University of Houston Rolls Back Unconstitutional Anti-Harassment Policy

The University of Houston last week agreed to rescind its anti-harassment policy in a settlement with several students who sued the school and its chancellor, alleging that the policy violated their First and 14th Amendment rights.

A settlement in Speech First v. Khator et al. spells the end of the university’s sweeping anti-harassment policy, which a group of conservative students claimed would restrict almost all expression of their political beliefs.

The University of Houston’s contested policy described harassment as including “epithets or slurs, negative stereotyping, threatening, intimidating, or hostile acts, denigrating jokes and display or circulation (including through email or virtual platforms) of written or graphic material in the learning, living, or working environment.” While some of these actions might constitute harassment—for example, physically threatening a fellow student—others clearly do not. For example, “negative stereotyping” and “denigrating jokes” are clearly protected by the First Amendment.

The policy also noted that such offenses as “verbal and nonverbal slights,” “microaggressions,” and “annoyances” could result in punishment if occurring frequently enough. The policy even went so far as to note that “academic freedom and freedom of expression will not excuse behavior that constitutes a violation of the law or this Policy.”

Not only was the University of Houston’s definition of harassment untenably broad, but the policy also claimed jurisdiction over any interaction between “University-Affiliated individuals”—be it on or off campus.

In February, the nonprofit group Speech First filed a formal complaint with the Southern Texas District Court. On behalf of several conservative students, the group alleged that the policy violated those students’ rights based on their political affiliation. As the complaint read, one represented student “fears that other students will find his views ‘humiliating,’ ‘abusive,’ ‘threateni