*Photo courtesty of jglazer75 via Wikimedia Commons / CC 2.0
Current status: Two bills protecting students from censorship were introduced in 2023, but not voted on before the year’s end. The 2024 Connecticut legislative session begins in February. Join the movement by emailing SPLC’s Advocacy and Organizing Team at newvoices@splc.org.
Join the Movement
- Contact your state legislators to let them know why this legislation is important to you. Find out who your legislators are here. Not sure what to say? Check out our phone script and letter-writing tips here.
- Talk with SPLC’s New Voices Advocacy and Organizing Team (newvoices@splc.org) about ways to bring New Voices to Connecticut.
Other Ways to Get Involved
- Refine your thoughts with talking points, find answers to frequently asked questions, or find other resources here.
- Locate a copy of your school district’s student media or student expression policy. This toolkit can tell you everything you need to know about your policy and what you can do with it. Some student media policies offer legal protection equal to or even exceeding New Voices protections. If that’s the case, spread the word! (And let SPLC know, too.)
- Help your colleagues better understand student press freedom by inviting an SPLC expert to join you: SPLC In The Classroom.
- Spread the word about New Voices. Enlist all your friends in Connecticut to raise their voices in support of this measure, which ensures the basic First Amendment rights of student journalists and protects their advisers from retaliation.
Why Connecticut needs New Voices
History of New Voices in Connecticut
- 1999: New Voices is introduced, but is heavily watered-down by the legislature to require promotion of free speech rather than give it any meaningful protections. Advocates rejected the new bill, and it failed.
- 2023: HB 5554 and HB 6041, both sponsored by Rep. Doug Dubitsky, were introduced in the House of Representatives in January. Both bills broadly protected student speech from censorship, except in certain circumstances. Neither bill was heard or voted on before the legislature adjourned for the year.
Endorsements
- You can see the list of national endorsers at the bottom of this page