It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of Sarah Doerner, IJEA’s longest-serving president. Sarah died Nov. 29 in Du Quoin at the age of 86. Services were held Dec. 7. See below for our tribute to this great journalism educator.
High school seniors! Get your portfolios ready for the 2025 Illinois Journalist of the Year Contest! Entries will be due Feb. 15.
The winners of the 2024 IJEA Yearbook Contest have been announced! Check out our article below for the full listing of honorees!
A big thank you to everyone who attended our 2024 Fall Conference, which took place Sept. 20 at Illinois State University. The sessions were amazing! Thank you to all of our presenters!
Advisers! Join IJEA today! Annual memberships and lifetime memberships are available. Use our online form or fillable PDF to join!

Illinois Journalism Education Association, 2501 Chatham Road, Suite 200, Springfield, IL 62704

Illinois JEA

Still unclear on how HB 5902 affects Illinois advisers, students? This Q&A will help!

October 19, 2016

Note: This information is courtesy of Frank LoMonte of the Student Press Law Center. If you have additional questions, please contact the SPLC through their legal request site, by email, or call (202)...

Full text of HB 5902: Speech Rights of Student Journalists Act

October 19, 2016

Public Act 099-0678 HB5902 As Passed AN ACT concerning education. Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly: Section 1. Short title. This Act may...

When schools take free speech seriously, so do students

By Randy Swikle, IJEA Board Member • October 23, 2015

That's what Randy Swikle learned during his 25 years at Johnsburg High School. Sure, free speech is risky, but when a school builds a culture of trust, students show time and again that they'll live up to the responsibilities they're given.

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