HB1561: HB1561 Student Journalist Press Freedom Restoration Act; enact

Currently, school officials can have broad control over what appears in school-sponsored newspapers, yearbooks, and broadcasts. This bill, called the Student Journalist Press Freedom Restoration Act, would change that for secondary schools (grades six through twelve) that receive state funding and for public colleges and universities in Georgia. Student journalists would gain the right to decide the news, opinion, and feature content of school or institution sponsored media, and they could not be disciplined for exercising that right. Advisers who support students' free speech rights could not be fired, suspended, or otherwise punished for it. The protections do not cover libelous, obscene, or unlawful speech, or speech likely to cause serious disruption. Schools and colleges would have to adopt written policies covering distribution rules and appeals, and students or advisers could sue for injunctive relief and attorney's fees. The law would take effect as soon as the Governor signs it.

• Gives student journalists at qualifying secondary schools and public colleges the right to decide the content of school or institution sponsored media, with some exceptions.
• Bars discipline against student journalists for exercising these speech and press rights.
• Protects student media advisers from being fired, suspended, reassigned, or otherwise punished for supporting students' protected speech.
• Excludes libelous, obscene, privacy-invading, unlawful, or seriously disruptive speech from the law's protections.
• Requires schools and public colleges to adopt written policies on distribution rules and appeals for decisions under this law.
• Allows students or advisers to sue for injunctive or declaratory relief and lets courts award attorney's fees to a winning plaintiff.

Student journalists and their advisers at public and state-funded private secondary schools (grades six through twelve) and at public colleges and universities in Georgia, along with local school boards, school administrators, and college officials who must adopt new policies under the law.

If enacted, student reporters and editors would gain more control over what runs in school newspapers and campus media, and teachers who back them would have new job protections. Schools and colleges would need new written policies and could face lawsuits if they violate the law's terms.

• Section 1 lays out legislative findings that student journalists face censorship other students do not and that supportive advisers face professional risk.
• Section 3 adds a new article to Title 20 covering secondary schools, defining school sponsored media, student journalists, and student media advisers.
• Subsection (b) gives student journalists control over content regardless of school funding or facility use, and bars discipline for protected speech.
• Subsection (c) protects student media advisers from dismissal, suspension, or retaliation for defending protected student speech.
• Subsection (d) excludes libelous, obscene, privacy-invading, unlawful, or seriously disruptive speech, and requires disruption forecasts to rest on specific facts, not vague fear.
• Subsection (f) requires local school boards to adopt written policies on distribution and appeals; Section 4 applies matching rules to public colleges under a new Code Section 20-3-48.05.
• Subsection (g) lets students or advisers sue for injunctive or declaratory relief and allows courts to award attorney's fees to a prevailing plaintiff.
• Section 5 makes the law effective immediately upon the Governor's approval or upon becoming law without signature.

1. 2026-03-19House Second Readers (House)
2. 2026-03-18House First Readers (House)
3. 2026-03-16House Hopper (House)

• Akbar Ali (D, HD-106)Primary sponsor
• Phil Olaleye (D, HD-059)
• Eric Gisler (D, HD-121)
• Bryce Berry (D, HD-056)
• Ron Stephens (R, HD-164)

• student journalism
• press freedom
• school policy
• higher education
• free speech