The Academic Bill of Rights (ABOR) and its companion, the Student Bill of Rights (SBOR), are model documents designed for use in any governance arena, from the campus student government and board of trustees to state legislatures to the U.S. Congress. The Academic Bill of Rights is targeted for the broadest use and encompasses the hiring, promotion and oversight of faculty as well as course content. The Student Bill of Rights uses the same language with modifications geared for what takes place in the classroom. It is intended for passage by student governments.

Here are key points from the language of both documents, which are posted in their entirety on the Students for Academic Freedom Web site, www.studentsforacademicfreedom.org.

• “No political, ideological or religious orthodoxy will be imposed on professors and researchers through the hiring or tenure or termination process, or through the grading system or through the control of the classroom, or through any other administrative means by the academic institution.”—from ABOR and SBOR (words in italics appear only in SBOR)
  
• “From the first statement on academic freedom, it has been recognized that intellectual independence means the protection of students—as well as faculty—from the imposition of any orthodoxy of a political, religious or ideological nature.”—from ABOR although similar language is used in SBOR
  
• “Professors are hired to teach all students, not just students who share their political, religious and philosophical beliefs. It is essential therefore, that professors and lecturers not force their opinions about philosophy, politics and other contestable issues on students in the classroom and in all academic environments.”—from SBOR
  
• “All faculty shall be hired, fired, promoted and granted tenure on the basis of their competence and appropriate knowledge in the field of their expertise and, in the humanities, the social sciences and the arts, with a view toward fostering a plurality of methodologies and perspectives.”—from ABOR
  
• “No faculty member will be excluded from tenure, search and hiring committees on the basis of their political or religious beliefs.”—from ABOR
  
• “Students will be graded solely on the basis of their reasoned answers and appropriate knowledge of the subjects and disciplines that they study, not on the basis of their political or religious beliefs.”—from ABOR and SBOR
  
• “Curricula and reading lists in the humanities and social sciences should reflect the uncertainty and unsettled character of all human knowledge in these areas by providing students with dissenting sources and viewpoints where appropriate. While teachers are and should be free to pursue their own findings and perspectives in presenting their views, they should consider and make their students aware of other viewpoints. ... Academic disciplines should welcome a diversity of approaches to unsettled questions.”—from ABOR and SBOR
  
• “The obstruction of invited campus speakers, destruction of campus literature or other effort will not be tolerated.”—from ABOR and SBOR
  
• “Academic institutions and professional societies should maintain a posture of organizational neutrality with respect to the substantive disagreements that divide researchers on questions inside or outside their fields of inquiry.”—from ABOR and SBOR