Hartford — Members of the Connecticut General Assembly Conservative Caucus, a group of 13 Republican state representatives, on Tuesday pushed for a bill aimed at protecting free speech on college campuses.

Caucus Chairman Rep. Mike France, R-Ledyard, wrote a letter on Jan. 28 asking the Judiciary Committee to raise the bill, since even-numbered years are shorter legislative sessions in which individual members may only propose bills of a financial nature.

The proposed bill states that a student cannot be penalized based on the religious or political content of views expressed in class work or artwork, and that religious and political organizations “shall have equal access to public forums on school grounds.”

It carves out an exception for material that is obscene, libelous, slanderous or disruptive to school activities.

The legislation would prohibit any student publication — school-sponsored or not — from being subject to prior review by administrators, and it would prohibit any journalism adviser from being fired or removed from the position for refusing to suppress student journalists’ right of expression.

France was not at the news conference Tuesday, but Vice Chair Rep. Craig Fishbein, R-Wallingford, said the provisions of the law would just apply to public institutions for starters, noting that the approach in the legislature is often incremental.

Fishbein said the caucus looked at policies in Alaska, California, Washington, Missouri, North Carolina, Florida, Texas and Indiana when drafting the legislation.

“When you're dealing with free speech and the First Amendment, it isn't a red or a blue issue; it’s a constitutional issue, and everybody has constitutional rights,” Fishbein said. He added, “This is not to protect conservative speech; this is to protect all speech on college campuses.”

Nick Engstrom, head of the Trinity College Republicans, gave his perspective Tuesday on why action is necessary. Engstrom said he faced death threats and was called a white supremacist for trying to get the Student Government Association to recognize Trinity’s chapter of the controversial Churchill Institute, an application that was rejected.

The Churchill Institute is “dedicated to the preservation, dissemination and extension of the Western moral and philosophical Tradition,” it states on its website.

Engstrom criticized the Trinity administration for not releasing the identities of his harassers or providing proof that they were disciplined.

Trinity College spokesperson Stacy Sneed said in an email to The Day, “Trinity College has a long history of encouraging free thought and association, both inside and outside of the classroom. In recent years, as the political discourse in broader society has become increasingly strained, we have focused even more energy on promoting respectful dialogue across differences.”

Sneed pointed to two initiatives the past two years that were aimed at fostering conversation with people of opposing political views and promoting understanding.

Sneed said the college does not comment on disciplinary actions, as it must abide by laws that protect privacy. She later confirmed with the Dean of Students Office that students were held accountable last spring — she didn't provide specifics on the consequences — and said Engstrom was made aware of this months ago.

e.moser@theday.com