Missouri Governor Signs Bill Protecting Constitutional Freedoms on Campuses

by Zachary Mettler | July 11, 2025 | Free Speech Government Updates

Missouri Governor Mike Kehoe has signed a crucial bill protecting student’s constitutional rights on college campuses.

The bill “prohibits higher education institutions from taking adverse action against a student group due to the group’s beliefs or of its leaders,” a press release from the governor’s office states.

The governor signed Missouri SB 160 into law on Wednesday, July 9, almost exactly two months after the Missouri Senate passed it unanimously on May 7. The Missouri House approved the bill on May 12 in a 117-11 vote.

As the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) explains, SB 160 prohibits schools from taking any action against a student association or potential student association for the following reasons:

  1. Because such association is political, ideological, or religious;
  2. On the basis of such association’s viewpoint or expression of the viewpoint by the association or the association’s members;
  3. Based on such association’s requirement that the association’s leaders be committed to furthering the association’s mission or that the association’s leaders adhere to the association’s sincerely held beliefs, practice requirements, or standards of conduct.

SB 160 also contains provisions unrelated to free speech, including a prohibition on discrimination based on a person’s “hair texture or protective hairstyle.”

Nevertheless, the newly enacted law is great step forward in protecting students’ right to free speech.

“Universities should encourage freedom of speech and religion, not shut it down,” Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) Senior Counsel Matt Sharp, director of the ADF Center for Public Policy, said in a statement.

“That includes safeguarding the ability of belief-based student organizations to associate with those who align with the organization’s mission and purpose.”

Sharp added,

We wouldn’t require a Democrat club to select a registered Republican as its president or an environmental club to be led by someone who supports drilling in the Arctic.
In the same way, religious clubs must remain free to require their leaders to adhere to their religious beliefs and values. This critical legislation ensures that student groups at public universities can freely choose leaders who further their mission without fear of discrimination.

“ADF commends Rep. Darin Chappell, Sen. Brad Hudson, and the Missouri Legislature for their leadership, and Gov. Kehoe for standing with students and joining the 19 other states that have passed similar legislation,” he concluded.

The Daily Citizen commends Missouri’s enactment of protections for free speech on college campuses.

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