The Student Press Law Center asked New Voices advocates to reflect on their accomplishments and lessons learned during the 2024 legislative season. Other posts in this series can be found here.
Kellen Hoard is an advocate for New Voices laws. Last year, he helped lead successful efforts to pass one such law in West Virginia. In 2022, he and his fellow editors of his high school newspaper received the SPLC’s Courage in Student Journalism Award.
New Voices legislation was introduced once again in Missouri this year by Sen. Barbara Washington and successfully passed out of the Senate Progress and Development Committee, but it died awaiting a vote on the Senate floor. This was the ninth year in a row that such a bill has failed to make it out of the Missouri legislature.
The outcome was disappointing for advocates, including myself, but it provides useful insight into how proponents can chart a path forward for New Voices in the state in years to come. Here are three observations on the 2024 Missouri New Voices bill:
1. External legislative obstacles proved difficult to navigate.
The success of a New Voices bill is often defined as much by external legislative factors and restraints as it is by the actual merits of the bill. This year, the Missouri Senate saw multiple filibusters, including one record-breaking 50-hour filibuster, which severely slowed down all legislation moving through the chamber, including the New Voices bill. Additionally, many bills were assigned for consideration to their committees relatively late in the session, which caused further delays (the New Voices bill was first read Jan. 3, but only referred to committee Jan. 25 and heard in committee Feb. 28). The Missouri legislature also took a 12-day spring break in the middle of its session, followed a few days later by an Easter break, which further constrained the schedule. The full chamber rarely met on Fridays at all. Going forward, advocates in the state will need to push chamber and committee leadership to assign and consider New Voices bills earlier in the session to ensure they do not get lost in a blizzard of other legislation and procedural delays.
2. Party politics played an inconvertible role.
Sen. Washington is a member of the Democratic party in a Senate held by a Republican supermajority. Consequently, her sole sponsorship of the bill meant that it was often toward the bottom of the priority list for consideration or support by those with control of the chamber. A common refrain among Missouri policymakers I spoke with was that the bill, simply by virtue of being sponsored by a Democrat, was unlikely to proceed quickly or at all. Clearly, in future years, advocates will need to work diligently to more directly explain that New Voices is a nonpartisan priority rather than a partisan effort. Persuading Republican legislators (and conservative organizations in the state) to vocally support the legislation will be one key step.
3. Committee testimony was strong — but there is more work to be done educating legislators about the bill.
The testimony in support of the bill by advocates in committee was some of the strongest I have heard in my years of advocacy, and provided a broad, deep and compelling case for the legislation. In fact, in the years to come, proponents of New Voices in Missouri should aim to replicate that level of quality in their advocacy. But the two Republicans on the committee voted against the bill regardless. When I spoke with a staff member in one of their offices, it became readily apparent that the legislator simply misunderstood the bill’s implications. As advocates, we must make the case that New Voices legislation is both important and urgent in order to catalyze action, but first we must drive home what, exactly, the bill is in the first place. We must dispel misconceptions about false ramifications and make a positive, informative case for the legislation. The Student Press Law Center has an excellent list of FAQs to address many common concerns of policymakers.
Despite the obstacles faced this year in Missouri, the future is genuinely promising. More Missouri legislators than ever are aware of threats to student press freedom, thanks to the concerted efforts of advocates. Senate leadership proved willing to schedule the bill for a vote, and they will hopefully be willing to do so more quickly next year. And advocates have coalesced around the common purpose of making Missouri the next New Voices state in order to ensure student journalists have the rights and protections they deserve. If you, too, are passionate about making Missouri the 19th New Voices state, I encourage you to get in touch with SPLC to see how you can get involved! We will be glad to have you with us.
Learn more about New Voices here.