A new proposal in Florida would allow a student to record their college professors’ lectures so that they can use it in case of bias. The bill requires all 40 universities and colleges funded in part by the state of Florida.
Students may not make the lectures public unless they get written consent from the professor. The videos can be used by students who are ridiculed by their professors.
The bill also mandates that the universities allow free speech on campus.
The text of the bill adds:
“The State Board of Education may not shield students, faculty, or staff at Florida College System institutions from free speech protected under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.”
According to the bill, students would be permitted to conduct “free-speech activities”, including “all forms of peaceful assembly, protests, and speeches; distributing literature; carrying signs; circulating petitions; faculty research, lectures, writings, and commentary, whether published or unpublished; and the recording and publication, including the Internet publication, of video or audio recorded in outdoor areas of campus.”
The bill states that audio or video is the personal property of the students and must not be shared with anyone. They can be used in court proceedings in order to prove that a professor has been biased against you because of your beliefs and has unfairly held those beliefs against them while grading them.
Florida’s Board of Education would create an “objective, nonpartisan statistically valid survey to the extent of which competing ideas and perspectives are presented and members of the college community, including students, faculty, and staff, feel free to express their beliefs and viewpoints on campus and in the classroom.”
At least five days prior to the disciplinary hearing, each student must also be provided with:
A list of all known witnesses that will provide information against the student or student organization, all know information related to the allegation
The right to a “presumption that no violation occurred”
The right to an impartial hearing officer
The right against self-incrimination and to remain silent
The right to present relevant information and question witnesses
The right to an advisor, advocate, or legal representative at the student or student organization’s own expense
The right to appeal the final decision of hearing directly to the vice president of student affairs or any other senior administration designated by the code of conduct to hear the appeal and make a final decision
The right to an accurate and complete record of every disciplinary proceeding relating to the charged violation of the code, including record of any appeal, to be made, preserved, and available for copying upon request by the charged student or student organization
A provision setting a time limit for charging a student or student organization with a violation of the code of conduct, and a description of those circumstances in which that time limit may be extended or waived
