Indiana Senate won't vote on student journalism bill

Sen. Brandt Hershman, R-Buck Creek, did not call down House Bill 1130 to meet a key legislative deadline.

The legislation was pushed by high school and college-age students looking for state help to shield their investigations or reports.

It would have prevented public K-12 schools from disciplining students for expressing their First Amendment rights in a school-funded publication. It also would have stopped school officials from censoring publications unless the content is libelous or slanderous.

The bill would have required local school boards to have written policies governing oversight of student publications, including physical and online newspapers and magazines.

It passed the House this session by a vote of 88-4.