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Missouri State University has completely erased its Bias Response Team and “associated practices” to settle a First Amendment lawsuit filed by the watchdog group Defending Education.
Under the terms of the settlement, announced Tuesday, the university pledged to never reinstate the Bias Response Team or create another similar program responsible for addressing “bias incidents” unless required by a law or regulation.
“Bias response policies are, by their very nature, odious to the Constitution and the free exchange of ideas,” Sarah Parshall Perry, vice president of Defending Education, said in a statement.
“We are gratified that the University has seen fit to terminate its bias policy and dismantle its bias response team – something that should have happened long ago, and without the need for federal litigation. We hope other universities with similarly unconstitutional policies take note,” she said.
The settlement also details a quibble between the university and Defending Education over what the fate of the Bias Response Team was all along. The lawsuit was filed April 21, and two days later, the university deactivated its Bias Response Team’s online presence.
The university claimed that on March 12, prior to the lawsuit, campus officials had “independently decided to discontinue the Bias Response Team effective July 1,” the settlement reads.
“Defending Education asserts that it has been unable to verify Defendants’ assertion, that any such decision was not made public, and that no changes to the Bias Response Team were made until after Defending Education filed the [lawsuit].”
MORE: Missouri State U. shuts down Bias Response Team amid First Amendment lawsuit
