Can student groups critical of the military meet on campus?
Yes–if the school allows other student groups to meet on campus. The Equal Access Act requires that if a school allows at least one non-curriculum-related student group to meet on campus, the school must give equal access to all other student groups. This includes student organizations that oppose the military, military service, or war. Schools may be able to prohibit all extracurricular student groups. However, if the school allows any extracurricular groups to meet, it must give equal rights to all such student groups. The federal Equal Access Act prohibits secondary schools that receive Federal financial assistance (and nearly all do) and that allow “one or more noncurriculum related student groups to meet on school premises during noninstructional time” from denying “equal access or a fair opportunity to, or discriminate against any students who wish to conduct a [similar] meeting . . . on the basis of the religious, political, philosophical, or other content of the speech at such
