Chronicle of Higher Education story:
A federal appeals court here has upheld a lower court’s ruling against a group of academics who challenged Bush-administration restrictions that have virtually ended academic travel to Cuba.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit last week rejected a challenge to 2004 federal rules that, among other actions, barred short-term study trips to the Caribbean nation, permitting only visits lasting at least 10 weeks. The rules also prohibit colleges sponsoring the trips from accepting students from other institutions and allow only full-time tenured faculty members to lead trips.
The lawsuit was brought in 2006 by the Emergency Coalition to Defend Educational Travel, a group of about 450 faculty members and other higher-education professionals. The plaintiffs argued that the restrictions violate academic freedom.