Dissenting Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito said the court ultimately will need to intervene on a controversial free speech issue at universities across the country.

The Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a challenge to Indiana University’s use of a “bias response team,” prompting a dissent from Justice Clarence Thomas, who argued the case was an important opportunity to resolve a split among federal courts over whether such programs infringe on student free speech rights.

The lawsuit filed by student advocate group Speech First claims IU’s bias incident reporting system is too vague and silences the opinions of conservative students.

"Given the number of schools with bias response teams, this Court eventually will need to resolve the split over a student’s right to challenge such programs," Justice Clarence Thomas wrote.

Justice Clarence Thomas wrote Monday that the Supreme Court should not let “confusion persist” regarding students’ free speech rights on university campuses. The Supreme Court declined Monday to hear a case questioning whether “bias response teams” on university campuses chill students’ free speech rights,

Two of the nine justices, Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas, publicly said they would have heard the case. Recommended Videos The students say Indiana University’s bias-response team stifles ...