Bill > A07400

This bill implements a comprehensive Students' Bill of Rights for City University of New York (CUNY) institutions, establishing a set of key protections and rights for students. The bill defines important terms like "student journalist" and "school-sponsored media" and requires each institution to adopt written rules implementing these rights, which must be provided to students and posted on the institution's website. The bill guarantees several specific rights, including: the ability for elected student leaders to message the student body with prior approval; student participation in conduct hearings and policy-making bodies; access to designated free speech spaces; extensive protections for student journalists' free speech and press rights in school-sponsored media, including prohibitions on prior restraint and retaliation against student media advisors; and the right for student government or the student body to decide how student activity fees are allocated. The bill also includes important limitations on student expression, such as exceptions for libelous, obscene, or potentially unlawful speech, while emphasizing that student expressions do not represent the institution's official stance and that institutions are generally not liable for such expressions. The provisions are designed to protect student autonomy, free speech, and participation in campus governance, with the law set to take effect on the first of July following its passage.

Education

https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2025/A7400