Free Speech and First Amendment Protected Expressive Activities on Campuses

Free Speech and First Amendment protected expressive activities at public postsecondary education institutions by students, administrators, faculty members, staff members, and invited guests are protected, pursuant to the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America and Article I, Section 7 of the Constitution of Louisiana.

Bossier Parish Community College (BPCC) deems the free and open inquiry into all matters fundamental to the mission of higher education and is committed to the preservation of the lawful, free expression of ideas on all of its member campuses, subject only to reasonable time, place, and manner restrictions. All Bossier Parish Community College campuses shall allow and protect noncommercial expressive activities by any person lawfully present on campus property in accordance with all applicable laws and this Policy.

Protests and demonstrations that infringe upon the constitutional rights of others to engage in or listen to expressive activity by creating a substantial and material disruption to the functioning of the institution or to someone’s expressive activity in any location reserved for that expressive activity shall not be permitted. No conduct shall be deemed a material and substantial disruption that is protected under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution or Article I, Section 7 of the Constitution of Louisiana. Protected conduct includes but is not limited to lawful protests and counter-protests in the outdoor areas of campus generally accessible to members of the public except during times when these areas have been reserved in advance for other events or minor, brief, or fleeting nonviolent disruptions of events that are isolated and short in duration.

Download the Free Speech and First Amendment Protected Expressive Activities on Campuses document for more information.