When 17-year-old Robbie Maher stood in front of the Vermont House judiciary committee this spring to make his case for student-press freedoms, he credited his high school journalism adviser for his ability to report on issues that matter.
鈥淚t all starts at the top with the Mercury [student newspaper] adviser, Peter Riegelman,鈥� said Robbie, a student at Bellows Free Academy in St. Albans, Vt. 鈥淢r. Riegelman ... learned the ins and outs, do鈥檚 and don鈥檛s, of journalism. As our adviser, he has passed this knowledge down to each and every BFA journalism student.鈥�
The bill Robbie was testifying for grants free-speech and free-press protections for student journalists at public K-12 schools and state colleges and universities. It also protects media advisers from being dismissed, suspended, reassigned, or otherwise disciplined for protecting their students鈥� journalism. The bill is among more than a dozen such efforts across the country seeking to expand free-press protections to both student journalists and their teachers鈥攁nd meeting with varying degrees of success.
by Republican Gov. Phil Scott.
But the day before, 2,600 miles away, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, also a Republican, vetoed an equivalent bill. In his , Ducey wrote that while he supports free speech and a free press, he worries that 鈥渢his bill could create unintended consequences, especially on high school campuses where adult supervision and mentoring is most important.鈥�
The New Voices movement, led by the Washington-based nonprofit Student Press Law Center, started with a law passed in North Dakota in 2015. Last year, such laws were victorious in Illinois and Maryland but failed in a handful of other states, including Michigan and Missouri.
In addition to the newly signed law in Vermont, legislation has passed this year in Nevada, and bills are moving through the legislatures in New Jersey and Rhode Island.
Frank LoMonte, the executive director of the , said bills are also on the runway in New York and Wisconsin, and once again in Michigan, Missouri, Washington, Texas and Indiana for next year鈥檚 legislative sessions.
While there are small differences between states, New Voices bills are mostly based on from the Student Press Law Center.
鈥淭he argument for opponents gets weaker and weaker every time a state moves into the New Voices column,鈥� LoMonte said. 鈥淥nce half of America is governed by this standard, you can鈥檛 call it radical or extreme or experimental anymore.鈥�
While only 11 states have student press-freedom laws, LoMonte estimates that one-third of high school students have New Voices protections, thanks to the large populations of states like California.
Empowering Students
In some states, the bills have garnered opposition from administrator groups, school lobbyists, or state school boards, who fear that the legislation could lead to unchecked, irresponsible student journalism.
The National Association of Secondary School Principals hasn鈥檛 gotten involved yet, but NASSP President Jayne Ellspermann said the organization has been monitoring the bills and has some hesitation about them.
鈥淎s school leaders, we want to empower our students and support our teachers,鈥� she said. 鈥淭o make the assumption that there has to be laws created that [assume] that we would stand in the way of that鈥擨 think that takes away from the relationship and the culture that principals really work hard at building at the school level.鈥�
Her concern, she said, is that a law could create a situation in which the principal is restricted from engaging in a 鈥渞esponsible dialogue鈥� with the student newspaper, and that could 鈥渢ake away from the instructional empowerment.鈥�
New Voices legislation does not protect student journalism that is libelous or slanderous, constitutes an unwarranted invasion of privacy, or causes a substantial disruption of the school鈥檚 operations. Most states鈥� bills allow school districts to draft policies that prohibit speech that is lewd or obscene.
Melanie Allen, the president of the Arizona Interscholastic Press Association, said advisers are certified teachers who take seriously the responsibility of teaching students the importance of sound journalism.
The governor鈥檚 statement when vetoing the bill 鈥渁lmost makes it sound like high school newspapers are very loosely supervised; that is not the case at all,鈥� she said. 鈥淥ur job as advisers鈥攚hether it be yearbook advisers, newspaper advisers, or with any [school-sponsored] media鈥攊s that we teach our students how to objectively and fairly provide the news.鈥�
New Voices legislation seeks to reverse the landmark 1988 U.S. Supreme Court case, , which ruled that educators usually do not violate the First Amendment when they exercise control over student speech in school-sponsored activities, such as a school newspaper.
Since then, many high schools across the country have implemented the practice of prior review, in which a school administrator, often the principal, can review students鈥� work before publication.
鈥淭hat is not an empowering professional environment for a teacher to be in,鈥� said Sarah Nichols, the president of the Journalism Education Association.
鈥淭he journalism teacher has worked to create a prepared staff with a lot of good training and preparation,鈥� she continued, 鈥渂ut it doesn鈥檛 matter because someone else is going to be in control, other than the student.鈥�
The NASSP鈥檚 Ellspermann said the prior-review practice doesn鈥檛 have to be heavy-handed, but reviewing students鈥� work before publication is part of the instructional process. She said that review can come from an administrator, the adviser, other faculty members, or even a panel of students鈥攂ut it should align with the review process put in place for anything else published by the school.
鈥淲e have to be careful not to overmonitor student work just because they鈥檙e students,鈥� she said.
Battling Censorship
But the concern for many student-journalism advocates is that a principal will not allow a story to be published if it reflects poorly on the school. And once a controversial story has been published, there is fear of administrative retaliation against student-media advisers.
While teachers have been fired or have had their advising duties instantly removed, Nichols said that most of the time, the reprisals are more subtle.
Administrators might cut the school newspaper鈥檚 budget, change the adviser鈥檚 class schedule, ask him or her to suddenly share a classroom, or 鈥渁dd so many responsibilities to a teacher鈥檚 plate that, eventually, the teacher caves鈥� and quits as adviser, Nichols said.
That subtlety is hard to document, she said, and while New Voices legislation might not explicitly protect against that, 鈥渋t demonstrates support for the teacher, it emphasizes good teaching, and it makes it much harder for the administrator to take some kinds of action.鈥�
Having these laws on the books also boosts student journalists鈥� confidence, advocates say.
鈥淚n a lot of states, the argument is not that we have individual horror stories that need to be prevented, but that students are prone to censor themselves when they know they have no rights,鈥� said LoMonte of the Student Press Law Center.
鈥淪tudents will choose not to write about issues of substance because they鈥檝e been made aware their advisers鈥� job is precarious,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 get that question all the time: Students will ask me, 鈥楥an you assure me that if I pursue this story, my adviser will not be fired?鈥� And in most of America, I cannot give them that assurance.鈥�
In Vermont, at least, student-media advisers will be protected under the new law, which went into effect immediately. That鈥檚 a relief for Riegelman, the student-newspaper adviser at Bellows Free Academy. He said that if there was ever prior review at his school, he would quit his advising duties.
鈥淭hat is unconscionable if you ask me,鈥� he said. Administrators 鈥渄on鈥檛 want us to talk about things that aren鈥檛 rainbows and butterflies and puppies, but that鈥檚 our job. That鈥檚 the job of the kids.鈥�
And the Mercury student newspaper has not shied away from reporting on tough issues: Last year, school administrators were receiving pay raises while cutting school programs.
Robbie, who wants to study journalism in college, said he hopes the law allows students in the state to feel more confident when reporting on controversial issues.
鈥淚n my opinion, if it鈥檚 controversial, and it鈥檚 something that most people don鈥檛 want to hear,鈥� he said, 鈥渢hen it鈥檚 something that should be covered.鈥�
