HOUSE BILL NO. 3309 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY REPRESENTATIVE SEITZ.
7147H.01I JOSEPH ENGLER, Chief Clerk
AN ACT To amend chapter 167, RSMo, by adding thereto one new section relating to protest activities.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Chapter 167, RSMo, is amended by adding thereto one new section, to be 2 known as section 167.075, to read as follows: 167.075. 1. No student shall establish, organize, or participate in any protest 2 activity on or off the property of a public school during regularly scheduled 3 instructional periods of learning if such activity materially and substantially disrupts 4 the public school's operations. 5 2. No person shall: 6 (1) Knowingly disrupt or interfere with the lawful administration or functions of 7 a public school or activity on school property in this state; 8 (2) Knowingly advise, counsel, or instruct any student or school employee to 9 disrupt any school or school function, activity on school property, or classroom; 10 (3) Knowingly interfere with the attendance of any student or school employee in 11 a school or classroom; or 12 (4) Conspire to riot or to engage in any school campus or school function 13 disruption or disturbance that interferes with the educational processes or with the 14 orderly conduct of a school campus, school, or school function or activity on school 15 property. 16
EXPLANATION — Matter enclosed in bold-faced brackets [thus] in the above bill is not enacted and is intended to be omitted from the law. Matter in bold-face type in the above bill is proposed language. HB 3309 2
17 This subsection shall apply to all public schools and functions or activities on school 18 property; however, nothing in this subsection shall deny public school employees the 19 opportunity to exercise their rights under state or federal law. 20 3. Consequences for students, teachers, and school districts or charter schools 21 shall include, but are not limited to, the following: 22 (1) Students who leave a scheduled instructional period without authorization to 23 participate in a protest activity or demonstration shall be marked absent from school; 24 (2) Teachers who facilitate walkouts shall be subject to an investigation and 25 sanctions, including licensure revocation; and 26 (3) School districts or charter schools that allow, encourage, or facilitate 27 walkouts shall be at risk of losing daily attendance funding and shall be subject to an 28 investigation and sanctions. 29 4. Students in public schools retain the right to free expression consistent with 30 the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States and Article I, Section 8 of 31 the Constitution of Missouri. 32 5. A school district or charter school may adopt and enforce content-neutral 33 policies governing the time, place, and manner of student expression, including protest 34 activities, provided that such policies are reasonably related to legitimate pedagogical 35 concerns and the orderly operation of the district or school. 36 6. No student shall be disciplined solely for engaging in peaceful expression 37 unless the student's conduct: 38 (1) Materially and substantially disrupts the work and discipline of the school; 39 (2) Infringes upon the rights of other students or school personnel; or 40 (3) Violates content-neutral time, place, and manner restrictions. 41 7. Nothing in this section shall be construed to: 42 (1) Prohibit voluntary, nondisruptive student expression that occurs outside 43 scheduled instructional time; 44 (2) Limit lawful activities protected under state or federal law; or 45 (3) Authorize the suppression of expression based on viewpoint. ✔
Statutes affected: