AB 2581 (2006) made California the first state in the nation to specifically prohibit censorship of college student press and explicitly granted free speech rights to students. SB 1370 (2008) further protects school employees from retaliation for assisting students in exercising such speech rights.
Although California may lead the nation in providing legal protections for student speech rights, a report released this week showed nearly 70 percent of our public universities are violating state law or the US Constitution through policies restricting free expression."