Political views in the United States are heavily divided, with each side worrying that the other is corrupting today's youth. And who has more access to fresh, young minds than teachers? That's why the latest argument about when and where free speech flies is taking place in the classroom.

According to an article by Saxon Burns in the Tucson Weekly, conservative groups are fed up with a perceived leftist bias among university professors. David Horowitz, a right-wing political pundit who penned the 'Academic Bill of Rights' as a guideline to intellectual freedom for students, is leading the movement and driving a number of legislative bills that would prevent instructors from voicing potentially controversial opinions.

The Arizona legislation, Senate Bill 1542, would forbid school district employees from advocating 'one side of a social, political, or cultural issue that is a matter of partisan controversy.' Those who take up such stances would face a fine of up to $500. The bill has already been voted down once by the Senate's Education K-12 Committee, Tucson Weekly reports, but 'a strike-everything amendment' brought it back to life in the Government Committee, where it remains 'in limbo' pending further committee attention.

A similar bill in Missouri, House Bill 213, would require that higher education institutions report on steps they've taken to 'ensure intellectual diversity and the free exchange of ideas.' Universities would be required to report on efforts to, among other things, incorporate intellectual diversity concerns into their teaching guidelines, student course evaluations, and hiring, tenure, and promotion policies. Silas Allen writes in the University of Missouri-Columbia's Missourian that the bill, which is also called the 'Emily Brooker Intellectual Diversity Act,' was inspired by a Christian student who refused to write an assigned paper in support of gay adoption. The matter ended up in court, with the college eventually reaching an out-of-court settlement in November. The bill is set to appear before members of the House of Higher Education this week.