A U.S. District Court judge approved Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit against both Indiana University and Purdue University’s boards of trustees Wednesday.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana filed the lawsuit in May on behalf of four professors: Purdue Fort Wayne professors Steven Carr and David Schuster, IU-Indianapolis professor James Scheurich and IU-Bloomington professor David McDonald.
The lawsuit only included the Purdue University Board of Trustees initially, but the IU Board of Trustees was added later. It was filed in the U.S District Court for the Southern District of Indiana to challenge Senate Enrolled Act 202, a law which increases the state legislature’s oversight of public universities and tenure criteria.
According to the lawsuit, the professors believe the law is vague and violates their First and 14th Amendment rights.
“The lawsuit by the ACLU is illegitimate and lacks standing,” Rokita wrote on X on Aug. 9. “To protect Hoosier students in the classroom, we will continue defending this new Indiana law, which ensures that state universities foster diversity of thought — not indoctrination.”
U.S. District Court Judge Sarah Evans Barker sided with Rokita, citing a federal rule which only allows courts to resolve disputes and not answer legal questions. She said the lawsuit is premature and the professor’s rights have not been infringed.
“The ACLU of Indiana is disappointed and is currently considering options for next steps to protect academic freedom at our state’s public colleges and universities,” Laura Forbes, communications manager for ACLU of Indiana, wrote in an email to the Indiana Daily Student on Thursday.
Law firm Barnes and Thornburg LLP served as counsel for IU and Purdue in the case and joined the brief from Rokita’s office July 22, which asked for dismissal of the case based on a lack of standing and readiness.
Rokita’s brief also argued the professors’ speech in the classroom is not protected by the First Amendment.
The ACLU of Indiana responded to Rokita July 29. It wrote SEA 202 already impacts the professors, particularly as they develop their courses’ syllabi for the upcoming semester, which starts Aug. 19 at Purdue and Aug. 26 at IU.
Rokita argued the case was not legitimate because the professors had not taught since the law took effect July 1 and had not been affected by the law yet. He also said the professors’ speech in the classroom does not apply to the First Amendment because public curricular speech is “government speech.”
However, lawyers from IU and Purdue filed a statement Monday, in which they distanced themselves from Rokita’s brief, writing they only join the first part of his argument: the lack of standing and readiness.
Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb signed SEA 202 into law in March, and it took effect July 1. The law requires universities’ boards of trustees to implement policies prohibiting tenure or promotions from faculty members if they do not foster “intellectual diversity” in the classroom and requires a review of tenured professors every five years.
Faculty, administrators and students around the state have opposed the law, and IU President Pamela Whitten released a statement to Indiana Public Media in February expressing her concerns about the then-bill.
“While we are still analyzing the broad potential impacts of SB 202, we are deeply concerned about language regarding faculty tenure that would put academic freedom at risk, weaken the intellectual rigor essential to preparing students with critical thinking skills, and damage our ability to compete for the world-class faculty who are at the core of what makes IU an extraordinary research institution,” she wrote.
IU Vice Provost for Faculty and Academic Affairs Carrie Docherty and President of Bloomington Faculty Council Danielle DeSawal sent an email to IU faculty Monday, providing guidance for the upcoming semester.
“As we prepare for the start of the academic year, we are aware that our colleagues have many questions about how Indiana Senate Enrolled Act (SEA) No. 202 will impact their teaching,” they wrote. “Teaching in the SEA 202 landscape means that faculty need to be clear about the scope of their course, stay within that scope, and be able to support their choices based on their expertise of the subject matter.”
They also shared a slide deck as a resource for faculty.
Executive Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences Rick Van Kooten sent an email to College faculty and staff Tuesday, writing the College planned to host three virtual town hall meetings to prepare faculty to teach in the context of SEA 202, the university’s new expressive activity policy and other updated university policies.
The first meeting was held Aug. 15 from 11 a.m. to noon. The remaining meetings are scheduled for Aug. 20 from 1–2 p.m. and Aug. 23 from 10–11 a.m.
A frequently asked questions page about SEA 202 is also available on IU’s website.
