S 68 New York Senate · 2025 Regular Session

Relates to the enactment of the student journalism education act

Summary
Enacts the student journalist education act to protect student speech at educational institutions unless such speech is libelous, an invasion of privacy, or incites students to commit an unlawful act, violate school policies, or to materially and substantially disrupt the orderly operation of the school.
Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2025
Committee Review
Floor Vote
Governor
Introduced Jan 8, 2025 Last action Apr 2, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

S68 S68A · 4 edits
MODERATE
The bill was renamed from the 'Student Journalist Free Speech Act' to the 'Student Journalism Education Act,' shifting the focus from protecting free speech rights to establishing educational principles for journalism. The most significant substantive change is the addition of a new requirement for school officials to identify specific legal exemptions when they decide to restrict student expression, adding a layer of procedural accountability. Additionally, the definition of unprotected speech was expanded to include 'profane' content, and the liability section was restructured to clarify that the law does not impose a duty on administrators to review media before publication.
Scope change
The bill's scope shifted from a broad free speech protection framework to a more structured 'education principles' framework, with added procedural requirements for administrators restricting speech.
SCOPE

The bill title and section headers were changed from 'Student Journalist Free Speech Act' and 'Student journalist free speech rights' to 'Student Journalism Education Act' and 'Student journalism education principles,' indicating a shift in legislative intent toward education rather than just free speech protection.

REQUIREMENT

A new subsection was added requiring school officials to explicitly identify the specific provisions of the law under which they are limiting student expression, ensuring that any restriction is clearly justified by the statute's exemptions.

The liability section was reorganized to explicitly state that the law does not require administrators to review school media prior to publication, clarifying that pre-publication review is optional, not mandatory.

DEFINITION

The list of unprotected expression in the exemptions section was expanded to include 'profane' speech alongside libelous, slanderous, obscene, and privacy-invasive content.

Floor votes

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Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
4
Key actions
2
Committee
2
Amendments
2
Apr 2, 2026
Upper · Passed
PRINT NUMBER 68A
upper
Apr 2, 2026
Upper · Passed
AMEND (T) AND RECOMMIT TO EDUCATION
upper
Jan 7, 2026
Committee
REFERRED TO EDUCATION
upper
Jan 8, 2025
Committee
REFERRED TO EDUCATION
upper
1 primary · 17 co-sponsors

Sponsors