Bill in state House would give high school journalists more rights

By Courtney Thomas

A bill pending in the Kentucky legislature would give high school students the same rights as professional journalists, which could have implications in the kind of work those journalists do.

When the House of Representatives’ Education Committee resumes on Feb. 3, the Kentucky Student Press Bill, or HB 43, will be considered. Josh Moore, a sophomore at Western Kentucky University who coordinated the bill, has been encouraging people to write letters to members of the House of Representatives.

“I think allowing students to make their own constant decisions teaches students responsibility and appreciation for their own First Amendment rights,” Moore said.

Nine other states currently have a similar law enacted, and college journalists’ rights are determined on a court district by court district basis, said Jane Kirtley, a professor of media ethics and law at the University of Minnesota. For Kentucky, a 2001 court decision in the 6th Circuit Court means university newspapers are not held under the standards of the 1988 Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier case, which upheld a public administrator’s right to control content of a high school newspaper.

For high school students in Kentucky, a state shield law could help school newspapers return to the type of investigative work that occurred before Hazelwood, Kirtley said. Student newspapers should have advisers to help prevent libel, she said. Other mistakes can be used as a good learning tool.

“There is really no better learning experience than making a stupid decision and living with it,” Kirtley said. “If not, when would you do it? Not when you’re an investigative journalist at The New York Times.”
Carl Rollins, chair of the House Education Committee, said he has some concerns about the bill and believes school administrators should have a say in what is published.

“It would be different if it were college-level students because they are adults and high school students are still teenagers,” Rollins said. “But if the concerns of the Education Committee are met, then progressing to the next level is definitely an option to consider.”

Paul Laurence Dunbar High School’s student newspaper, The Lamplighter, would be able to publish more stories about issues that matter, said Alexis Tolley, a Paul Laurence Dunbar senior and the advertising and business manager of The Lamplighter.

“I feel like we will be able to write about real issues and not just the stuff that’s going on at school — stories that actually make a difference,” she said.

Staff writer Jill Laster contributed to this story.