Legislation History
Student journalists from five of Seattle’s high schools (Ballard, Garfield, Nathan Hale, Roosevelt and West Seattle) met yesterday afternoon in the Nathan Hale journalism room to debrief following a promise by Seattle interim Superintendent Susan Enfield to leave unchanged the district’s current student press rights policy. The meeting followed a four day whirlwind campaign to thwart the passage of Policy 3220, a controversial, restrictive student press policy that was recommended by the Washington State School Directors Association.
More in the Press about Policy 3220
SB 5946 – 2009-10
Protecting freedom of student press and speech
Will the third time be the charm?
For the third consecutive year, a scholastic press rights bill has been introduced in the Legislature
Thanks to Sen. Joe McDermott (D-West Seattle), we’ll once again have legislation introduced that would support student press rights in Washington. You can follow the progress of the bill on the state government’s website.
It’s terribly important that advisers, students, parents and administrators understand this legislation. Simply put, it would clarify the sometimes challenging relationship between student journalists, advisers and administrators while protecting the rights of all parties involved. We only need to look to the Puyallup, Snoqualmie and Everett school districts to see how important this legislation is.
History of this Legislation
SB 6449 – SB 6449
HB 1307 – HB 1307
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Media Info
>> Read the Student Press Law Center article (January 15, 2008)
How can I help?
This bill clarifies the law with regard to rights and responsibilities of student journalists, their advisers, and school administrators. If it would have passed, Washington would be following in the steps of eight other states that have passed similar legislation. This bill was nearly identical to HB 1307 which was introduced first in the House two years ago, where it passed, only to die in the Senate. This year, the bill was introduced in the Senate first, by Sen. Joe McDermott (34th Dist).
For a full story on the bill and further background, go to www.jideas.org.
Please share this information with students, colleagues, and interested parents.