Bill Would Extend Freedom of the Press to Student Journalists

Freedom of the press would be extended to student journalists at high schools and public universities in Michigan under legislation introduced in the Michigan Senate.

State Senator Rick Jones, R-Grand Ledge, is sponsoring the bill and says past episodes of school administrators interfering with student’s articles prompted him to back the measure.

In 2014 administrators at an Ann Arbor high school blocked two students from writing an op ed on depression.

The student’s op-ed later appeared in the New York Times.

And last year the advisor of the student newspaper at Northern Michigan University was forced out after students wrote unflattering articles about university leaders.

Jones says his bill would prohibit administrators from stepping in to stop a student journalist from writing an article or opinion piece unless it uses curse words or contains slander.