The Freedom to Learn Network
PEN America and American Council on Education (ACE) co-convene the Freedom to Learn Network, bringing together national higher education associations and allied organizations to defend academic freedom and institutional autonomy at colleges and universities. In our regular meetings, we share information and take collective action to oppose policy efforts that restrict what is taught and discussed on campus, as well as political moves to restrict autonomy at higher education institutions regarding their curricula, initiatives, research, or mission. The network simultaneously works to strengthen public trust in postsecondary education.
Since its inception, members of the Freedom to Learn Network, and allied organizations, have pushed back against accreditors seeming to bow to political pressure, collaborated on advocacy campaigns in response to censorship on college campuses, and regularly bring together higher education to discuss issues facing the sector.
Our Members
Subject to approval by the steering committee, all allied organizations and national higher education associations are welcome to participate in the network. For more information, please reach out to Heidi Tsu, Assistant Vice President of National Engagement at ACE, and Amy Reid, Program Director, Freedom to Learn, at PEN America.
Related Work
PEN America is a national leader in fighting government censorship in education. Learn more about our signature campaign against educational gag orders and other legislative restrictions on the freedom to learn and teach.
More than 200 college, university, and system heads are banding together as Champions of Higher Education to coordinate communications and coalition-building efforts to fight political interference and government overreach on campus.
In February 2026, PEN America, joined by a broad group of 36 organizational partners, wrote to the Board of Regents of Texas A&M University to request that they rescind two policies, passed in fall 2025, that have resulted in the censorship of academic courses across the institution, and the announced closure of the University’s Women’s & Gender Studies Program.
In 2022, PEN America, in partnership with the Washington Post’s Made by History section, launched the Freedom to Learn op-ed series: ten articles providing historical context for the current assault on public education in the United States and elsewhere.
