5/20/2024 Update: Gov. Tim Walz signed SF 3567 into law on May 17, making Minnesota the 18th state to protect student press freedom.
The final version of Minnesota’s education policy omnibus bill, SF 3567, passed the House and Senate this week after a conference committee reconciled differences between earlier versions passed by each chamber. It now goes to Governor Tim Walz to sign it into law or veto it.
The omnibus legislation combines multiple education bills, including a New Voices provision that would expand protections for public sixth through 12th grade student journalists and limit censorship to narrowly defined circumstances. It also prohibits school administrators from retaliating against student media advisers who refuse to unlawfully restrict their students’ rights. However, the bill notably excludes yearbooks from the expanded protections.
If Gov. Walz signs the bill into law, Minnesota will become the 18th state to affirmatively protect student journalists.
The Student Press Law Center celebrates this progress for student press freedom in Minnesota and urges student journalists and supporters to contact Gov. Walz and express their support for the bill.
“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, when the first versions of SF 3567 passed in April. “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. The Hazelwood decision created a vague censorship standard for school-sponsored media, which some administrations have interpreted as a nearly unlimited censorship power.
Below is SPLC’s letter to the governor in support of the student journalism protections.