Current Status: D.C. does not yet have a dedicated New Voices law; advocates are working to bring a bill before the D.C. Council as soon as possible. Join the movement by emailing SPLC’s Advocacy and Organizing Team at newvoices@splc.org.
Join the Movement
- Find out how to contact your legislator and call or email to ask them to support student press freedom legislation in Washington, DC. Here’s a phone and email script and some printable postcards to help.
- Talk with SPLC’s New Voices Advocacy and Organizing Team (newvoices@splc.org) about other ways to bring New Voices to DC.
Other Ways to Get Involved
- Do you think you might want to testify before the Council, but have no idea what that is like? We have a video for that!
- Need more information about New Voices before you start your advocacy? Check out these sharable talking points and our New Voices FAQs.
- Spread the word about New Voices.
- 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.
Why DC needs New Voices
History of New Voices in DC
- 2009: The Student Bill of Rights becomes effective. The rule protects students’ First Amendment rights, and also protects students from retaliation because of their free expression.
Endorsements
You can see the list of national endorsers at the bottom of this page.