Freedom of the press guarantees would be extended to Hawaii public school and college student journalists if House Bill 1848 passes.

It would also protect advisers of student “media” if the advisers support students’ rights to freedom of the press.

Cynthia Reves, president of the Hawaii Scholastic Journalism Association and faculty adviser for the McKinley High School student newspaper The Pinion, called HB 1848 “the right language to have” for student journalists.

“It can address future problems and also problems that might exist now that advisers aren’t even aware that their administrators are censoring them,” Reves said.

Similar bills have been introduced before in the Legislature, and HB 781 and Senate Bill 214 were carried over from the 2021 legislative session.

“It’s really important because schools are supposed to be helping and training students for adult life,” said Tia Cunningham, a senior at McKinley High School, who has been writing for The Pinion for two years. “If we can’t express ourselves as students, how are we going to be able to confidently express ourselves as adults?”

On the mainland, 15 states have implemented similar laws, most recently New Jersey.

State Rep. Gregg Takayama (D, Pearl City-Waimalu- Pacific Palisades) worked at the Honolulu Star-Bulletin and KHON-TV and has heard concerns that student journalists might take advantage of new press freedoms.

“I think there’s fear on the opponents’ part that students will run wild and be irresponsible in terms of reporting for their student newspapers, but I don’t see it that way,” Takayama said. “The bill provides that there will still be oversight on the part of teachers and administrators. If they see something that’s libelous or slanderous, they could intervene.”

Student publications have been responsible in their reporting, Takayama said. Takayama said being an active high school journalist helped him to learn journalistic responsibility.

Shane Kaneshiro, a McKinley High School sophomore, has written for The Pinion for two years. He appreciates the journalistic support from McKinley Principal Ron Okamura.

“We don’t want to be lucky,” Kaneshiro said. “We want to be protected.”

Cunningham, Kaneshiro’s Pinion colleague, hopes that passage of HB 1848 will give student journalists confidence to tackle more complex and controversial stories.

In written testimony about HB 1848, one person expressed concern so far.

“They (teenagers) have limited resources to see the whole perspectives of one events,” Shuang Liang wrote. “If administration does not have control at the publication at all, risk to the school might appear.”

So far, 24 people have submitted written testimony in support of HB 1848, which passed out of the House Higher Education and Technology Committee last week.

Kaneshiro, the McKinley newspaper sophomore, understands concerns that student journalists might report irresponsibly if given more protections.

“We don’t do that,” Kaneshiro said. “We’re just reporting the truth.”