Senators Advance Press Protections for Student Journalists
Nebraska lawmakers advanced a bill last Thursday that would extend free-press protections to student journalists and their advisers following incidents in which school administrators censored school newspaper articles that they deemed too controversial or unflattering.
Lawmakers gave the measure first-round approval on a 28-15 vote after an eight-hour filibuster.
The bill would apply to students at public high schools, colleges and universities. The sponsor, Sen. Adam Morfeld, of Lincoln, argued that students have a right to express themselves and that it’s important for them to learn firsthand about the power and consequences of the First Amendment.
“The protection of student journalists’ rights in our K-12 schools and state institutions of higher education is critical in the development of current and future civic leaders,” Morfeld said. “Students, at an early age, must understand the power and the consequences of the First Amendment in an environment supervised by an instructor and with appropriate boundaries.”
Student journalists have testified at hearings about administrators reviewing their work before it appeared in the school paper and barring them from publishing stories. In a case in North Platte, a school principal prohibited students from running an article about students who were flying Confederate flags on their vehicles.
Last year, school administrators at Omaha’s Westside High School began enforcing a prior review policy and later blocked the publication of a student editorial criticizing that decision. Administrators reviewed articles about the presidential election, the pandemic and the movement to defund the police, saying they wanted to avoid controversy during an emotionally charged year.
Lawmakers who opposed the bill argued that students who are still learning about journalism shouldn’t be given free reign in publications sponsored by a publicly funded school. Lawmakers argued that what’s acceptable to run in a student newspaper may be different in small towns than in Omaha and Lincoln. They also expressed concerns about school districts being sued for articles that they weren’t allowed to review.
The bill would not protect student journalists who publish libelous statements, invade someone’s privacy, violate state laws or incite an unlawful act.
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