Graduation Year

2025

Date of Submission

12-2025

Document Type

Campus Only Senior Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

Department

Government

Reader 1

Ken Miller

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Abstract

This paper examines California Education Code § 94367, more commonly known as the Leonard Law. The only law of its kind in the United States, the Leonard Law requires private, secular colleges and universities in the state of California to abide by First Amendment standards in governing student speech on their campuses. In other words, the law prohibits these institutions from punishing students for speech that the government would be unable to punish them for off campus, essentially extending statutory First Amendment rights to individuals in their capacity as college students.

Proponents of the law note its capacity to expand debate on campus and protect student expression from restrictive speech codes and overzealous administrators. Critics, however, claim the law violates colleges and universities’ First Amendment right as private organizations to freely associate—or not associate—with individuals as they see fit. Section one of this paper tells the story of the law’s inception and passage in 1992, and section two examines the 1995 court case challenging its constitutionality to understand why it survived judicial scrutiny. Finally, section three evaluates the law’s future in light of more recent freedom of association cases, arguing that it would likely be struck down if challenged again.

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