Student press bill moves on to Washington state senate

By J-Ideas

The Washington state House of Representatives early Tuesday morning passed a comprehensive bill guaranteeing press rights for the state’s high school and college students.

House Bill 1307, passed by a 58-37 vote after a contentious debate, moves on to the Senate.

The first reading of the bill will be in the Senate Judiciary Committee. A public hearing will be scheduled soon.

“Now, even more work begins,” said Vincent DeMiero, a supporter of the bill and student publications adviser at Mountainlake (Wash.) Terrace High School.

The bill would be the first to protect both high school and college students from prior review and administrative censorship under the same statute.

“That’s great news,” Ken Bunting, associate publisher of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, said Tuesday morning when he learned of the vote.

The bill's opponents expresssed displeasure after the vote.

"Obviously, we are disappointed in last night's vote," Jocelyn McCabe, communications spokeswoman for Association for Washington School Principals, said. "We will continue to track this bill through the Senate and share our concerns about the legislation. Whatever the final outcome, the Association of Washington School Principals will continue to work with secondary school principals on the issue of student journalism and free press issues."

Six other states have similar laws protecting high school students. Enacted in the wake of the 1988 Hazelwood Supreme Court decision, which gave administrators greater censorship authority over student media, they include California, Kansas, Iowa, Massachusetts, Colorado and Arkansas. The latter was the last state (1995) to enact a free-expression law.

HB 1307 had 20 sponsors in the Washington House, all Democrats. Prime sponsor was Rep. Dave Upthegrove of Des Moines (read his full reaction here).

“Students across the state of Washington deserve to learn in schools where authentic student voices can be heard through their school media. The House has brought us one step closer to guaranteeing this,” said Kathy Schrier, the president of the Washington Journalism Association.

The bill was the last considered on the House floor Monday, as legislators tried to meet a Wednesday deadline for House legislative activity.

Republicans, calling the bill “silly” and “ridiculous,” attempted to block a floor vote, said Upthegrove, and then tried unsuccessfully to amend the bill to exclude high school students.

The bill, heavily supported by Democrats with all Republicans opposed, had cleared both the House Judiciary and Rules Committees before Tuesday morning's successful House vote.

Democrats outnumber Republicans by nearly a 2-to-1 margin in both the House and Senate. In the Senate, 35 of 54 members are Democrats.

Supporters of the legislation include the Washington Journalism Education Association (WJEA), the Washington Education Association (WEA), American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Washington Attorney General Rob McKenna, and a number of national journalism and education organizations.

The Association of Washington School Principals (AWSP), Washington Association of School Administrators (WASA), and Washington Secondary School Directors Association (WSSDA) have all come out against the bill.

Dan Steele, director of governmental relations for the Washington Secondary School Directors Association, has called the bill unnecessary. “HB 1307 would expand those (student) rights beyond what is reasonable because student media is school–sponsored media,” he said.

Newspapers across the state have carried stories, editorials and columns about the bill, which was introduced in early January.

The Seattle Times, the state’s largest newspaper, has come out against the bill. The Spokesman-Review of Spokane and The News Tribune of Tacoma have editorialized in favor of the bill. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer has carried staff columns supporting of the initiative.

Reaching professional media has been an important step, said Candace Bowen, director of the Center for Scholastic Journalism at Kent State University. “It broke the ice and got commercial media writing – and even largely supporting – student free expression,” she said. “We need to help this bill pass the Washington Senate, and we need to keep the buzz going so this can be the start of a nationwide renewed interest in state legislation.”

Cheryl Pell, the director of the Michigan Interscholastic Press Association, added, “This is a victory for young people, and a victory for advocates of the First Amendment.”