Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression

Fire's public awareness project: fire's public awareness project is the engine that sets all of fire's programs up for success by sharing our work with the public and educating everyday americans about the importance of free speech and free thought. Fire has attracted hundreds of thousands of media mentions - over 3,000 every year - in the nation's leading publications, breaks news on our award-winning newsdesk, and produces digital content through short videos, feature-length documentaries, and our popular bi-weekly podcast series "so to speak". Our social media content has attracted over 150,000 followers across all platforms, while our youtube channel boasts over 22,000 followers and over 9.6 million views.

Campus Rights advocacy: the campus Rights advocacy program (cra) is fire's signature defense program. It provides free assistance to Individual students, professors, student media, and campus groups whose fundamental civil liberties have been violated. Fire's cra reviews hundreds of potential Rights violations each year, seeking justice for those we help by using our authority and reputation to directly demand school leaders to follow the constitution or uphold their own commitments to civil liberties. Through targeted media campaigns, correspondence with administrators, freedom of information act (foia) requests that publicly expose a school's actions, and other creative advocacy, the cra team has secured more than 500 victories for students and faculty members (both in public and in private) since fire's founding.

Fire litigation project: fire strategically litigates in courts nationwide to vindicate first amendment Rights. In service of our expanded mission to defend free speech both on and off campus, our litigation project is growing into a premier public-interest law firm for free Expression. In addition to reviewing each and every case submission we receive, fire attorneys proactively seek out plaintiffs to file suits with the potential to secure lasting legal precedents, major public-policy reform, or clear cultural impact. Since fire began advancing litigation in 2014, fire's litigation project has secured 22 victories and more than $2.6 million in damages and fees. (continued on schedule o. )in addition to direct litigation, fire participates as amicus curiae in strategically chosen cases to support critical legal arguments and advance important precedent. Finally, the litigation project works to position fire as a thought leader in first amendment jurisprudence by publishing opinion pieces and legal scholarship, teaching continuing legal education courses, and recruiting like-minded attorneys for our legal network and faculty legal defense fund.between july 1, 2021 and june 30, 2022, fire was in active litigation in ten cases furthering fire's mission, including four in which fire was represented by outside counsel. 1. Diei v. boyd, et al., civil action no. 2:21-cv-2071-jtf-cgc (w.d. Tenn.): fire represents graduate pharmacy student kimberly diei in this first amendment lawsuit against the university of Tennessee health science center and its administrators. Diei was investigated twice by her program's "professional conduct committee" because of allegations that her personal social media activity was too "crude," "vulgar, and "sexual." This lawsuit furthers fire's mission by seeking to protect a student's off-campus, extramural, and online speech and establish constitutional constraints on a public university's discretion to punish Expression it subjectively labels "unprofessional." 2. Nally, et al. V. graham et al., civil action no. 2:21-cv-2113-jar-tjj (10th cir. ): fire represented student journalist jared nally and an award-winning student newspaper in a first amendment lawsuit against haskell indian nations university, the bureau of indian education, and officials of both entities. After publishing articles criticizing the university's administration, nally was issued a directive by then-president ronald graham who invoked the university's campus Expression policy to forbid him from engaging in standard newsgathering activities. On february 8, 2022, the district court entered a consent decree against haskell mandating sweeping reforms including: (1) prohibiting retaliation against students for protected Expression; (2) prohibiting the university from reinstating its campus Expression policy or any similar policy restricting student speech; and (3) requiring the university to provide the student newspaper with transparency about its funding and a way to independently verify the amount of funding it receives. The district court, however, dismissed nally's claim for damages against defendant graham for first amendment retaliation. Fire appealed this dismissal to the u.s. court of appeals for the tenth circuit, but later voluntarily dismissed the appeal after the u.s. supreme court's ruling in egbert v. boule precluded damages claims against federal officials for first amendment retaliation. This lawsuit furthered fire's mission to defend student journalists' Rights to free speech and press, free from any prior restraints.3. Si v. abuhamad, et al., civil action no. 2:21-cv-467 (e.d. Va.): fire represented medical student edward si and student organization students for a national health program (snahp) in this first amendment lawsuit against eastern Virginia medical school and its administrators. Si sued after the university's student government association denied snahp's application because it did not "want to create clubs based on opinions, political or otherwise, and the mission and goals of [snahp] do not describe what we believe to be necessary or sustainable for a club." In march 2022, fire reached a negotiated settlement under which the defendants paid $38,000 (including attorneys' fees) and instituted policy changes to ensure that recognition of student groups remains viewpoint neutral. This lawsuit furthered fire's mission by ensuring that students can associate together and obtain the benefits of being a recognized club without being discriminated against on the basis of their viewpoint. 4. Burnett v. collin college, et al., civil action no. 4:21-cv-857 (e.d. Tex. ): in this first amendment retaliation lawsuit, fire represented lora burnett, a professor at collin college, who was terminated for making statements on social media criticizing the college and politicians. On january 25, 2022, burnett accepted collin college's offer to pay $70,000 plus attorneys' fees in exchange for having a court judgment entered in her favor, bringing her first amendment lawsuit to an end. This lawsuit furthered fire's mission by ensuring professors at public colleges and universities are able to comment as private citizens on matters of public concern without retaliation.5. Jones v. matkin, et al., civil action no. 4:21-cv-733 (e.d. Tex. ): in this second first amendment retaliation lawsuit against collin college, fire represents suzanne jones, a full-time professor of education at collin college, who was terminated for criticizing the university's response to the covid-19 pandemic, publicly supporting unionization by the faculty, and signing onto an open letter supporting the removal of confederate monuments in dallas. Jones sued collin college president, h. niel matkin and now-retired senior vice president of campus operations toni jenkins in september 2021. Jones came to fire seeking new representation in february 2022. This lawsuit furthers fire's mission by ensuring professors at public colleges and universities are able to comment as private citizens on matters of public concern without retaliation.6. Phillips v. collin college, et al., civil action no. 4:22-cv-184 (e.d. Tex. ): in its third first amendment lawsuit against collin college, fire represents michael phillips, a professor at collin college who was disciplined and non-renewed because he spoke to a reporter from the Washington post about the history of racism in the dallas area and posted comments on facebook concerning the college's handling of covid-19 and its covid guidelines. Phillips, represented by fire, sued collin college for its violation of phillips' first amendment Rights and subsequent retaliatory employment action. This lawsuit furthers fire's mission by ensuring professors at public colleges and universities are able to comment as private citizens on matters of public concern without retaliation.7. Fire v. tarleton state university, case no. Cv37178 (226th d.ct. Of erath cnty., tex. ): in this public-records lawsuit, fire sued tarleton state university in july 2021 after it failed to comply with the Texas public information act. Fire sought records relating to a former professor who demanded that a student publication, the Texan news service, remove several articles it published in 2018 or be sued for defamation. These articles detailed allegations of inappropriate behavior levied against the former professor. When tarleton administrators learned of the demand, they ordered Texan news service to remove the articles and later stripped the newspaper of its editorial independence. This lawsuit furthers fire's mission to hold public institutions accountable for their actions by vigorously pursuing records made public under state or federal law.8. Pennsylvania, et al. V. devos, civil action no. 1:20-cv-1468 (d.d.c. ): seventeen states and the district of columbia filed a lawsuit challenging the department of education's 2020 title ix regulations. Represented by outside counsel, fire moved to intervene to defend the regulations as constitutionally necessary, an argument which the department refused to make. On july 6, 2020, the district court granted fire status as a defendant-intervenor. On march 11, 2021, the lawsuit was stayed pending the anticipated promulgation of new regulations. This litigation furthers fire's mission to defend free speech and due process protections, long denied to students in disciplinary procedures related to allegations of campus sexual misconduct.

Research and special projects: fire's research and special projects initiative coordinates our research efforts and engages in cutting-edge analysis of campus issues and free speech questions. The initiative oversees fire's college free speech rankings, an annual survey aimed at uncovering campus-specific student attitudes toward free speech and an invaluable resource for students, parents, and alumni seeking to understand the state of free Expression at specific schools (the 2022 rankings surveyed over 45,000 students at over 200 schools). As we expand, fire's researchers will capture more incidents of censorship on and off campus, assess the state of free speech on social media, and build an archive of interdisciplinary research on expressive Rights. Ultimately, our research allows us to better persuade the public that freedom of Expression is an essential part of our american heritage.

Fire student network: the fire student network (fsn) educates and empowers college students to exercise their Rights on campus and advocate for reform. The fsn engages students through our guides to student Rights on campus, conferences throughout the year, our signature summer internship program, and more. The fsn also coordinates the student defenders program, which empowers students to become peer advocates who can advise fellow students as they navigate their school's disciplinary system, and "let's talk", campus civil discourse societies that provide space for students to engage in and promote free, fruitful, and civil discussions. The fsn has hosted dozens of events, distributed thousands of resources, and boasts over 20,000 members.

Legislative and policy project: the legislative and policy project supports fire's mission by advocating on behalf of rights-protective legislation - and against proposed laws that threaten free speech Rights - at both the state and federal level. The project's priorities include: defending due process protections against proposed title ix regulations that threaten student Rights in procedures for campus sexual misconduct; passing legislation that defines a national standard for student-on-student harassment; banning "free speech zones" from public campuses; protecting academic freedom; and more. In their campus Rights work, our legislative and policy team has helped write or pass 16 major bills that help safeguard the Rights of millions of students across the nation.

Policy reform project: fire's policy reform project proactively and systematically challenges campus policies that violate students and faculty members' free speech Rights. The project maintains fire's spotlight database, which catalogs the speech codes of over 475 colleges and universities nationwide; works with administrators to offer analysis and advice; coordinates targeted publicity efforts like our speech code of the month series and the publication of our annual "spotlight on speech codes" report reviewing the state of free speech at america's colleges and universities; advocates for procedural safeguards in disciplinary proceedings; and provides schools with resources to improve the climate for free speech on campus, including the "chicago statement," a policy statement affirming free speech and academic freedom Rights on campus. Through this comprehensive approach, the project has secured over 300 victories, reformed hundreds of restrictive policies affecting over 4.3 million students, and achieved a more than 50-point decline in the percentage of institutions maintaining clearly restrictive "red light" speech codes.

K-12 outreach project: fire's k-12 outreach program seeks to advance fire's mission at the k-12 level. This involves educating students, parents, teachers, and the general public about the origins and importance of their constitutional Rights, and promoting respect for free speech and open discourse. In addition to fire's high school curriculum package, which we promote to educators nationwide, the project distributes a number of resources, including a free speech comic book, a short guide on selecting a college that respects civil liberties, an activity kit for high school debate societies, and an online quiz designed to test users on their knowledge of first amendment Rights. Fire also provides resources to parents, educators, and citizens concerned about anti-speech trends at the k-12 level. Lastly, the project coordinates our annual essay contest, which solicits entries from juniors and seniors on the importance of free speech and awards $29,000 in college scholarships. This year, our k-12 outreach project made the following accomplishments: the k-12 network reached over 2,500 subscribers, up 800 from last year; our k-12 program staff delivered over 20 presentations at conferences, professional development events for teachers, and webinars for concerned parents; and our k-12 curriculum resources received over 130,000 unique website views.

Targeted advocacy project: the targeted advocacy project seeks to bring new audiences to fire's work through outreach and special projects. The project coordinates fire's home and abroad initiative, which focuses on exposing the threat international censorship poses to american higher education; our first amendment library, an online database of free speech jurisprudence, timelines, and special exhibits; fire's freshman orientation program, which provides schools with materials to host free speech-focused orientation programming; and ron collins' "first amendment news." It also produces timely research reports on threats to free Expression as they pertain to current events, and provides unique resources such as an undergraduate casebook on the first amendment and our "free speech out loud" podcasts.

Fire faculty network: fire's faculty network provides those "in the trenches" with the support and resources they need to take action against threats to academic freedom and free Expression on campus. The centerpiece of this project is our annual faculty network conference on academic freedom issues, bringing together several dozen scholars in a variety of disciplines for a series of presentations selected through an open call for proposals. The network also provides a plethora of resources to our more than 2,800 faculty network members, including an online free speech syllabus database, member newsletter, and regular webinars.