Tennessee lawmakers sent Gov. Bill Lee a higher-education free-expression bill that would ban “staging walkouts” at public universities during invited speakers’ remarks. The legislation, dubbed the “Charlie Kirk Act,” would require institutions to adopt elements of the University of Chicago’s free-expression policy and defines walkouts as disruption severe enough to pause the event for any period. Under HB 1476, violations could trigger disciplinary probation and then suspension and expulsion. The measure also blocks colleges from disinviting speakers based on beliefs or due to opposition from students or faculty. Speech advocates and some faculty members argue the bill is ambiguous about what counts as obstruction and could be applied in politically biased ways, underscoring the ongoing tension between campus protest methods and state-backed speech frameworks.