A New Voices bill has been introduced into the Missouri State Legislature for the 2025 session. This bill is a major step in protecting the freedom of speech for student journalists.
According to the Student Press Law Center, there are “18 states with laws that protect the First Amendment rights of student journalists.”
These states include multiple Midwestern states, like Kansas, Illinois, Iowa and Minnesota. In states without the bill, advocates are searching for sponsors or the legislator currently has a bill in the chambers.
Senator Barbara Washington, Democrat, is the sponsor of the Missouri New Voices Act.
According to the bill summary, the bill protects freedom of speech for public schools and bars school districts from engaging “in prior restraint of school-sponsored media” except in cases of offensive or threatening speech; or if the speech is not conducive to the time, place and manner test.
In addition, it protects students, school districts and advisors from liability for what they write, except if they participate in “conduct that is the subject of a civil or criminal action,” the bill summary added.
This bill is specifically designed to counter the dangerous ruling in the 1988 Supreme Court case Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier.
The case, based around the Missouri school district, “held that schools must be able to set high standards for student speech disseminated under their auspices, and that schools retained the right to refuse to sponsor speech that was ‘inconsistent with ‘the shared values of a civilized social order,’’” according to Oyez, a “multimedia” archive of Supreme Court cases.
The Echo staff believes that the New Voices is crucial to pass in this legislative term. It is important that our staff, along with the staffs of surrounding high schools, have the ability to write about pressing issues and everyday teenage life without having to worry about possible retaliation.
While the Echo is fortunate to be a part of a school district that supports freedom of the press, it is important to have a concrete law that officially protects it here in Missouri. It is time to stand up and join our fellow Midwestern states in ensuring this protection.
It is also important to protect this speech because of the Trump administration’s acts to decrease the freedom of the press. While the Trump administration claims to be the party of free speech, their actions show otherwise.
According to the Washington Post, “Since taking office, the president has mounted what critics call his own sweeping attack on freedom of expression. Some of it aims to stamp out diversity, equity and inclusion and what he terms ‘radical gender ideology.’ Some of it is aimed at media organizations whose language he dislikes. In other cases, the attacks target opponents who have spoken sharply about the administration.”
This view concerns the Echo newspaper, as Trump could soon encourage local Republican lawmakers to do the same. This censorship by the Trump administration is unacceptable and a threat to the democratic principles our government was founded upon.
To help counter these attacks on freedom of speech, one can pressure local Missouri Senators to vote in favor of the New Voices Bill. Numbers of the senators can be found at the senator directory on the Missouri Senate website. In unprecedented times such as these, free speech protections for journalists are essential to preserving democracy and citizens’ rights.
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