Bill protecting political expression in public schools advances

By Kaleb Anderson and Sophia Gromowsky, Missouri News Network
JEFFERSON CITY — A bill that would expand protections for political and ideological expression in K-12 public schools received initial approval by the House of Representatives on Tuesday.
The “Missouri Safeguarding Personal Expression at K-12 Schools (SPEAKS) Act,” sponsored by Rep. Darin Chappell, R-Rogersville, would grant students the right to express political and ideological viewpoints in class, within relevant assignments and through campus organizing.
Time and manner restrictions are still applicable, and the bill does not protect student speech that “disrupts school operations or the expressive activity of another individual.”
Additionally, the bill prohibits discrimination against student clubs based on their religious, political or ideological viewpoints.
Rep. Kem Smith, D-Florissant, questioned the necessity of the bill since the First Amendment already protects students’ right to free speech.
Chappell said that the SPEAKS Act would further solidify students’ First Amendment rights under Missouri law and also give parents clear legal recourse if they believe their child’s right to free speech is violated.
“It’s distressing to me to think that somebody might be willing to violate the rights of a child as long as it doesn’t cost them anything,” Chappell said. “Parents, by this bill, will have the ability to appeal to the federal courts should they believe that the First Amendment rights of their children have been violated.”
Rep. LaKeySha Bosley, D-St. Louis, raised the concern that the bill included no guardrails to protect against hate speech. She said that children typically imitate behaviors they observe at home and worried that students who mimic hateful speech at school will face no consequences under the new act’s protections.
“There are some parents out there who may fly a Confederate flag and say very egregious and hurtful things about people who look like me, and kids will create a club to go with that,” Bosley said. “This bill doesn’t say we’re not going to stop certain speeches that are protected.”
Rep. Ian Mackey, D-St. Louis, shared a story from his time as a public school teacher, in which a white student told a black student that interracial marriage was sinful.
He pointed to statutes that instruct teachers to intervene to prevent bullying in the classroom and questioned where the line would be drawn between protecting free speech and preventing harm to other students.
Chappell countered that the bill would create an environment where “bad speech” would be combated by more speech.
“If (the First Amendment) doesn’t protect speech we find objectionable, it doesn’t protect any speech,” Chappell said. “Because there’s always somebody, especially in today’s culture, there’s always somebody who’s offended by something.”
He expressed that teaching children how to use their words to disagree with opposing viewpoints is an essential part of preparing them for adulthood.
“We have neglected the responsibility to expose children to bigger ideas as they mature, so that when they leave the educational system, they’re ready to take their place in society,” Chappell said.