A bill partially inspired by the New Voices movement to protect the rights of student journalists has passed both the Minnesota Senate and House, and it now heads to a conference committee to work out differences between the two versions unrelated to student media.
SF 3567 would, among other things, ensure that Minnesota’s public sixth through 12th grade student journalists determine the content of student media and cannot be censored except in certain rare circumstances. Yearbooks, however, are excluded from such protections. The legislation also prohibits school administrators from retaliating against student media advisers who refuse to unlawfully restrict their students’ rights.
The student media protections, originally considered in individual bills HR 4083 and SF 3998, were combined with other education legislation into SF 3567, what is referred to as an omnibus bill. The Senate passed that omnibus bill on April 2, and the House passed it — with amendments to sections unrelated to student journalism — on April 11.
The Student Press Law Center celebrates this progress for student press freedom in Minnesota.
“We commend the Minnesota legislature for recognizing that student journalists play an important role in informing their communities, and that they must learn and conduct journalism free from censorship,” said Gary Green, executive director of the Student Press Law Center. “We are disappointed that the bill excludes yearbooks, which are a valuable form of journalism, but this bill represents a big step forward for other student journalists in Minnesota. We hope to work with legislators and advocates to add yearbooks soon.”
Student press freedom legislation, often referred to as a New Voices law, is necessary to reverse the impact of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1988 decision in Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier, which ushered in a vague standard for the restriction of high school student media that some administrators have interpreted as allowing for censorship in virtually any circumstance.
SPLC submitted comments in support of the individual bills in March and, later, encouraged lawmakers to reconsider the yearbook exclusion after that language was added.
Advocates have pushed for New Voices in Minnesota since at least 2015. If the bill succeeds, the state would become the 18th to adopt student press freedom legislation, joining neighboring states Iowa and North Dakota.