State

Legislators take aim at ‘liberal' university profs

Sunday, August 13, 2006 12:42 AM CDT

PHOENIX (AP) - Conservative state lawmakers are targeting what they see as left-leaning university professors, pushing a series of bills in recent and upcoming sessions designed to ensure that students are not unduly influenced by professors' beliefs.

The push has raised concerns among the academic community about academic freedom, with many worried the push will put legislators and administrators in charge of the college classroom.

Conservative lawmakers have floated or are planning a host of proposals that would restrict what students can be required to read, require alternative assignments, and put into law a requirement that alternative viewpoints be included in social science classes.

Among the proposals was a bill that failed in the last legislative session allowing students to refuse assignments they find sexually offensive. The Arizona Board of Regents reacted by passing a resolution supporting academic freedom but requiring advance notice to students of a course's content.

Another bill that did pass required American flags and the U.S. Constitution to be displayed in all classrooms.

Rep. Russell Pearce, R-Mesa, plans to introduce an ‘‘Academic Bill of Rights'' next year designed to keep liberal bias out of the classroom.

Patterned after a nationwide effort pushed by conservative activist David Horowitz, versions of the rights bill have been considered by lawmakers in 18 states, although only Georgia approved one. But university systems in Tennessee, Ohio and Colorado adopted policies that contain some of its central tenets.

Professors say the requirement for academic diversity in the bill of rights could force them to censor materials.