Free Speech

In October 2025, South Carolina public school librarians and students filed a lawsuit asking a federal court to block enforcement of the state’s unconstitutional book banning regulation and a classroom censorship memo issued by the state education superintendent. The lawsuit challenges the constitutionality of Regulation 43-170, which bans all materials in kindergarten through 12th grade public schools if they contain descriptions or depictions of “sexual conduct.” This regulation, which was promoted by Superintendent Ellen Weaver and took effect in June 2024, led to the banning or restriction of 22 books statewide — the largest number of state-mandated school book bans in any state, according to PEN America. (See the full list of books below.) The lawsuit also challenges a memorandum issued by Superintendent Weaver on March 14, 2025, that requires state employees to indoctrinate students according to the superintendent’s views on sex, gender, race, and American exceptionalism. The memo prohibits 14 ideas and concepts from S.C. Department of Education materials, including “implicit bias,” “restorative justice,” “cisgender,” and “social-emotional learning,” although it notes that its list of taboo concepts is “not exhaustive.” The plaintiffs in the lawsuit are the South Carolina Association of School Librarians (SCASL) and three minor public school students. The suit challenges the superintendent’s censorship regime under the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution.

Clemson University fired a faculty member in September 2025 for sharing another person's Facebook post via his personal account that was critical of the late conservative pundit Charlie Kirk. The full text of the post is available below. The public university fired a highly qualified assistant professor under pressure from politicians who threatened to defund the university if it did not bend to their will. Faculty at Clemson say that the firing “sent shockwaves through the faculty, triggered an emergency meeting of the faculty senate, and has fractured the faculty’s trust and confidence in the Provost, University President, and Board of Trustees.” The plaintiff in this case, Dr. Joshua Bregy, worked as an assistant professor in Clemson’s Department of Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences. He researched the reconstruction of hurricane records and taught both undergraduate and graduate courses. Because Dr. Bregy is the only faculty member who is qualified to teach those courses, the university scrambled to meet the needs of its students after firing him. Dr. Bregy’s complaint is asking a federal court to declare his firing unconstitutional under the First Amendment, order the university to reinstate him, and award back pay as well as compensatory and punitive damages.