Oregon student bill awaits governor's signature

By J-Ideas


Two key players: State Rep. Larry Galizio,
D-Tigard, who introduced the Oregon bill, and Gov.
Ted Kulongoski, also a Democrat, are important
figures in the bill. Kulongoski would have to
sign the bill to make it law. 

House gives final passage 39-21

A state bill that would protect high school and college journalists from administrative censorship cleared its final legislative hurdle Monday afternoon in Salem, Oregon.

House Bill 3279 passed through the house a second time with a 39-21 vote. The measure, sponsored by Rep. Larry Galizio, D-Tigard, had passed the state’s Senate by a 16-14 vote on June 11, and now moves on to Gov. Rod  Kulongoski, a Democrat, for signature.

Kulongoski has told bill supporters that he will sign the measure, his spokesperson Jake Weigler told the Student Press Law Center. Galizio agreed, saying the bill could reach the governor in a matter of days.

Mark Goodman, executive director of the Student Press Law Center, was ecstatic about the news, pointing out that the last successful state effort was in 1995.

"After 12 years since Arkansas, it's great to (almost) have another law on the books," Goodman said.

Galizio's bill is the first to have college and high school protection under the same measure.

There was some limited opposition toward HB 3279 on Monday. Rep. Gene Whisnant, R-Sunriver, said he disagreed with the inclusion of both university and high school student protection under one measure.

Galizio told his colleagues that the bill is not a perfect one as it does not include protection for school newspaper advisers. He has promised to work for those protections at a later date.

The House and Senate passed new versions of the bill and needed to reconcile those differences before the legislature adjourns soon. The Senate version had eliminated protections for advisers.

After the governor's signature, the bill would then written into a statute. State education officials would then communicate the provisions of the statute to individual school districts.

Six states – California, Massachusetts, Kansas, Iowa, Arkansas and Colorado – have enacted free-speech protections for high school students. Public schools in the other states are bound by the 1988 Hazelwood vs. Kuhlmeier U.S. Supreme Court decision, which gives school administrators the authority to censor students if they can demonstrate a legitimate educational reason for doing so.  Only Kansas’s law has statutory protection for teachers and advisers.

Galizio introduced HB 3279 early in the legislative session. He modeled the legislation after an unsuccessful bill sponsored by Rep. Dave Upthegrove in nearby Washington state.

The Oregon Senate Judiciary Committee amended HB 3279 on May 30 on a 3-2 vote. The measures softened the bill, but allowed it to move forward.

The committee omitted the adviser protection clause that would prevent an adviser of school-sponsored media from being terminated, transferred, removed or disciplined for refusing to suppress the protected First Amendment freedoms of student journalists who are under their guidance. The committee also added an amendment that stipulates that a student-operated radio station licensed through the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) exercise plenary and prior control over what is broadcast. It also deleted a clause that ensures college-sponsored media are recognized as “public forums” and are not subject to prior review by administrators.

In Washington, Upthegrove’s actions, although unsuccessful, have inspired similar, ongoing legislative efforts in Michigan and Vermont, with other states, including Indiana and North Carolina, considering future state laws to bolster the First Amendment rights of students.

The Oregon bill has garnered attention across the country with national journalism groups, including J-Ideas, taking an interest in the bill.

>>Oregonian coverage: June 12
>>SPLC: Oregon sends student free expression bill to governor
>>Testimony by student Sarah Allen
>>Testimony by journalism educator Rob Melton
>>See the Bill
>>Testimony by HB 3279 sponsor Oregon Rep. Larry Galizio
>>Read the amendments
>>Oregonian coverage
>>Listen to audio from the session

Also: Illinois introduces bill; amendments added, awaits governor's signature
Graphic: See student expression attempts across the country


Rep. Larry Galizio testifies before the Oregon Senate Judiciary
Committee in support of HB 3279. Photo by Angela Thomas

Related links:

>>Bill would protect rights of student journalists (Oregon Daily Emerald)
>>Protecting Freedom of the Student Press in Oregon (Fire's The Torch)
>>Student Press Law Center coverage
>>Modified student press bill waiting in Senate: Two parts of HB 3279 that deal with publication content removed from newest version of bill (Daily Vanguard, Portland State University student newspaper)
>>How a bill becomes law in Oregon
>>Should students be free from censorship? (Q&A with Oregon students)
>>First Amendment chair at University of Oregon supporting bill
>>Oregon House of Representatives committee hears testimony
>>(listen to the testimony)
>>Student Journalists seek expressive freedom (Statesman Journal)
>>Track the Oregon bill (select House Bill, and enter 3279)


Oregonians listen to Senate Judiciary Committee proceedings
over HB 3279. Photo by Angela Thomas

>>Coverage on Washington HB 1307

>>Upthegrove says he'll introduce '08 bill in Washington state
>>Seattle P-I editorial board supports student expression
>>Student Press Law Center analyzes Washington bill's journey

>>Track the Michigan bill

Other related links:

•"Bong hits 4 Jesus" case heard by U.S. Supreme Court:
>>Story >>Supreme Court testimony (pdf) >>First Amendment Center

•State of Kansas to introduce bill to regulate student media

•Student Press Law Center consultant Mike Hiestand talks to National Public Radio on a variety of student press issues