AN ACT to clarify the free speech rights of student journalists in public schools, constituent institutions of the university of north carolina, and community colleges.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

part i. free speech for student journalists in public school units

SECTION 1.(a)  Chapter 115C of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new Article to read:

Article 29F.

Student Journalist Press Freedom Restoration Act.

§ 115C‑407.70.  Definitions.

The following definitions apply in this Article:

(1)        School‑sponsored media. – Any material that is prepared, substantially written, published, or broadcast, in any media, by a student journalist at a school within a public school unit under the direction of a student media adviser and distributed or generally made available to members of the student body. School‑sponsored media does not include media intended for distribution or transmission for classroom purposes only.

(2)        Student journalist. – A student enrolled in a school within a public school unit who gathers, compiles, writes, edits, photographs, illustrates, or prepares information for inclusion in school‑sponsored media.

(3)        Student media adviser. – An individual employed, appointed, or designated by a public school unit to supervise or provide instruction relating to school‑sponsored media.

§ 115C‑407.71.  Student journalists' freedom of expression.

(a)        A student journalist has the right to exercise freedom of speech and of the press in school‑sponsored media regardless of whether the media is supported financially by the school, uses the facilities of the school, or is produced in conjunction with a course or class in which the student is enrolled. A student journalist is responsible for determining the news, opinion, feature, and advertising content of school‑sponsored media. Student media advisers may teach professional standards of English and journalism to student journalists, consistent with this subsection.

(b)        Subsection (a) of this section does not authorize or protect expression by a student journalist that is any of the following:

(1)        Libelous or slanderous.

(2)        Constitutes an unwarranted invasion of privacy.

(3)        Obscene.

(4)        In violation of federal or State law.

(5)        Inciteful to students as to create a clear and present danger of the commission of an unlawful act, the violation of a lawful school district policy, or the material and substantial disruption of the orderly operation of the school. Administrators shall base a forecast of material and substantial disruption on specific facts, including past experience in the school and current events influencing student behavior, and not on undifferentiated fear or apprehension.

(c)        There shall be no prior restraint of material prepared for official school publications except insofar as the material violates the standards of subsection (b) of this section. School officials shall have the burden of showing prior justification for their limitation of student journalist expression under this section and affording students a timely opportunity for appeal.

(d)       Nothing in this section shall be construed as authorizing the publication of an advertisement in school‑sponsored media that promotes the purchase of a product or service that is unlawful for purchase or use by minors.

§ 115C‑407.72.  Individual protection.

(a)        A student journalist may not be disciplined for acting in accordance with subsection (a) of G.S. 115C‑407.71.

(b)        A student media adviser may not be dismissed, suspended, disciplined, reassigned, transferred, or otherwise retaliated against for:

(1)        Refusing to infringe on conduct that is protected by G.S. 115C‑407.71, the First Amendment of the United States Constitution, or Section 14 of Article I of the North Carolina Constitution.

(2)        Acting to protect a student journalist engaged in permissible conduct under subsection (a) of G.S. 115C‑407.71, the First Amendment of the United States Constitution, or Section 14 of Article I of the North Carolina Constitution.

§ 115C‑407.73.  Policy adoption and court action.

(a)        Governing bodies of public school units shall adopt a written policy for the exercise of the right of student journalists to freedom of speech and the press in school‑sponsored media in accordance with this Article. At a minimum, the policy shall include:

(1)        Reasonable provisions for the time, place, and manner of distribution of student expression.

(2)        A provision allowing for the timely appeal within the public school unit of a decision made pursuant to this section.

(b)        No expression made by students in the exercise of free speech or free press rights shall be deemed to be an expression of school policy, and no school officials or public school unit shall be held responsible in any civil or criminal action for any expression made or published by students.

(c)        Any student, individually or through a parent or guardian, or student media adviser may institute proceedings for injunctive or declaratory relief in any court of competent jurisdiction to enforce the rights provided in this section. Nothing in this section shall be construed to create any private action on behalf of a student other than to seek injunctive relief allowing the publication of the speech in question. A court may award reasonable attorneys' fees to a plaintiff that substantially prevails.

SECTION 1.(b)  G.S. 115C‑47 is amended by adding a new subdivision to read:

(68)    Freedom of Student Press. – Local boards of education shall develop policies to support student‑developed, school‑sponsored media in accordance with Article 29F of this Chapter.

SECTION 1.(c)  G.S. 115C‑218.75 is amended by adding a new subsection to read:

(k)      Freedom of Student Press. – A charter school shall develop policies to support student‑developed, school‑sponsored media in accordance with Article 29F of this Chapter.

SECTION 1.(d)  G.S. 115C‑238.66 is amended by adding a new subdivision to read:

(19)    Freedom of student press. – A regional school shall develop policies to support student‑developed, school‑sponsored media in accordance with Article 29F of this Chapter.

SECTION 1.(e)  G.S. 116‑11 is amended by adding a new subdivision to read:

(15)    Freedom of student press. – The Board of Governors shall develop policies for all public secondary schools under the Board's jurisdiction to support student‑developed, school‑sponsored media in accordance with Article 29F of Chapter 115C of the General Statutes.

part ii. free speech for student journalists at institutions of higher education

SECTION 2.(a)  Article 36 of Chapter 116 is amended by adding a new section to read:

§ 116‑305.  Student Journalist Press Freedom Restoration Act.

(a)        Definitions. – The following definitions apply in this section:

(1)        Student journalist. – A student enrolled at a constituent institution of The University of North Carolina who gathers, compiles, writes, edits, photographs, records, or prepares information for inclusion in university‑sponsored media.

(2)        Student media adviser. – An individual employed, appointed, or designated by a constituent institution of The University of North Carolina to supervise or provide instruction relating to university‑sponsored media.

(3)        University‑sponsored media. – Any material that is prepared, substantially written, published, or broadcast, in any media, by a student journalist at a constituent institution of The University of North Carolina under the direction of a student media adviser and distributed or generally made available to members of the student body. University‑sponsored media does not include media intended for distribution or transmission for classroom purposes only.

(b)        Freedom of Expression. – A student journalist has a right to exercise freedom of speech and of the press in university‑sponsored media as follows:

(1)        This right exists regardless of whether the media is supported financially by the institution, uses the facilities of the institution, or is produced in conjunction with a course or class in which the student is enrolled. A student journalist is responsible for determining the news, opinion, feature, and advertising content of university‑sponsored media. Student media advisers may teach professional standards of English and journalism to student journalists, consistent with this subsection.

(2)        Subdivision (1) of this subsection does not authorize or protect expression by a student journalist that is any of the following:

a.         Libelous or slanderous.

b.         Constitutes an unwarranted invasion of privacy.

c.         Obscene.

d.         In violation of federal or State law.

e.         Inciteful to students as to create a clear and present danger of the commission of an unlawful act or the violation of a lawful university policy.

(3)        There shall be no prior restraint of material prepared for official university publications except insofar as the material violates the standards of subdivision (2) of this subsection. University officials shall have the burden of showing prior justification for their limitation of student journalist expression under this section and affording students a timely opportunity for appeal.

(4)        Nothing in this subsection shall be construed as authorizing the publication of an advertisement in university‑sponsored media that promotes the purchase of a product or service that is unlawful for purchase or use by minors.

(c)        Individual Protection. – A student journalist may not be disciplined for acting in accordance with subdivision (1) of subsection (b) of this section. A student media adviser may not be dismissed, suspended, disciplined, reassigned, transferred, or otherwise retaliated against for any of the following:

(1)        Refusing to infringe on conduct that is protected by subsection (b) of this section, the First Amendment of the United States Constitution, or Section 14 of Article I of the North Carolina Constitution.

(2)        Acting to protect a student journalist engaged in permissible conduct under subdivision (1) of subsection (b) of this section, the First Amendment of the United States Constitution, or Section 14 of Article I of the North Carolina Constitution.

(d)       Policy. – Each constituent institution of The University of North Carolina shall adopt a written policy for the exercise of the right of student journalists to freedom of speech and the press in university‑sponsored media in accordance with this section that shall include at least the following:

(1)        Reasonable provisions for the time, place, and manner of distribution of student expression.

(2)        A provision allowing for the timely appeal within the constituent institution of decisions made pursuant to this section.

(e)        Court Action. – No expression made by students in the exercise of free speech or free press rights shall be deemed to be an expression of university policy, and no administrative officials of a constituent institution or constituent institution shall be held responsible in any civil or criminal action for any expression made or published by students. Any student, individually or through a parent or guardian, or student media adviser may institute proceedings for injunctive or declaratory relief in any court of competent jurisdiction to enforce the rights provided in this section. Nothing in this section shall be construed to create any private action on behalf of a student other than to seek injunctive relief allowing the publication of the speech in question. A court may award reasonable attorney fees to a plaintiff that substantially prevails.

SECTION 2.(b)  Article 7 of Chapter 115D of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new section to read:

§ 115D‑82.  Student Journalist Press Freedom Restoration Act.

(a)        Definitions. – The following definitions apply in this section:

(1)        College‑sponsored media. – Any material that is prepared, substantially written, published, or broadcast, in any media, by a student journalist at a community college under the direction of a student media adviser and distributed or generally made available to members of the student body. College‑sponsored media does not include media intended for distribution or transmission for classroom purposes only.

(2)        Student journalist. – A student enrolled at a community college who gathers, compiles, writes, edits, photographs, records, or prepares information for inclusion in college‑sponsored media.

(3)        Student media adviser. – An individual employed, appointed, or designated by a community college to supervise or provide instruction relating to college‑sponsored media.

(b)        Freedom of Expression. – A student journalist has a right to exercise freedom of speech and of the press in college‑sponsored media as follows:

(1)        This right exists regardless of whether the media is supported financially by the community college, uses the facilities of the community college, or is produced in conjunction with a course or class in which the student is enrolled. A student journalist is responsible for determining the news, opinion, feature, and advertising content of college‑sponsored media. Student media advisers may teach professional standards of English and journalism to student journalists, consistent with this subsection.

(2)        Subdivision (1) of this subsection does not authorize or protect expression by a student journalist that is any of the following:

a.         Libelous or slanderous.

b.         Constitutes an unwarranted invasion of privacy.

c.         Obscene.

d.         In violation of federal or State law.

e.         Inciteful to students as to create a clear and present danger of the commission of an unlawful act or the violation of a lawful community college policy.

(3)        There shall be no prior restraint of material prepared for official community college publications except insofar as the material violates the standards of subdivision (2) of this subsection. Community college officials shall have the burden of showing prior justification for their limitation of student journalist expression under this section and affording students a timely opportunity for appeal.

(4)        Nothing in this subsection shall be construed as authorizing the publication of an advertisement in college‑sponsored media that promotes the purchase of a product or service that is unlawful for purchase or use by minors.

(c)        Individual Protection. – A student journalist may not be disciplined for acting in accordance with subdivision (1) of subsection (b) of this section. A student media adviser may not be dismissed, suspended, disciplined, reassigned, transferred, or otherwise retaliated against for any of the following:

(1)        Refusing to infringe on conduct that is protected by subsection (b) of this section, the First Amendment of the United States Constitution, or Section 14 of Article I of the North Carolina Constitution.

(2)        Acting to protect a student journalist engaged in permissible conduct under subdivision (1) of subsection (b) of this section, the First Amendment of the United States Constitution, or Section 14 of Article I of the North Carolina Constitution.

(d)       Policy. – Each community college shall adopt a written policy for the exercise of the right of student journalists to freedom of speech and the press in college‑sponsored media in accordance with this section that shall include at least the following:

(1)        Reasonable provisions for the time, place, and manner of distribution of student expression.

(2)        A provision allowing for the timely appeal within the constituent institution of decisions made pursuant to this section.

(e)        Court Action. – No expression made by students in the exercise of free speech or free press rights shall be deemed to be an expression of community college policy, and no administrative officials of a community college or community college shall be held responsible in any civil or criminal action for any expression made or published by students. Any student, individually or through a parent or guardian, or student media adviser may institute proceedings for injunctive or declaratory relief in any court of competent jurisdiction to enforce the rights provided in this section. Nothing in this section shall be construed to create any private action on behalf of a student other than to seek injunctive relief allowing the publication of the speech in question. A court may award reasonable attorney fees to a plaintiff that substantially prevails.

part iii. effective date

SECTION 3.  This act is effective when it becomes law.