H.B. 1309: Protecting Student Journalists’ 1st Amendment Rights

Student journalists in Pennsylvania are advocating for more clarity in their first amendment rights.

The House Education Committee heard testimony this morning from a high school senior on his experiences.

Ben Shapiro [sha-PIE-ro] is only a senior in high school—but he’s well acquainted with censorship and the fight for First Amendment rights.

“My principal last year tried to tell us that we couldn't publish our senior destinations map. Told me that if I were to publish it, I would be risking my adviser's jobs, that she might pull funding from the newspaper if we were to publish it,” said Shapiro. "And I had to get lawyers involved. As a 17 year old who should have been a normal high school student, spending time with friends, studying.”

Editor for The Spoke- Conestoga High School’s student paper- Shapiro and other advocates testified on behalf of House Bill 1309 today.

“This legislation would just ensure that students maintain all of their rights at schools and that there's no gray area in between the constitution and what a principal wants to see published about their school,” said Shapiro.

“What this bill does is give some clarity for administrators, some clarity for advisers, and some clarity for students so everybody knows what their role is,” said Cyndi Crothers-Hyatt, advocate with New Voices, a part of the Student Press Law Center.

She also formerly worked at Conestoga High School as the student newspaper’s adviser. Cyndi testified on how advisers can be caught in the middle of disagreements, parts of their own career threatened at times.

Advocates say student reporters are censored- or even self censor- when writing less-than-flattering stories about school districts.

“It could be in the form of just simply yelling at a student, or suspending them, expelling them-‘ said Shapiro.

Committee members appreciated the importance of the topic, but questioned if the bill was repetitive of current law and code. Rep. Regina Young noted she would want to hear from school administrators and legal counsel if the legislation moved forward.

“We need folks to go into journalism who really are passionate about it and passionate about our first amendment rights and why it is important to speak truth to power,” said Rep. Jesse Topper, minority chair of the House Education Committee. "But again, these are students and these are school districts, and the administrators also have a responsibility. So it's just a matter of balancing them.”