An Oregon legislator has followed a WestCoast trend by drafting a student press freedom bill for high school and collegestudent media that resembles a current bill moving through the Washington statelegislature.
Rep. Larry Galizio (D-Tigard) submitted the bill onFeb. 26 to the Chief Clerk’s Office after being inspired by the Washington statebill introduced in January. He said the bill would increase the protection ofthe student press that already exists under Oregon law.
Californiapassed a law protecting college student press rights last year. California wasalso the first state in the country to pass a law protecting high school pressfreedom in 1977.
Read the full story at:
SPLCView: If there has been any silver lining to 2005 Seventh U.S. Circuit Courtof Appeals decision in Hosty v. Carter limiting federal college freespeech rights, it is that the case has reinvigorated the effort to restore amore meaningful and fair balance to student press freedoms by looking to statesfor legal protection. Oregon joins several other states that SPLC has heard aretaking steps towards introducing student free press legislation in the nearfuture.