STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3664

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: H.B. No. 1529

H.D. 2

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirtieth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2020

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Education, to which was referred H.B. No. 1529, H.D. 2, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO STUDENT JOURNALISTS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to allow student journalists at public schools to exercise freedom of speech and freedom of the press in school-sponsored media.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Big Island Press Club, Society of Professional Journalists Hawaii Chapter, Student Press Law Center, Hawaii Publishers Association, All Hawaii News, and nineteen individuals. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of Education.

Your Committee finds that preparing students to become engaged global citizens requires them to master the ability to think critically, communicate effectively, and take informed action. Student journalism is an important means of achieving these goals. These students should be allowed to learn journalism without unreasonable editorial constraints on their basic freedoms of speech and of press. General constraints and broad editorial censorship of the works of students based simply on the authority of the school must be tempered and regulated by specific rules designed to support the students' ability to tell the stories that matter to them, to their peers, and to their school community. This measure establishes a student free expression act to allow journalism students to exercise freedom of speech and freedom of press in school-sponsored media, limited only by very similar limitations imposed on professional journalists.

Your Committee has amended this measure by inserting an effective date of July 1, 2055, to encourage further discussion.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Education that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1529, H.D. 2, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1529, H.D. 2, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Judiciary.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Education,

________________________________

MICHELLE N. KIDANI, Chair