A recent letter to the editor criticized me for supporting a bill to strengthen freedom of the press for student newspapers. Virtually every statement in the letter was factually incorrect.

First, the author claimed there have been no problems with censorship of student newspapers in Washington. In fact, numerous, specific instances of well documented, inappropriate censorship from Everett to Vashon Island led me to support the bill.

Second, the author claimed, "responsible journalists recognize the bill is not needed." In fact, the professional WA Newspaper Publishers Association supports the bill.

Third, the author claimed the bill would remove adult supervision of student publications. In fact, the bill still allows prior review, instruction, guidance and oversight.

Fourth, the author claimed the bill would open school districts up to liability. In fact, the bill exempts school districts from liability.

Finally, the author claimed all kinds of horrible things (lawsuits, high insurance rates, students run amok) would happen if such a bill were passed. In fact, seven other states have this law on the books and have experienced absolutely no problems whatsoever. Zero litigation. Zero impact on insurance rates. Zero problems.

The only thing happening in these other states is better student journalism and the development of a generation of young people with a better appreciation for their constitutional rights and responsibilities.

We've had eight years of people using fear, misinformation and lies in order to weaken constitutional protections. A recent survey by the Knight Foundation found that 49 percent of high school students agreed with the statement, "It is OK for the government to censor the news." A healthy democracy depends upon informed, engaged citizens.

We need to teach and model those responsibilities in our schools. All of the journalism education associations in the state support the bill, and have joined the Coalition for Responsible Student Expression-- a diverse coalition of nearly twenty respected organizations supporting student press freedom. I'm proud to stand on the side of educators in opposition to government censorship and in defense of freedom of the student press.

Dave Upthegrove

State Representative

33rd District