HR105 HD1

WHEREAS, the Department of Education distributes to every student a Student Publication/Audio/Video Release Form "in order to protect students' rights to privacy as outlined in the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA),"; and

WHEREAS, the Student Publication/Audio/Video Release Form must be returned with a parent's signature so that, as stated on the Form, "the student's names and/or likenesses, photo, video, and/or audio may be used in HIDOE school-related publication print and analog/digital media"; and

WHEREAS, the Student Publication/Audio/Video Release Form lists "name and picture in annual yearbook" as an example of a Department of Education or school-related publication covered by FERPA; and

WHEREAS, in a survey of high school student media advisers, all advisers indicated they believe their administrator believes a signed Student Publication/Audio/Video Release form is required to use a student's name and/or photo in school-sponsored student-produced media, such as yearbooks, newspapers, broadcasts, and literary magazines; and

WHEREAS, the Hawaii Student Journalism Protection Act, enacted under Act 24, Session Laws of Hawaii 2022, and Board of Education Policy 101-9 allows student journalists at public schools to exercise freedom of speech and freedom of the press in school-sponsored media, and protects advisers from retaliation for refusing to infringe upon student press freedom; and

WHEREAS, the Hawaii Student Journalism Protection Act and Board of Education Policy 101-9 state that a student journalist shall be responsible for determining the news, opinion, feature, and advertising content of school-sponsored media; and

WHEREAS, the Hawaii Student Journalism Protection Act and Board of Education Policy 101-9 define "student media" as material:

(1) Prepared, written, published, or broadcast in any media by a student journalist at a school;

(2) Distributed or generally made available, either free of charge or for a fee, to members of the student body; and

(3) Prepared under the direction of a student media adviser, regardless of whether the material is supported financially by the school or by use of facilities of the school or produced in conjunction with a class for which the student is enrolled; and

WHEREAS, the Hawaii Student Journalism Protection Act and Board of Education Policy 101-9 state that there shall be no prior constraint of material prepared for school-sponsored media except if the material:

(1) Is libelous or slanderous;

(2) Constitutes a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal;

(3) Violates state or federal law;

(4) Is obscene; or

(5) So incites students as to create a clear and present danger of the commission of an unlawful act, the violation of lawful school or board policies, or the material and substantial disruption of the orderly operation of the school; provided that the determination of a risk of material and substantial disruption shall be based upon specific facts, including past experience at the school and current events influencing student behavior, and not on undifferentiated fear or apprehension; and

WHEREAS, FERPA only restricts the release of information by school officials; outside parties, including student journalists, who are neither employees nor agents of the school, are not covered by FERPA; and

WHEREAS, minors can give consent as long as they are cognitively able to understand what it means to talk to a journalist; and

WHEREAS, student journalists follow the Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics to:

(1) Seek truth and report it;

(2) Minimize harm;

(3) Act independently; and

(4) Be accountable and transparent; and

WHEREAS, applying FERPA to student media is unnecessarily placing prior constraint on student journalists; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Thirty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2025, that this body supports free and responsible scholastic journalism and actively supports and honors the First Amendment of the United States Constitution in student publications; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Education is requested to, no later than December 31, 2025:

(1) Inform administrators that parent consent is not a legal requirement for publishing student names and photos in school-sponsored student-produced media; provided that the information is:

(A) Posted in a medium conspicuous to administrators and advisers of school-sponsored student-produced media; and

(B) Located across any media storage or document storage maintained by the Department of Education wherever the Student Publication/Audio/Video Release Form-General currently exists as a supplemental or advisory document;

(2) Revise the current Student Publication/Audio/Video Release Form-General to remove any language that would lead a reasonable person to assume the Form applies to school-sponsored student-produced media; and

(3) Update the Department of Education website related to student privacy to align with the revised Student Publication/Audio/Video Release Form; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Chair of the Board of Education and Superintendent of Education.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.R. NO.	105
THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2025		H.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII