Public high school and college journalists have free-speech rights protected by California law, even if their publishers principals and administrators don't like it. Often that puts the journalism adviser in a spot: Student journalists can criticize the administration with impunity. The faculty adviser may take the heat.

But not anymore. State Sen. Leland Yee's "Journalism Teacher Protection Act" was signed into law at the close of the legislative session. A school employee can't be fired, disciplined or reassigned for protecting a student's "constitutionally protected speech." That includes everything but libel, obscenity and speech likely to lead to lawbreaking or disorder.Administrators can remove faculty advisers for poor performance.

Yee cited a Los Angeles teacher who was fired as newspaper adviser for refusing to cut an editorial criticizing random searches on campus. Then he lost his job as basketball coach and as announcer for the football games. In another incident, an Orange County principal admitted removing the newspaper adviser because of student editorials.

Administrators control budgets, which gives them lots of power. That field trip request? Gosh, we can't afford it. Students perennially try to push the boundaries of good taste and good sense. Hey, let's do a series on the school's sexiest teachers! No? Why not? It's not easy to be a faculty adviser. But it's now a little safer.