08/28/2006 566-06 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Print Version |
Governor Schwarzenegger Signs Legislation to Protect Student Freedom of Speech
“Freedom of speech is the cornerstone of our democracy. Students working on college newspapers deserve the same rights afforded to every other student journalist,” said Governor Schwarzenegger.
This bill extends the same protections from censorship to the student presses at the collegiate level as is provided to California high school student newspapers. A recent appeals court decision creates uncertainty regarding whether California’s college and university presses enjoy, or are afforded, the same protections from censorship as the state’s high school presses. This bill eliminates that uncertainty.
This bill is a response to the recent Seventh Circuit Court decision in Hosty v. Carter. In this case, the dean of an Illinois university halted the printing of a student article that was critical of the university's administration. This administrator later instituted a requirement for prior administrative approval of articles in the student newspaper. The lower court held that the students' First Amendment rights were violated as a result of this requirement. The U.S. Seventh Circuit Court subsequently reversed this decision. The Circuit Court, in its reversal of the decision favoring the students, extended a holding of a decision from a previous case which had found that high school-sponsored publications do not enjoy the same First Amendment protections as professional publications. Hosty v. Carter extended the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier to university campuses, allowing prior restraint of student newspaper articles by school officials.
This law will take effect January 1, 2007.
