Spotlight PA and two other news organizations are suing leaders of the Penn State Board of Trustees in federal court, accusing them of violating the First Amendment by controlling what individual trustees can say to the public and the press.
The lawsuit, filed last Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, challenges what it refers to as a “gag policy” embedded in the trustees’ bylaws.
That policy, the filing argues, “unconstitutionally restrains” trustees, prohibiting them from making any negative or critical public statements about the board or the university. Instead, the bylaws state, trustees “shall support majority decisions of the Board.”
Trustees must also get permission from board leadership and accept guidance from public relations officials before talking to the press. Those who fail to do so can face disciplinary action — a process, the filing argues, that creates a “chilling effect” on a trustee’s ability to freely express their views.
The news organizations are asking a federal judge to declare the restrictions unconstitutional.
Pre-approval
“The right to dissent is the lifeblood of democracy,” said Heather Murray, associate director of the Cornell Law School First Amendment Clinic, in an email. “Blanket bans on trustees making critical statements about Penn State stakeholders and requiring trustees to get pre-approval to talk to journalists about any matters that have come before the board plainly runs afoul of the First Amendment.”
The lawsuit names board Chair David Kleppinger, Vice Chair Richard Sokolov, and governance committee Chair Daniel Onorato as defendants in their official capacities, identifying them as the leaders responsible for overseeing and enforcing the bylaws.
Wyatt DuBois, senior director of university public relations, told Spotlight PA in an email that the university “does not comment on pending litigation.”
Spotlight PA is joined in the lawsuit by the Centre Daily Times and StateCollege.com. The news organizations are represented by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and the Cornell Law School First Amendment Clinic.
Regulating Communications
Over the past two years, the Board of Trustees, which functions as the university’s governing body, has adopted amendments to its bylaws, regulating how trustees communicate with the public.
In July 2024, the board approved an amendment that said in part: “Negative or critical public statements about the Board, the University or its students, alumni, community, faculty, staff, and other stakeholders do not serve the University’s interests and are inconsistent with a Trustee’s fiduciary obligation to act always in the best interests of the University.”
The lawsuit describes that amendment as “unconstitutionally vague” in that it pertains to any trustee statement, “whether or not it is made in an official capacity.” The filing further contends that “‘stakeholders’ is not defined and is ambiguous.”
In November 2025, the board approved another amendment requiring trustees to coordinate in advance all press interactions with the “Board Office” — which, according to the complaint, includes Kleppinger and Sokolov. Trustees must also accept guidance from the Office of Strategic Communications, the university’s public relations and marketing division, before talking to reporters.
“In other words, every trustee must seek and obtain approval of their statements to media in advance, allowing Board leadership to pick and choose what information and opinions the media is allowed to receive from individual trustees,” according to the lawsuit.