Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas House Bill HB4821 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	89R3153 ANG-F
2	2	By: Hinojosa H.B. No. 4821
3	3
4	4
5	5
6	6
7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to speech protections for student media publications in
10	10	public schools.
11	11	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
12	12	SECTION 1. Subchapter Z, Chapter 25, Education Code, is
13	13	amended by adding Section 25.905 to read as follows:
14	14	Sec. 25.905. STUDENT MEDIA PUBLICATIONS. (a) In this
15	15	section:
16	16	(1) "Protected speech" means speech protected by the
17	17	First Amendment to the United States Constitution or by Section 8,
18	18	Article I, Texas Constitution. The term does not include speech
19	19	that:
20	20	(A) is obscene;
21	21	(B) is defamatory, libelous, or slanderous;
22	22	(C) constitutes a clear, unwarranted invasion of
23	23	privacy;
24	24	(D) violates a federal or state law to the extent
25	25	that law conforms to the United States Constitution or the Texas
26	26	Constitution;
27	27	(E) advertises or promotes the purchase of a
28	28	product or service that is unlawful for purchase by minors;
29	29	(F) is intended to incite the imminent commission
30	30	of a crime or violation of school policy and is likely to produce
31	31	that result; or
32	32	(G) substantially disrupts a school's operation.
33	33	(2) "Student media publication" means any material
34	34	that is primarily prepared, written, published, or broadcast by
35	35	students enrolled at a school district campus who are under the
36	36	direction of a student media publication advisor if the material is
37	37	distributed or generally made available to students enrolled at the
38	38	campus. The term does not include material intended for
39	39	distribution only in the classroom in which the material is
40	40	produced.
41	41	(3) "Student media publication advisor" means an
42	42	individual employed or designated by a school district or campus of
43	43	a district to supervise or provide instruction relating to student
44	44	media publications.
45	45	(b) A student is entitled to exercise freedom of speech and
46	46	freedom of the press in producing any student media publication,
47	47	including by determining the content of the publication so long as
48	48	the content constitutes protected speech, regardless of whether the
49	49	publication is produced using the school district's money,
50	50	equipment, or facilities or in conjunction with any class in which
51	51	the student is enrolled. A student may not be disciplined for
52	52	acting in accordance with this subsection.
53	53	(c) Subsection (b) may not be construed to prohibit a
54	54	student media publication advisor from teaching professional
55	55	standards of English and journalism to students.
56	56	(d) A student media publication advisor may not be subjected
57	57	to disciplinary action or any other form of punishment or
58	58	retaliation for acting to protect or refusing to infringe on a
59	59	student's rights as provided by this section.
60	60	(e) The content of a student media publication may not be
61	61	construed as the policy or position of the campus at which the
62	62	publication is produced or the school district in which the campus
63	63	is located.
64	64	(f) A school district, a student media publication advisor
65	65	of a district campus, or any employee of the district is not liable
66	66	in any civil or criminal action for the content of a student media
67	67	publication produced by students enrolled at a district campus
68	68	unless the district, advisor, or employee acted with wilful or
69	69	wanton misconduct in permitting the publication to be produced.
70	70	(g) The board of trustees of a school district shall adopt a
71	71	written policy establishing rules regarding students' right to
72	72	exercise freedom of speech and freedom of the press in producing any
73	73	student media publication.
74	74	(h) The policy adopted under Subsection (g) may include:
75	75	(1) reasonable restrictions on the time, place, and
76	76	manner of student expression in a student media publication if
77	77	those restrictions:
78	78	(A) are necessary to further a compelling school
79	79	district interest and are the least restrictive means of furthering
80	80	that interest;
81	81	(B) employ clear, published, content-neutral,
82	82	and viewpoint-neutral criteria; and
83	83	(C) leave open ample alternative means of
84	84	expression; and
85	85	(2) limitations on speech that is not protected
86	86	speech, including speech the board of trustees defines as profane,
87	87	harassing, threatening, or intimidating.
88	88	(i) A school administrator shall:
89	89	(1) interpret the policy adopted under Subsection (g)
90	90	in accordance with law; and
91	91	(2) determine whether a student media publication
92	92	includes speech that is not protected.
93	93	(j) A student, individually or through the student's parent
94	94	or person standing in parental relation to the student, whose
95	95	freedom of speech, freedom of the press, or expressive rights have
96	96	been violated under this section or a student media publication
97	97	advisor may bring an action for injunctive relief to compel the
98	98	school district to comply with this section.
99	99	(k) In addition to the injunctive relief under Subsection
100	100	(j), a person whose freedom of speech, freedom of the press, or
101	101	expressive rights are affected by a policy adopted by a school
102	102	district under this section may file suit against the district for
103	103	declaratory judgment in the manner provided by Chapter 37, Civil
104	104	Practice and Remedies Code.
105	105	SECTION 2. Section 12.104(b), Education Code, is amended to
106	106	read as follows:
107	107	(b) An open-enrollment charter school is subject to:
108	108	(1) a provision of this title establishing a criminal
109	109	offense;
110	110	(2) the provisions in Chapter 554, Government Code;
111	111	and
112	112	(3) a prohibition, restriction, or requirement, as
113	113	applicable, imposed by this title or a rule adopted under this
114	114	title, relating to:
115	115	(A) the Public Education Information Management
116	116	System (PEIMS) to the extent necessary to monitor compliance with
117	117	this subchapter as determined by the commissioner;
118	118	(B) criminal history records under Subchapter C,
119	119	Chapter 22;
120	120	(C) reading instruments and accelerated reading
121	121	instruction programs under Section 28.006;
122	122	(D) accelerated instruction under Section
123	123	28.0211;
124	124	(E) high school graduation requirements under
125	125	Section 28.025;
126	126	(F) special education programs under Subchapter
127	127	A, Chapter 29;
128	128	(G) bilingual education under Subchapter B,
129	129	Chapter 29;
130	130	(H) prekindergarten programs under Subchapter E
131	131	or E-1, Chapter 29, except class size limits for prekindergarten
132	132	classes imposed under Section 25.112, which do not apply;
133	133	(I) extracurricular activities under Section
134	134	33.081;
135	135	(J) discipline management practices or behavior
136	136	management techniques under Section 37.0021;
137	137	(K) health and safety under Chapter 38;
138	138	(L) the provisions of Subchapter A, Chapter 39;
139	139	(M) public school accountability and special
140	140	investigations under Subchapters A, B, C, D, F, G, and J, Chapter
141	141	39, and Chapter 39A;
142	142	(N) the requirement under Section 21.006 to
143	143	report an educator's misconduct;
144	144	(O) intensive programs of instruction under
145	145	Section 28.0213;
146	146	(P) the right of a school employee to report a
147	147	crime, as provided by Section 37.148;
148	148	(Q) bullying prevention policies and procedures
149	149	under Section 37.0832;
150	150	(R) the right of a school under Section 37.0052
151	151	to place a student who has engaged in certain bullying behavior in a
152	152	disciplinary alternative education program or to expel the student;
153	153	(S) the right under Section 37.0151 to report to
154	154	local law enforcement certain conduct constituting assault or
155	155	harassment;
156	156	(T) a parent's right to information regarding the
157	157	provision of assistance for learning difficulties to the parent's
158	158	child as provided by Sections 26.004(b)(11) and 26.0081(c) and (d);
159	159	(U) establishment of residency under Section
160	160	25.001;
161	161	(V) school safety requirements under Sections
162	162	37.0814, 37.108, 37.1081, 37.1082, 37.1083, 37.1084, 37.1085,
163	163	37.1086, 37.109, 37.113, 37.114, 37.1141, 37.115, 37.207, and
164	164	37.2071 and Subchapter J, Chapter 37;
165	165	(W) the early childhood literacy and mathematics
166	166	proficiency plans under Section 11.185;
167	167	(X) the college, career, and military readiness
168	168	plans under Section 11.186; [and]
169	169	(Y) parental options to retain a student under
170	170	Section 28.02124; and
171	171	(Z) speech protections for student media
172	172	publications under Section 25.905.
173	173	SECTION 3. This Act applies beginning with the 2025-2026
174	174	school year.
175	175	SECTION 4. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
176	176	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
177	177	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
178	178	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
179	179	Act takes effect September 1, 2025.