The landscape of academic freedom and free speech within Indiana's higher education institutions has become the battleground for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Indiana, which today proceeded with a legal challenge against SEA 202. The law mandates disciplinary actions including the denial of tenure and reduction in salary should professors fail to promote a certain kind of intellectual diversity. The ACLU's fight is centered around the contention that this law potentially infringes upon professors' First and Fourteenth Amendment rights.

After a previous suit was dismissed last month over jurisdictional concerns, the ACLU has filed new lawsuits targeting specific policies at Indiana University and Purdue University, anchored by SEA 202, as reported by ACLU. Under the stipulations of SEA 202, professors are expected to "foster a culture of free inquiry, free expression, and intellectual diversity," a requirement the ACLU claims is too vague and overarching for faculties to clearly understand and comply with, potentially curtailing their freedom to guide course content and teaching methods.

In a statement obtained by FOX59, the organization articulated their belief that such mandates "directly infringe" upon academic freedom.

The renewed legal attempts come as a response to the dismissal by U.S. District Court Judge Sarah Evans Barker, who previously cited the suit as "premature," for the reason that the universities in question hadn't yet finalized their policies in compliance with the new law. Despite this, the ACLU remains committed to the cause, with staff attorney Stevie Pactor emphasizing through Indiana Capital Chronicle that "professors should never be put in the position of choosing between their careers and their academic freedom."

Senate Enrolled Act 202 was approved back in March and, aside from stirring controversy in the spheres of academic management, also established new requirements for reporting and surveying in alignment with its "free inquiry, free expression, and intellectual diversity" directives, according to ACLU.