following as a new appropriately designated subdivision:

(__) Develop, monitor, and enforce a statewide institutional grievance
procedure

by which a student may seek a redress of grievance for an alleged violation
of any of the

rights specified in this act.

SECTION 3. The commissioner of the Tennessee higher education commission is

authorized to promulgate rules and regulations to effectuate the purposes of
this act. All such

rules and regulations shall be promulgated in accordance with the provisions
of Tennessee

Code Annotated, title 4, chapter 5.

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SECTION 4. This act shall take effect upon becoming law, the public welfare
requiring

it.