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Committee adopts amendment and advances bill to protect student journalists' First Amendment rights
Summary
The Senate Education Committee adopted an amendment and voted to advance House Bill 1231, which sponsors said clarifies First Amendment protections for student journalists at higher‑education institutions while excluding libel, slander and obscene material as defined by state law.
The Senate Education Committee on Monday adopted Amendment 2 and advanced House Bill 1231, legislation sponsors described as safeguarding the First Amendment rights of student journalists at institutions of higher education.
Senator Johnson, who presented the amendment, said the change is largely grammatical — replacing "involves" with "involved" — and that the bill protects school‑sponsored media while preserving exceptions for libel, slander and obscene material as defined by Arkansas law. After adopting the amendment by voice vote, the committee approved the bill.
Supporters told the committee the measure balances student free‑speech protections with adviser responsibilities and existing law. Senator Johnson said the bill focuses on higher education and that separate measures would address secondary schools at another time.
There were no recorded roll‑call tallies in the transcript; votes were taken by voice and the chair declared the amendment and the bill adopted. The committee offered the bill a favorable report and moved on to the next agenda item.
