The California State Assembly approved legislation yesterday that guarantees free-speech rights for students and teachers at charter schools.
August 3, 2010
By Corey G. Johnson
Passed by a 51-19 vote, Senate Bill 438 now goes to the desk of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who will have 12 days to either sign or veto it. The Senate approved their version of the bill in January.
Sen. Leland Yee, D-San Francisco, wrote the bill after administrators at the Orange County High School of the Arts claimed their charter school status exempted them from having to follow laws protecting free speech. In September, officials at the Santa Ana charter halted publication of a student newspaper after reading a student report critical of the school’s cafeteria management company.
In a statement, Yee said students must have the right to free expression.
It is quite disheartening to hear that taxpayer-funded charter schools think their students do not deserve the same rights as those afforded to students at public and private schools throughout our state. SB 438 will clear up any ambiguity in law and provide much-needed protections.
Last month, the Orange County High School of the Arts fired the faculty advisor for the student newspaper, leading some to accuse the charter administrators of retaliation. School officials denied those charges. They declined to share details about the decision. Yee said yesterday school officials are sending the wrong message to their students and the community.
The Orange County High School of the Arts should be ashamed. These are not the lessons they should be teaching our kids. Rather than supporting student free expression and fostering an open dialogue of ideas, they are teaching values that are contrary to the foundation of our republic.
Jim Ewert, legal counsel for the California Newspaper Publishers Association applauded the bill.
“The overwhelming passage of SB 438 affirms that existing law protects charter school students’ speech activities and censorship will not be tolerated on any school campus,” he said.
2 Comments
Why do we need the legislature to confirm that we have free speech rights?
Did you see the version of the school paper that was put on hold? I did, it was posted online. It was full of spelling and grammatical errors, the article about the cafeteria management company had some random facts stuck on the end, orphaned on another page, one of which mentioned a bible verse as part of their logo.
This faculty advisor was also yearbook advisor. There were multiple errors and mistakes in the yearbook. Why should a school keep a faculty advisor who could not or would not even do the basics of her job? No one’s first amendment rights were infringed.
Orange County High School of the Arts is ranked third overall by the Orange County Register for all public high schools in Orange County. This is a school that provides an excellent education. It provides not only top notch arts education but also excels in academic performance. I’m glad they are striving for excellence in their school paper and yearbook programs.
Perhaps if Senator Yee from San Francisco cares about students he could spend time helping the schools in his district to provide the same quality educational program as OCHSA. Instead of grand standing on an issue that doesn’t really exsist at a school not even in his distric.
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