A proposed law that may set a new precedent for the freedom of press for student journalists is gaining steam as it has picked up co-sponsors, but critics are not censoring themselves in opposing the bill.
House Bill 3279, sponsored by Oregon Representative Larry Galizio (D-Tigard), aims to protect such speech, and in the weeks since it was proposed it has collected the support of 11 other co-sponsors.
Oregon’s constitution protects freedom of speech and of the press specifically citing “free expression of opinion.” The bill attempts to thwart any ambiguity by defining school-sponsored media as a public forum.
In 1988 the U.S. Supreme Court case Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier dealt a severe blow to students’ first amendment rights when the court upheld the right of Hazelwood High School’s administrators to censor stories about teen pregnancy.
“The student newspaper said it was not a ‘forum for public expression’ by students, and thus the censored students were not entitled to broad first amendment rights,’ according to the Student Press Law Center.
The Oregon bill would supersede Hazelwood and also provide for civil lawsuits to enforce that freedom.
“It basically puts student journalists under the same protections as other journalists, and so it gives the same protections as national publications” said Brad Cantor, chief of staff for Rep. Galizio.
The bill also provides school officials and governing boards with legal protection from civil and criminal liability suits if they have not interfered with or altered the content of the student expression.
Student journalists would only have the right to exercise freedom of speech and press in school-sponsored media, while other forms of free expression are not covered under the bill.
A major concern of the bill is the question of responsibility and on whom it falls. The bill states that the school administrators or school district board may not be held responsible in any civil or criminal action.
The student newspaper is ultimately owned by the school district, and if they cannot be held liable and students often graduate by the time a case would reach an appellate court, many critics want to know who will be held responsible in court.
“Some people have expressed concern that it creates too much protection, in that it might allow student journalists to libel someone without fear of consequence,” said Charlie Hinkle, an attorney who has extensive experience in media law.
“Parents of minors are generally not responsible for the torts of their children, and if a 16-year-old writes a student newspaper column that libels someone, the person might not be able to obtain any redress in court, because the 16-year-old might have no assets or income to satisfy a judgment,” Hinkle added.
Another item left out that is causing some concern is the ability to get cases reviewed by appellate courts.
“It would not solve the procedural problems that have made it almost impossible to obtain appellate decisions in student free speech and press cases in Oregon; those cases become moot when students graduate,” said David Fidanque, executive director of ACLU of Oregon.
“Since HB 3279 doesn’t permit seeking damages if a student’s constitutional rights are violated, we still wouldn’t be able to get those cases reviewed by Oregon appellate courts before they become moot,” Fidanque added.
Galizio was inspired to sponsor the bill after a similar bill, HB 1307, had been introduced in Washington by Representative Dave Upthegrove (D-Des Moines). The bill in Washington also addresses freedom of expression and freedom of speech for both high school and college students.
California recently passed a similar bill in 2006, AB 2581, protecting college journalists from prior restraint and censorship.
The Washington bill has passed through the house and is being amended in the senate. Oregon’s HB 3279 has only gone to the house for a public hearing and is expected to be tweaked quite a bit to satisfy many of the concerns expressed by its critics.
“I would confine [the bill’s] scope to post-secondary education and focus on K-12,” said the Confederation of School Administrators Governmental Relations Director Chuck Bennett. “The fact that a government entity is controlling a newspaper that is reporting on a government entity produces a troublesome circle of events.”
Contact the city, state politics reporter at [email protected]