Upthegrove praises Oregon bill's success

By J-Ideas


Two key players: Gov. Ted Kulongoski and
State Rep. Larry Galizio, D-Tigard, who introduced
the Oregon bill, and Gov. Ted Kulongoski, also
a Democrat, are important figures in the bill.
Kulongoski signed the bill into law on July 13.

Support for Oregon’s student free expression law continues to spread as Washington state Rep. Dave Upthegrove, who authored and sponsored a similar bill in his state earlier this year, praised Oregon’s legislature saying he was impressed with their great work.

“I'm impressed with the great work of Oregon Rep. (Larry) Galizio and the other Oregon legislators and certainly plan on talking with them soon to discuss ‘lessons learned’ as we gear up to revisit the issue in Washington next legislative session,” Upthegrove said on his blog. “It's kinda cool to know that, although we fell short this year in Washington, our leadership sparked a successful effort in Oregon.”

Upthegrove has previously said he intends to reintroduce the bill in Washington. House Bill 1307, which would have given high school and college students greater First Amendment protection, passed Washington’s state House of Representatives, 58-37, in March but lost momentum in the Senate.  The Senate’s Judiciary Committee eliminated the protection for high schoolers, and the amended bill never reached the Senate floor for a vote.

Other student journalism advocates continued to praise the Oregon Legislature.

“This was fantastic news,” said H.L. Hall, two-time president of the Journalism Education Association and executive director of the Tennessee High School Press Association. “It would be fantastic if this were the start of other states passing similar laws.”

The bill, HB 3279, sponsored by state Rep. Larry Galizio, D-Tigard, has been acclaimed as historic by supporters within the region and across the nation.

"(The law) will have a very, very large impact around the country," Kulongoski said at a public ceremony Friday at the statehouse in Salem.

Galizio congratulated the governor for his commitment to student journalism. "Everyone here is interested in an informed, educated citizenry,” Galizio said.

Praise for the bill poured in from across the country as news of the signing spread.

“The battle to protect student press freedom rights for student journalists has won a long overdue victory,” said Ed Sullivan, executive director of the Columbia Scholastic Press Association, based in New York City.

Added Diana Mitsu Klos, senior project director of the American Society of Newspaper Editors in Reston, Va., “This new law conveys a clear message to young people that the First Amendment is relevant, precious and worth protecting. It will help teach the value of free press, free speech and the responsibilities that come with it.”

And Cheryl Pell, the executive director of the Michigan Interscholastic Press Association, exulted: “Hats off to all of the good folks in Oregon who worked so hard to make this happen and for those in state government who understand how important it is to allow students to have a voice.”

Mark Goodman, executive director of the Student Press Law Center, also was ecstatic at the bill’s passage, pointing out that the last successful state effort was in 1995. “After 12 years since Arkansas, it’s great to have another law on the books,” he said.

“The action by the Oregon House and Senate affirms Oregon’s commitment to free speech for all people,” said Rob Melton, an Oregon journalism adviser.

While student free expression is often perceived as a liberal concern, even conservative groups have saluted Oregon’s landmark bill.  A talk show host at familysecuritymatters.org, Jason Rantz, said Oregon made a terrific decision signing the bill into law.

“Students with conservative opinions, in that very liberal state, should let out a collective sigh of relief,” Rantz said. “Now they can write and broadcast controversial opinions of an ideologically conservative nature.”

Galizio’s bill is the first to have college and high school protection under the same measure.

The bill will now be written into a statute. State education officials will then communicate the provisions of the statute to individual school districts across Oregon.

Six other states – California, Massachusetts, Kansas, Iowa, Arkansas and Colorado – have enacted free-speech protections for high school students. Public schools in the other states are bound by the 1988 Hazelwood vs. Kuhlmeier U.S. Supreme Court decision, which gives school administrators the authority to censor students if they can demonstrate a legitimate educational reason for doing so. Only Kansas’s law has statutory protection for teachers and advisers.

Galizio introduced HB 3279 early in the legislative session. He modeled the legislation after an unsuccessful bill sponsored by Rep. Dave Upthegrove in nearby Washington state. Upthegrove’s effort passed the House but not the Senate.

Galizio told his colleagues that the Oregon bill is not a perfect one, as it does not include protection for school newspaper advisers. He has promised to work for those protections at a later date.

The House and Senate passed new versions of the bill and reconciled those differences. The Senate version had eliminated protections for advisers.

Editors and others were pleased by the passage of the law.

Charlotte Hall, editor of the Orlando Sentinel, said, “Good news, indeed. This is an important issue.”

Neil Bryant, a lawyer at Bryant, Lovlien & Jarvis in Oregon, said the bill will help strengthen existing First Amendment protections. “It creates a discussion and interest in free speech,” he said.

There was some limited, 11th-hour opposition toward HB 3279 as state Rep. Gene Whisnant, R-Sunriver, said he disagreed with the inclusion of both university and high school student protection under one measure.

On the whole, however, the bill moved along expeditiously through the Oregon legislature.

It survived one key challenge. The Oregon Senate Judiciary Committee amended HB 3279 on May 30 on a 3-2 vote. The measures softened the bill, but allowed it to move forward.

The committee omitted the adviser protection clause that would prevent an adviser of school-sponsored media from being terminated, transferred, removed or disciplined for refusing to suppress the protected First Amendment freedoms of student journalists who are under their guidance.

The committee also added an amendment that stipulates that a student-operated radio station licensed through the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) exercise plenary and prior control over what is broadcast.It also deleted a clause that ensures college-sponsored media are recognized as “public forums” and are not subject to prior review by administrators.

In Washington, Upthegrove’s actions, although unsuccessful, have inspired similar, ongoing legislative efforts in Michigan and Vermont, with other states, including Indiana and North Carolina, considering similar state laws.

The Oregon bill captured attention across the country with national journalism groups, including J-Ideas, the Journalism Education Association and others taking an interest in the bill.

“This bill guarantees that student journalists will be held to the same legal standards as commercial media,” said Melton.

Randy Swikle, the Illinois director of the Journalism Education Association and one of the organizers of a failed student-bill effort in Illinois in the 1990s, said the First Amendment is a winner in the Oregon developments.

“As students practice their newly protected press rights, the challenge facing school officials is to promote First Amendment education throughout the curriculum and community. Now, reason and logic will trump clout and arbitrary decision-making as school officials guide student journalists toward ethical, responsible, selfless performance. The quality of the student media will soar and the school climate will revitalize," he said.

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