Bill would encourage policies on student expression

The Education Committee heard testimony March 8 on a bill that would encourage school districts to adopt a policy on student expression and clarify students’ rights.

LB582, introduced by Sen. Ken Haar of Malcolm, would affirm a student’s right to:
• express his or her thoughts and beliefs through speech and symbols;
• create, write, publish, perform and disseminate his or her views; and
• assemble peacefully with other students on school property for the purpose of expressing opinions.

The bill also would prohibit student expression that is obscene, defamatory, creates a clear and present danger, causes substantial disruption of the school’s operation or invades the privacy of others.

Haar said the bill would restore a level of protection of students’ right to free speech.

“If we want our young people to learn about freedom, then our schools need to teach [them] that,” Haar said.

Amy Miller, legal director of ACLU Nebraska, testifying in support, said school administrators need to increase their awareness about students’ rights.

“My office is fielding [complaints] about once a month and we are usually able to resolve it without litigation,” Miller said.

“[LB582] does not solve the problem,” she said. “But it moves us towards a better place than we are right now where administrators do not have enough guidance.”

Miller said the best, brightest and most successful students are the ones who currently are being “squelched” and would be protected under LB582.

Adam Morfeld, executive director of Nebraskans for Civic Reform, also testified in support of the bill.

“There is a disconnect between what is taught and what is actually practiced in schools,” Morfeld said. “If we are not teaching civil discourse in our high schools … how do we expect our leaders to have that in the real world?”

Lincoln attorney John Recknor testified in opposition to the bill, saying it is too vague.

Recknor questioned how teachers could easily determine a student’s expression to be obscene when the Supreme Court has difficulty doing so.

“It is a huge mistake to adopt a bill where, instead of solving a problem, you create a whole new flight of things for [attorneys] to litigate,” Recknor said.

Brian Hale, director of the Nebraska Association of School Boards, testified in opposition, saying the bill could be misleading to students.

Hale said that giving students the expectation that their selfexpression will be accepted without any reservation seems “disingenuous” and does not prepare them for what actually happens in the workplace.

The committee took no immediate action on the bill.