The American Federation of Teachers is quaking at the growing concern in state legislatures about one-sidedness and intolerance on campuses. In its latest alert to its members, the huge union attacks, but as usual fails to meaningfully respond to, the reformers leading the charge against classroom bias:
The count in mid-February, according to the Free Exchange on Campus Legislation Tracker, was 10 bills introduced or carried over from the prior legislative session in these states: Colorado, Georgia, Indiana, Mississippi, Missouri, New York, Oklahoma, Virginia, Washington and West Virginia.
The bills take two forms. One is so-called Academic Bill of Rights legislation to ensure “balance” in the classroom, for campus speakers, in the grading of students, and in the hiring, promoting and firing of faculty members. This model is the brainchild of David Horowitz . . .
The other form . . . seeks to ensure “intellectual diversity” in the classroom and on campus. Its language comes from the American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA).This year, the intellectual diversity bills also go by the name of “sunshine acts,” requiring extensive and expensive annual reports to the legislature and postings on institutional Web sites.
That the AFT is worried is an auspicious sign. Well does it know that sunshine in academe will cause the unions’ undue political and financial control of campuses to wither.