Draft STUDENT FREE EXPRESSION BILL
States that have student free expression bills
DRAFT
FOR AN ACT relating to students; to adopt the Student Free Expression Act. Be it enacted by the people of the State of Nebraska,
Section 1. This Act shall be known and may be cited as the Student Free Expression Act.
Sec. 2. The Legislature finds that the State of Nebraska has an obligation to protect the free expression rights of public school students in order to instill in students the value of democracy and to prepare students for informed and active civic participation. To that end, the right of students to free expression in all public schools in Nebraska shall not be abridged.
Sec. 3. Student freedom of expression shall include the rights of students to express their thoughts and beliefs through speech and symbols; to write, publish, and disseminate their views; and to assemble peaceably on school property for the purpose of expressing their opinions.
(1) The following forms of student expression are prohibited:
(a) expression which is obscene;
(b) expression which is libelous, slanderous or defamatory under state law;
(c) expression which creates a clear and present danger of unlawful acts, causes material and substantial disruption of the orderly operation of the school, or violates the privacy rights of others.
Sec. 4. No expression made by students in the retention of their free expression rights shall be deemed to be an expression of school policy and no school, school district, teacher, administrator, school board member, parent or legal guardian shall be held responsible or liable in any civil or criminal action for any exercise of free expression made or published by students.
Sec. 5. No certified public school teacher or administrator shall be fired, transferred, reassigned, or removed from his or her position for refusing to suppress the protected free expression rights of students.
Sec. 6. Each governing board of a school district shall adopt rules and regulations in the form of a written student freedom of expression policy in accordance with this section, which shall include reasonable provisions for the time, place, and manner of student expression and which shall be distributed to all students at the beginning of each school year.