Student Free Expression Laws

The majority of legalese in each of the seven state’s Free Expression Bills is the same.  Below are examples of defining passages from all seven bills.  

Oregon- Just made into a law, the structure of this bill is similar to the other states’ student expression bills.  This bill goes as far as to put in writing the student’s ability to seek civil action if their First Amendment right is impeded.

“Any student enrolled in a public high school may commence a civil action to obtain damages.”

Oregon is the first state to protect both high school and college student publications under one statute.

Oregon Student Free Expression Law

Kansas- Kansas is the only state to have an adviser protection clause in actual writing.  No adviser or employee shall be terminated from employment, transferred, or relieved or duties imposed under this subsection for refusal to abridge or infringe upon the right to freedom of expression conferred by this act.

Also of note, school employees may regulate the number, length, frequency, distribution and format of student publications.  Material shall not be suppressed solely because it involves political or controversial subject matter.

Kansas Student Publications Act

Massachusetts- Of note, “Freedom of expression shall include without limitation, the rights and responsibilities of students, collectively and individually to express their views through speech and symbols, to write, publish, and disseminate their views, to assemble peaceably on school property for the purpose of expressing their opinions.

Also, “no school officials shall be held responsible in any civil or criminal action for any expression made or published by the students.”

Massachusetts Student Free Expression Law

Iowa-This bill is structured much like the other 5 student Free Expression bills.  Similarly to Massachusetts’ bill, this one states “the public school district and school employees or officials shall not be liable in any civil or criminal action for any student expression made or published by students.”  However, this bill includes the follow up statement, “UNLESS the school employees or officials have interfered with or altered the content of the student speech or expression.”

Iowa Student Free Expression Law

Arkansas- After Oregon, the most recent Student Free Expression Bill was passed in 1995.  Interesting wording “student publications policies shall recognize that truth, fairness, accuracy, and responsibility are essential to the practice of journalism.” 

Arkansas Student Publications Act

Colorado- No expression shall be subject to prior restraint except for expression which is obscene, libelous, slanderous or defamatory under the state law, or which is false as to any person who is not a public figure. 

Much like Massachusetts and Iowa, Colorado reiterates the protection from liability for school employees, but takes it a step further and includes other parties.  “No school district or employee, or parent, or legal guardian, or official of such school district shall be held liable in any civil or criminal action for any such expression made or published by students.” 

Also of note, the Colorado bill states that if a student participates in the publication as part of a class in which grades are given, the provisions of this section shall not be interpreted to interfere with the authority of the adviser.  Basically, if the publication is a writing assignment than the adviser controls the learning experience and therefore the publication.

Colorado Student Free Expression Law

California- Passed in 1977, this was the first Student Free Expression Bill.  Of note, “school officials shall have the burden of showing justification without undue delay prior to any limitation of student expression.”

Last year, California also passed a law that protects college student publications.

California Student Free Expression Law

The other 43 states in the country use the rulings in the 1988 Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier case below.

Hazelwood School District et al. v. Kuhlmeier et al., 484 U.S. 260 (1988) was a United States Supreme Court decision that held that public school curricular student newspapers that have not been established as forums for student expression are subject to a lower level of First Amendment protection than independent student expression or newspapers established (by policy or practice) as forums for student expression.