Federal judge dismisses suit against Indiana’s pro-intellectual diversity law

As efforts to restrict tenure are gaining steam in Florida and Texas, other states are beginning to follow suit. 

A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) challenging Indiana’s new “intellectual diversity” law, which mandates that public universities implement policies promoting “intellectual diversity and free exchange of ideas.”

In her decision, Judge Sarah Evans Barker ruled that the two Purdue University Fort Wayne professors, represented by the ACLU, did not present grounds on which the lawsuit could move forward, noting that the case’s dismissal was procedural rather than substantive in nature.

Quoting from a lawsuit previously dismissed on similar grounds, Barker noted that “litigants ‘cannot manufacture standing merely by inflicting harm on themselves based on their fears of hypothetical future harm that is not certainly impending.’”

Senate Enrolled Act (S.E.A.) 202 requires public universities to sanction professors who fail to “foster a culture of free inquiry, free expression, and intellectual diversity” or “expose students to scholarly works from a variety of political or ideological frameworks.” 

The lawsuit took issue with a particular section of the bill which requires universities to facilitate tenure reviews to determine whether professors are sufficiently promoting these ends.

[RELATED: 21% of University of Florida professors up for post-tenure review fail]

Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita praised the decision, stating that the law in question, S.E.A. 202, was a critical step towards protecting free speech and exchange of ideas in an academic context.

“As the court recognized in ruling for our office, the four professors lacked standing to even bring this action,” Rokita’s office said. “We were proud to defend this new law, which enables students to engage in free inquiry and ensures state universities foster diversity of thought.”

In a statement accompanying the lawsuit in May, ACLU attorney Stevie Pactor voiced concerns that the wording of the new law would grant excessive leeway to universities seeking to discipline or terminate tenured professors for illegitimate reasons.

“SEA 202 puts Indiana’s professors in an untenable position,” Pactor stated. “Through vague language and the threat of harsh sanctions, including termination, the law strips professors of the academic freedom that the Supreme Court has long recognized they have the right to exercise.”

[RELATED: Three Florida profs sue Board of Governors over tenure changes]

“No professor should have to choose between their employment and their First Amendment rights,” he concluded.

Campus Reform has reached out to Todd Rokita and the ACLU for comment. This story will be updated accordingly.