BILL REQ. #:  S-0609.1 

Read first time 02/09/09.   Referred to Committee on Judiciary.

     AN ACT Relating to freedom of student press and speech; adding a new section to chapter 28A.600 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 28B.10 RCW; and creating a new section.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   The legislature finds that freedom of expression and freedom of the press are fundamental principles in our democratic society granted to every citizen of this state and the nation by the First Amendment of the United States Constitution and by Article I, section 5 of the state Constitution. These freedoms provide all citizens, including students, with the right to engage in robust and uninhibited discussion of issues. The legislature finds that court decisions have not provided adequate protection for the free speech and free press rights of students. The legislature intends to ensure free speech and free press protections for both high school and college students in the state in order to encourage students to become educated, informed, and responsible members of society.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   A new section is added to chapter 28A.600 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) Except as provided in subsection (3) of this section, public high school students have the right to exercise freedom of speech and of the press in school-sponsored media, whether or not the media are supported financially by the school or by use of school facilities, or are produced in conjunction with a class.
     (2) Student editors of school-sponsored media are responsible for determining the news, opinion, feature, and advertising content of the media subject to the limitations of subsection (3) of this section. This subsection does not prevent a student media adviser from teaching professional standards of English and journalism to the student journalists. A student media adviser may not be terminated, transferred, removed, or otherwise disciplined for refusing to suppress the protected free expression rights of student journalists.
     (3) Nothing in this section may be interpreted to authorize expression by students that:
     (a) Is obscene as to minors;
     (b) Is libelous or slanderous;
     (c) Constitutes an unwarranted invasion of privacy;
     (d) Violates the federal communications act or any rule or regulation of the federal communications commission; or
     (e) So incites students as to create a clear and present danger of:
     (i) The commission of unlawful acts on school premises;
     (ii) The violation of lawful school regulations; or
     (iii) The material and substantial disruption of the orderly operation of the school. A school official must base a forecast of material and substantial disruption on specific facts, including past experience in the school and current events influencing student behavior, and not on undifferentiated fear or apprehension.
     (4) Any student, individually or through his or her parent or guardian, enrolled in a public high school may commence a civil action to obtain appropriate injunctive and declaratory relief as determined by a court for a violation of subsection (1) of this section. Upon a motion, a court may award reasonable attorneys' fees to a prevailing plaintiff in a civil action brought under this section.
     (5) Expression made by students in school-sponsored media is not the expression of school policy. Neither a school official nor the governing board of the school or school district may be held responsible in any civil or criminal action for any expression made or published by students in school-sponsored media unless school officials or the governing board have interfered with or altered the content of the student expression.
     (6) Each school district that includes a high school shall adopt regulations in the form of a written student freedom of expression policy in accordance with this section. The policy shall include reasonable provisions for the time, place, and manner of student expression.
     (7) This section does not apply to correctional institution education programs under chapter 28A.193 RCW or to residential education programs under chapter 28A.190 RCW operating in department of social and health services facilities for the confinement and rehabilitation of juveniles committed by the courts.
     (8) For the purposes of this section:
     (a) "Obscene as to minors" means material that the average person, applying community standards, finds as a whole appeals to a minor's prurient interest in sex, and that depicts or describes in an offensive way sexual conduct or sexual acts, and that lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.
     (b) "School-sponsored media" means any matter that is prepared, substantially written, published, or broadcast by student journalists, that is distributed or generally made available, either free-of-charge or for a fee, to members of the student body, and that is prepared under the direction of a student media adviser. "School-sponsored media" does not include media that is intended for distribution or transmission solely in the classrooms in which they are produced.
     (c) "Student journalist" means a student who gathers, compiles, writes, edits, photographs, records, or prepares information for dissemination in school-sponsored media.
     (d) "Student media adviser" means a person who is employed, appointed, or designated by the school to supervise, or provide instruction relating to, school-sponsored media.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   A new section is added to chapter 28B.10 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) Students at public institutions of higher education have the right to exercise freedom of speech and of the press in school-sponsored media, whether or not the media are supported financially by the school or by use of school facilities, or are produced in conjunction with a class. All school-sponsored media produced primarily by students at a public institution of higher education are public forums for expression by the student journalists and student editors at the particular institution. Student media, whether school-sponsored or nonschool-sponsored, are not subject to mandatory prior review by school officials.
     (2) Student editors of school-sponsored media are responsible for determining the news, opinion, feature, and advertising content of the media. This subsection does not prevent a student media adviser from teaching professional standards of English and journalism to the student journalists. A student media adviser may not be terminated, transferred, removed, or otherwise disciplined for refusing to suppress the protected free expression rights of student journalists.
     (3) Nothing in this section may be interpreted to authorize expression by students that violates the federal communications act or any rule or regulation of the federal communications commission.
     (4) Any student enrolled in a public institution of higher education may commence a civil action to obtain appropriate injunctive and declaratory relief as determined by a court for a violation of subsection (1) of this section by the public institution of higher education. Upon a motion, a court may award reasonable attorneys' fees to a prevailing plaintiff in a civil action brought under this section.
     (5) Expression made by students in school-sponsored media is not the expression of school policy. Neither a school official nor the governing board of any public institution of higher education may be held responsible in any civil or criminal action for any expression made or published by students in school-sponsored media unless school officials or the governing board have interfered with or altered the content of the student expression.
     (6) This section does not apply to educational programs operated by institutions of higher education in adult correctional institutions or in secure facilities operated by the department of social and health services under chapter 71.09 RCW.
     (7) For the purposes of this section:
     (a) "School-sponsored media" means any matter that is prepared, substantially written, published, or broadcast by student journalists, that is distributed or generally made available, either free-of-charge or for a fee, to members of the student body, and that is prepared under the direction of a student media adviser. "School-sponsored media" does not include media that is intended for distribution or transmission solely in the classrooms in which they are produced.
     (b) "Student journalist" means a student who gathers, compiles, writes, edits, photographs, records, or prepares information for dissemination in school-sponsored media.
     (c) "Student media adviser" means a person who is employed, appointed, or designated by the school to supervise, or provide instruction relating to, school-sponsored media.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4   If any provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances is not affected.