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Washington legislator introduces free press bill
Bill's hearing scheduled for Jan. 26
January 17, 2007
The bill, HB 1307, is currently assigned to the judiciary committee,
which has scheduled a public hearing for Jan. 22. In
preparation, Upthegrove said he plans to work with advocates in the state to arrange for testimony that will help the
bill pass through the committee.
Upthegrove’s bill is an
anti-censorship proposal that would ensure press freedoms for students statewide
whether or not the media is financially supported by the school or
“produced in conjunction with a class,” as noted in section two of
the bill.
Arkansas, California, Colorado, Kansas, Iowa and Massachusetts
currently have laws supporting high school press freedom and California has a law supporting the college press.
The Washington bill also says
that there are no situations in which school administrators or faculty are
allowed to exercise prior review of student-produced material.
“People don’t give up their First Amendment rights just
because they’re young,” Upthegrove said. “They need to have
pride of ownership.”
The bill not only protects students’
rights, but also against wrongful termination or discipline of journalism
advisers.
“Journalism advisers and instructors tend to get a lot of
pressure from their administration,” Upthegrove said. “We need to
make sure they have the courage to stand strong as the ones who make sure the
censorship does not happen.”
Upthegrove was first encouraged to
look into the issue by Washington State University student Brian Schraum.
Schraum, formerly of Green River Community College, had proposed an
anti-censorship policy there following the Hosty v. Carter decision by
the Seventh U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in 2005. The Hosty v. Carter
decision could provide public college administrators the authority to censor
some student publications.
Upthegrove said he is optimistic for the
future of the bill. He said he has secured the support of judiciary committee
Chairwoman Patricia Lantz (D-Gig Harbor) and the backing of Republican
Washington state Attorney General Rob McKenna.
“Things are looking
good, at least politically,” Schraum said. “The odds [of the bill
passing] are pretty good. The fact that we have some bipartisan support is
really good.”
Schraum has received phone calls from students who
were “inspired” by his efforts.
“My hope was to see a
change so students can actually do the stuff they have to do without the
censorship that’s going on,” Schraum said. “If this passes,
the students will be empowered to work and not be challenged by
authority.”
The judiciary committee scheduled a hearing
for the bill on Jan. 26 at 8 a.m.
By Erica Hudock, SPLC staff writer
© 2007 Student Press Law Center
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