Damning Report Card: California Schools Get an ‘F’
16th September 2025
The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression Free Speech Rankings crowned California’s Claremont McKenna College with a grade of B- as the best college in the U.S. for free speech, while a string of other California schools received F grades amid anti-free speech environments across campuses.
FIRE released its sixth annual College Free Speech Rankings, which pulled responses on free-speech topics from 68,510 students attending 257 American colleges. The survey highlighted a decline in support for free speech among all students.
Students on both sides of the political aisle are showing a deep “unwillingness” to face controversial ideas, the press releases stated.