California’s budget bill specifies that UC campuses must issue a climate report on free speech, or risk losing $25 million in funding. The relevant portions of the bill are pasted below.
34. It is the intent of the Legislature that the University of California foster freedom of expression and the free exchange of ideas that comply with state and federal law and campus policies while also protecting student, staff, and faculty safety and access to educational opportunities. Each campus of the university shall prepare a campus climate notification by the beginning of the Fall 2024 term. The University of California Office of the President will develop a systemwide framework to provide for consistency with campus implementation and enforcement.
(a) Each campus shall provide notification of the following to students before the start of each academic year:
(1) The campus’s time, place, and manner policy, which identifies the allowable parameters of free speech activities and the campus.
(2) The Student Code of Conduct, which identifies acceptable student behavior, and relevant state and federal laws, which delineate legal and illegal activities.
(3) The systemwide Nondiscrimination Policy, which ensures compliance with Title VI and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
(4) The process by which the campus will resolve any complaint of a violation of relevant institutional policies, state law, or federal law, including complaints against individuals not affiliated with the campus.
(5) The range of consequences possible for students, faculty, or staff who violate relevant institutional policies, state law, or federal law, including, but not limited to, discrimination based on shared ancestry under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
(6) How the campus may respond to activities that threaten the safety of students, faculty, or staff, and disrupt their ability to access the campus or buildings, the educational process, or activities on campus. The notification will include strategies consistent with current law for how the university intends to ensure students can safely access buildings and activities on campus.
(7) How the campus intends to foster healthy discourse and bring together campus community members, and viewpoints that are ideologically different, in order to best promote the educational mission of the institution and the exchange of ideas in a safe and peaceful manner.
(8) Identify educational programs and activities for faculty, staff, and students to support the balance between free speech activities, educational mission, and student safety.
(9) A list of the resources available on campus for faculty, staff, and students to receive mental health and trauma support.
(b) The Office of the President of the University of California shall submit a report to the Legislature by October 1, 2024, describing the campus climate notifications and any and all efforts to ensure consistent enforcement of institutional policies, and state and federal law, that protect safety and access to educational opportunities and campus spaces and buildings. Of the funds appropriated in this item, $25,000,000 shall be released only if the Director of Finance certifies that the University of California campuses have completed campus climate notifications and the University of California Office of the President has submitted a report by October 1, 2024.