How many other states have enacted laws similar to HB 1307?
Six states – Arkansas, California, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas and Massachusetts – have passed student free press legislation that defines the rights and responsibilities of high school journalists. (Pennsylvania has enacted state regulations that provide similar protection.) These laws have been on the books for over a decade and there has been no indication of any negative affect on schools in those states. In fact, if anything, high school journalism is better and more professional in those states because students understand that rights and responsibilities go hand in hand. In Fall 2006, in response to the Hosty decision, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a law making California the first state in the country to pass similar free speech protection for college student media.
