Controversial Material and Sexually Explicit Materials in Instruction, Regents Policy on Use of
To provide guidance on the use of sexually explicit materials, the teaching about pedophilia, and the conduct and management of courses relative to these topics.
All instructional staff at the University of Kansas
The Kansas Board of Regents recognizes that academic freedom must be balanced by academic responsibility. To that end, it is the policy of the Kansas Board of Regents to require each institution within its jurisdiction to adopt the following set of precepts on the use of sexually explicit materials, the teaching about pedophilia and the conduct and management of courses relative to these topics.
“Students are entitled to an atmosphere conducive to learning and to even-handed treatment in all aspects of the teacher-student relationship. Faculty members may not refuse to enroll or teach students on the grounds of their beliefs or the possible uses to which they may put the knowledge to be gained in a course. Students should not be forced by the authority inherent in the instructional role to make particular personal choices as to political action or their own social behavior. Evaluation of students and the award of credit must be based on academic performance professionally judged and not on matters irrelevant to that performance, whether personality, race, religion, degree of political activism, or personal beliefs.
It is the mastery teachers have of their subjects and their own scholarship that entitles them to their classrooms and to freedom in the presentation of their subjects. Thus, it is improper for an instructor persistently to intrude material that has no relation to the subject, or to fail to present the subject matter of the course as announced to the students and as approved by the faculty in their collective responsibility for the curriculum.”[1]
Each Regents university will ensure that existing policy governing sexual harassment is accessible for the purpose of addressing such issues as they might arise from course content or pedagogy. Campus policies on sexual harassment and on the use of sexually explicit materials in instruction will be placed on file with the Kansas Board of Regents.
[1] Source: Excerpted from the AAUP’s 1970 Statement on Freedom and Responsibility
Office of the Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor
The University of Kansas
Strong Hall, 1450 Jayhawk Boulevard, Room 250
Lawrence, KS 66045
785-864-4904
provost@ku.edu
11/01/2021: Removed Sexual Harassment brochure from Related Statutes section.
12/16/2014: Policy formatting cleanup (e.g., bolding, spacing).
10/27/2014: Fixed broken link within Policy Statement.
04/14/2009: Reviewed, editorial changes only.
12/18/2003: Developed by the Council of Chief Academic Officers of the Kansas Board of Regents, recommended by the Council of Presidents, and approved by the Board of Regents at their meeting on December 18, 2003.
12/04/2003: The policy statement was approved by the University Council [predecessor to the University Senate], University of Kansas, Lawrence.
