Nevada makes 12. Who will be next?

Nevada became the latest state to pass New Voices legislation when Gov. Brian Sandoval signed SB 420 into law June 2. The law goes into effect Oct. 1.

Nevada’s signing  followed a similar signing a week earlier in Vermont, making 12 states protecting state legislation.

Supporters of Nevada’s New Voices Facebook page posted, “Thank you, followers and supporters, for making history and giving real meaning back to Justice Fortas’ reminder that neither students nor their advisers ‘shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate.’ You have helped ensure that student journalism in Nevada can be, as Justice Brennan famously said, uninhibited, robust, and wide open.'”

As Dan Brown had main character Robert Langdon say in The Lost Symbol, “We are builders. We are creators…” Creating state protection for student free expression is one of the best ways to ensure a long-term foundation for democracy.

Advocating free expression is not a decision to rush into lightly,  but there are a plethora of resources available, and people ready to explain them and assist you. And results creates achieve are immensely worthwhile.

Here are some key links:

• Center of Scholastic Journalism video of its 2016 Legislation Conference

• New Voices  website or Facebook pages

• SPRC’s Blueprint for state legislation

• Individual states seeking to pass legislation  have online sites and Facebook links.