The California chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-CA) today welcomed the California Senate Education Committee’s recent vote in favor of advancing Assembly Bill (AB) 2551. Having successfully passed this step in the legislative process, AB 2551 will now advance to the Senate Appropriations Committee.
Authored by Assemblymember Sade Elhawary and co-sponsored by CAIR-CA, this legislation represents a critical step toward ensuring that Time, Place, and Manner (TPM) restrictions are equally enforced across the California State University (CSU) system, including regulations such as limiting noise levels, restricting signs on government property, or dictating protest times.
Following campus protests over the past two and a half years, CSU administrations implemented systemwide expansions of TPM policies without consulting student government or faculty associations. AB 2551 would prevent the selective enforcement of TPM regulations by requiring that they be applied equally to all students, regardless of the content of their speech.
AB 2551 would also require that CSU include demographic data on students penalized for code of conduct violations in their annual reports, and it would require campuses to hold hearings to allow students subjected to TPM restrictions to provide input on the fairness and enforcement of those policies.
In a statement, CAIR-CA Legislative & Government Affairs Director Oussama Mokeddem said:
“AB 2551 passing the Senate Education Committee is a significant step forward in upholding students’ free speech rights on California’s university and college campuses. We have seen the direct harm that the inequitable enforcement of TPM policies has had on students’ rights by effectively chilling their speech and making peaceful protest nearly impossible on campuses—particularly when it comes to advocacy for Palestinian human rights. These policies are no longer content neutral, directly limit protected speech, and create an unsafe environment for students.
“AB 2551 provides a much-needed check on this overreach and ensures that CSU’s TPM regulations are enforced fairly and equally, not selectively weaponized against students based on the content of their lawful speech. Today’s vote is an important early victory, but AB 2551 still has several more legislative hurdles ahead. We encourage the rest of the state legislature to follow suit and advance this bill and commit to future efforts that protect the rights of all students to engage in peaceful, lawful protest.”
CAIR-CA is the California chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, protect civil rights, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
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CONTACT: CAIR Greater Los Angeles Area Communications Manager Enjy El-Kadi, (714) 851-4851 or [email protected]; CAIR Sacramento Valley/Central California Senior Operations & Development Manager Elle Dunlap, [email protected]; CAIR San Diego Executive Director Tazheen Nizam, (760) 201-7626, [email protected]; CAIR San Francisco Bay Area Communications Manager Lorrie Adam, (408) 498-5779 or [email protected]