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CSMA Adviser Update

America needs journalists... and journalism teachers

CSMA AdviserUpdateAmerica needs journalists... and journalism teachers

Committee hearing on our amendment to the 1990 Student Free Expression law is next Thursday

You and your students should pay attention to an amendment to our 1990 state law that Rep. Barbara McLachlan (D-Durango) is sponsoring in the House. Sen. Don Coram (R-Montrose) will be sponsoring the bill in the State Senate. We will try to keep everyone in the loop, as it were, as this bill makes its way through the legislative process.


The House Education Committee hearing on this bill is Feb. 6 (one week from today), 1:30 p.m., in room 0107 in the Capitol. If you wish to write a letter of support, particularly for the added Section 9, covering explicit adviser protections when educators simply support the guaranteed rights of media students, please email your remarks ASAP.


If you have comments you would be willing to make to the committee about the importance of the added Section 9, particularly, please contact Advocacy Coordinator Sergio Yanes at Sergio.Yanes@jeffco.k12.co.us ASAP.


CSMA is willing to reimburse advisers who need to testify in person for their sub. Contact Jack Kennedy for details.


It is an amendment, not a new bill, with two major aims: 1) to modernize language that describes the various media platforms students use; and 2) to add common sense protections for advisers of student media who are simply supporting the guaranteed rights of their students.


The applicable language proposed in the draft of the bill:


From Section 1:

The general assembly declares that students of the public schools shall have the right to exercise freedom of speech and of the press, and no expression contained in a student publication, WHETHER PRINTED, BROADCAST, OR ONLINE, AND whether or not such publication is school-sponsored, IS subject to prior restraint except for the types of expression described in subsection (3) of this section.


Added Section 9:

A PUBLIC SCHOOL EMPLOYEE MUST NOT BE DISMISSED, SUSPENDED, DISCIPLINED, REASSIGNED, TRANSFERRED, OR OTHERWISE RETALIATED AGAINST SOLELY FOR ACTING TO PROTECT A STUDENT ENGAGED IN THE CONDUCT AUTHORIZED PURSUANT TO THIS SECTION OR FOR REFUSING TO INFRINGE UPON CONDUCT THAT IS PROTECTED BY THIS SECTION OR THE FIRST AMENDMENT TO THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION.

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ONE DAY coverage challenge winners announced

Six schools will share a total of $950 in vouchers, to be used for CSMA events in 2020, to honor their exemplary work covering just a typical Friday in December (Dec. 6).


Erie HS got the nod as the overall best entry, earning a $200 voucher. The other schools honored receive $150.


You can see samples of the entries here. Most of the schools honored had not entered this ad hoc contest prior to this year.


The variety of coverage, mostly online and video, provides a useful snapshot of what is happening in Colorado schools, and it's an encouraging picture.

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90 days 'til Earth Day 50

This isn't just any Earth Day — April 22, 2020 will mark 50 years of Earth Day.

Ready to build the buzz to the 50th anniversary of Earth Day? Here's how you can help this week:

  • Not sure how to take action for April 22 yet? We can work together to identify the right fit for your audiences to make Earth Day a pivotal moment of action in a year that needs to be a turning point for our planet.
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Portfolios for Greer Scholarship due Feb. 15

The Dorothy Greer Scholarship is our most prestigious student award and is better known as the Colorado Student Journalist of the Year.


It brings a $3,000 scholarship for the winner and a $1,500 award for the runner-up.


Read all about the requirements on our site. If seniors have not begun putting together their online portfolio, no time to waste. The winner will be advanced to the JEA National Student Journalist of the Year competition.


Contact JEA State Director and Greer Chair Justin Daigle at jdaigle@sd27j.net with questions.

Thanks for being an important part of our state association

Colorado Student Media Association memberships are by school medium, and we offer four options: print news, yearbook, online, and video media. A single membership is $65. We offer a convenient online membership form, and you can choose either to pay with a school credit card or ask to be invoiced.


Spring is busy for everyone, with lots of scholarship opportunities, individual contests, and much more. Watch for your weekly e-newsletter for details and be sure to check our website for the latest information.

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Connect with CSMA

Email: jpkjournalism@gmail.com
Website: colostudentmedia.com
Location: 9253 Sori Lane, Highlands Ranch CO
Phone: 303-550-4755
Facebook: facebook.com/coloradostudentmedia
Twitter: @ColoradoSMA