Whenever dunce caps are handed out, you can be sure that members of Pennsylvania's House of Representatives will be first in line for a fitting.

The latest example of the Legislature meddling in affairs best left to real educators is the goofy proposal to root out alleged "political intolerance at Pennsylvania's college campuses."

In the great echo chamber of national right-wing politics, a peculiar notion of conservative victimization is taking hold. College Republicans are complaining that "liberal" university professors are holding their conservative ideologies against them and grading accordingly.

This is either paranoid nonsense or a truly scandalous misuse of academic authority. Proof of any kind of bias would be of great interest to the presidents of the schools where it allegedly occurs. Bias is a four-letter word at most campuses.

Last week, a resolution stating that "students and faculty should be protected from the imposition of ideological orthodoxy" passed in the House, 108-90. An investigative committee composed of the House's education subcommittee will survey the "problem" and decide what legislation, if any, is necessary. If we're lucky, this folly will never get off the ground.

Putting politicians in a position to determine the legitimacy of academic bias is like hiring foxes to patrol henhouses. Democrats wouldn't do any better because elected officials are creatures of political brinkmanship, not academic integrity.

Rep. Gibson Armstrong, R-Lancaster, is responsible for introducing this wrong-headed proposal. More than a dozen states are contemplating similar bills aimed at stopping the "intimidation" of conservative students by liberal academics, though none has passed yet. Rep. Armstrong hopes Pennsylvania will be in the vanguard of a new civil rights movement.

Whatever problems conservative students may or may not be having with liberal professors requires a surgeon's scalpel, not a chainsaw intended to upset the delicate balance of academic freedom. Anyone who would trust the Pennsylvania Legislature to make informed judgments about the ideology of professors deserves an "F."