Manweller seeks free speech on campuses

OLYMPIA — Thirteenth District State Rep. Matt Manweller, R-Ellensburg, introduced two new higher education bills last week. One is intended to allow freedom of speech on college campuses.

The first is House Bill 1033, which reallocates state need grant money from private universities to public universities so they receive the same amount of funding from the state.

The second is House Bill 1362, which is an academic bill of rights that seeks to protect college faculty and students who express unpopular opinions.

HB 1362 creates an academic bill of rights for students and faculty at universities. The bill is designed to protect faculty and students from expulsion without due process for unpopular opinions they may express on or off campus.

Manweller said many colleges are engaging in a heckler’s veto when a few students complain about a speaker or issue. The university bans a speaker or takes punitive action against a faculty member or student.

“If you are going to end a person’s career,” Manweller said, “they should at least have some minimal due process protections.”

Manweller believes these bills may not make it out of committee, but sees them as a way to start conversations about these issues.

“I want our four-year universities to be on notice that we are paying attention to what they are doing,” Manweller said. “We are watching and we are going to do everything to hold them accountable if they engage in this type of behavior.”

The state need grant bill would reduce the amount of funding private universities receive to an equal amount of funding to private universities receive.

Manweller does not believe adding more money to the state need grant program is possible, and sees his bill as a way to work with the money the state already has.

“We would love to just add money to the pot,” Manweller said. “In a McCleary world, where every extra dollar is going to K-12 education, the only way we can really get more kids off that list is to come up with some type of creative way to do it.”