Bill to include charter schools in Calif. student free expression law passes State Senate
CALIFORNIA -- The California State Senate unanimously passed a bill Monday that extends the rights of student free expression to charter school students, confirmed Adam Keigwin, chief of staff for Sen. Leland Yee, D-San Francisco/San Mateo.
The unanimous vote "speaks volumes for this issue," Keigwin said.
The bill will now go to the State Assembly where Keigwin said it will likely reach a vote by March in either the education committee of the judiciary committee.
Keigwin said a similar outcome is anticipated in the assembly, since the original student speech bill passed and this is simply a "restating" of that bill "clearing up any ambiguity."
The bill, introduced by Yee, amends California Education Code Section 48907 -- the state's student free expression code -- to read "pupils of the public schools, including charter schools, shall have the right to exercise freedom of speech and of the press ..."
This will also amend California Education Code Section 48950, also known as the "Leonard Law," which protects any student action on a public or private campus that would be protected off campus by a student's first amendment rights.