School ‘reviewing’ policies ‘to ensure they remain compliant’ with law, spokesman says
A conservative legal group is urging the University of North Georgia to drop a policy that may punish students for addressing someone with biologically accurate pronouns as “sexual harassment” or “gender discrimination.”
A spokesman for the public university, however, told The Fix the school does not restrict free speech.
The Southeastern Legal Foundation sent the letter this month on behalf of Young America’s Foundation “regarding University of North Georgia’s (UNG) Title IX and Gender Discrimination policies that define ‘sex’ to include gender identity and sexual orientation.”
Examples of “gender discrimination” under UNG policy include “hostile” remarks like using “a biologically accurate pronoun to identify a transgender individual” or expressing concerns about “gender identity,” SLF stated in the letter.
These examples are overly vague and “encompass speech that is clearly protected by the First Amendment,” the group stated.
Further, it stated that the school’s policy violates U.S. civil rights legislation and President Donald Trump’s recent executive orders strengthening Title IX protections, subjecting students to the threat of unjust punishment.
SLF Director of Legal Initiatives Cece O’Leary told The Fix via email, “UNG goes too far by elevating so-called gender identity over freedom of speech.”
She said its policies force students to guess if their speech will be subject to punishment, even when they are speaking on “basic biological truths.”
O’Leary said that students must be able to have open discourse and challenge ideas on campus.
Additionally, the issue is not confined to this school. “UNG is just one of dozens of schools, states, and colleges across the country that are failing to comply with Title IX’s basic protections for men and women,” she said.
She also said SLF is “hopeful that UNG was simply unaware of its oversight.” However, the group “will remain vigilant” to “ensure that the rights of every student in America are protected to the fullest extent.”
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Following the letter, The Fix requested that the UNG media relations team clarify the university’s Title IX policies, while also inquiring whether any students have faced discipline for related speech.
Spokesman Clark Leonard said the university does not discipline students’ views that are protected by the First Amendment.
“As we have been doing since January, we are reviewing and refining policies and online materials to ensure they remain compliant with federal and state law, protect First Amendment rights, and preserve our academic mission,” Leonard said.
He also said UNG campuses will remain places where there can be open debate within a safe environment.
“That means respecting constitutional rights while also upholding clear standards that prohibit unlawful behavior, harassment, or discrimination,” he said.
Leonard said that students are encouraged to “speak freely” and “engage meaningfully.”
Still, YAF Chief Communications Officer Spencer Brown told The Fix that the school must clarify its vague policies that currently restrict speech.
“Contrary to what the University of North Georgia claims in its policies and related material … students are not being denied equal access to an education because some of their peers believe in biological reality or desire to be safe in school facilities,” Brown said.
“Arguments to the contrary made by the Biden-Harris administration and still being made by some school administrators were quickly nullified by federal courts due to YAF and other groups’ successful legal action,” he said.
The Trump administration warned all colleges and universities that it would no longer tolerate radical gender ideology or distorted, progressive interpretations of Title IX, Brown told The Fix.
“Instead, the president made clear that the First Amendment was again the law of the land and speech must be protected at our institutions of learning where speech ought to be the freest,” he said.
MORE: Nearly 650 college students, groups punished or investigated for speech over last five years
IMAGE CAPTION AND CREDIT: UNG logo; University of North Georgia/Youtube
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