New state law protects high school journalism advisors

The LA Times reports public school administrators can't fire or reassign journalism advisors because of what their students write in campus newspapers under a new state law.

Colorado provides similar protections for advisors but the new California law protects any school employee. At least 15 high school journalism advisors in the last three years have lost their jobs or been reassigned by administrators who perceived stories as critical, the Times reported.

The so-called Journalism Teacher Protection Act, which became law Thursday, prohibits school administrators from retaliating against advisors for trying to protect student press freedoms.

The measure, the most stringent of its kind in the nation, closes a loophole in state law that for years has ensured free speech rights for students but failed to guarantee protections for advisors, according to supporters. They say administrators have been able to exercise de facto campus censorship by clamping down on journalism advisors.