Legal Challenges to Bias Response Teams on College Campuses

Abstract

Over the last 3 years, the advocacy organization Speech First has filed six lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of bias response teams on the grounds that they violate free speech. Bias response teams are university-wide committees that respond to reports of racially charged incidents on college campuses to promote institutional goals of inclusion. These lawsuits are significant because they have resulted in the dismantling of these committees. In this commentary, we bring attention to this renewed wave of legal attacks on racial diversity and inclusion policies on college campuses and its implications for race-focused policy, practice, and research.