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Press Freedom at a Public Junior High or High School
The Supreme Court's 1988 decision in the case Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier defined the level of First Amendment protection public high school students working on school-sponsored publications are entitled to. That case was a follow up to the landmark 1969 Supreme Court decision in Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District. Together, these cases set the standards school officials must meet before they can legally censor student expression under the First Amendment. (State laws and regulations may provide additional protection -- see below.)
If you have a question about whether a particular act of censorship is legally permissible, go to the SPLC Virtual Lawyer.
The links below provide information about how the courts have defined the rights of junior high and high school student journalists.
- Understanding the Law
- The SPLC Hazelwood Guide. This guide to the U.S. Supreme Court decision is must-reading for high school journalists and their advisers faced with censorship problems. (PDF, ~1MB)
- The SPLC First Amendment Rights Diagram. The Hazelwood standard does not apply to all public high school student media. This diagram can help guide you through the Supreme Court's decision to let you know where you stand when threatened with censorship.
- Students with questions about stolen newspapers or other free-distribution publications should check out our Newspaper Theft Forum.
- What To Do If You Are Censored
- Working with Administrators
- "The Voice of Freedom." An award-winning high school newspaper adviser and his principal share their thoughts about how a student newspaper free from prior review and censorship works at their school in an article reprinted from Principal Leadership magazine. (Reproduced here with permission from the authors and the National Association of Secondary School Principals. All Rights Reserved.) (PDF Format - 448K)
- "Freeing the Student Press for Their Good and Ours." An article published in The School Administrator, a magazine produced by the American Association of School Administrators, in which a superintendent shares her thoughts on the educational value of an independent student press. (Reproduced here with permission from the AASA. All Rights Reserved.) (PDF Format - 74K)
- "I Didn't Always Think Well of the Student Press." An article published in The School Administrator, a magazine produced by the American Association of School Administrators, in which a superintendent shares his thoughts -- and his conversion -- regarding on the importance of a vibrant student press. (Reproduced here with permission from AASA. All Rights Reserved.)(PDF Format - 160K)
- Advisers
- Media Advisers Page: Lots of information for advisers confronting censorship issues, including a list of practical suggestions for fighting (and surviving) a censorship battle.
- Student Media Policies and Legislation
- SPLC Model Guidelines for Student Media. A clear school policy protecting student press freedom can prevent many censorship conflicts. Here is our recommendation.
- State Student Free Expression Laws & Regulations. A number of states have passed laws protecting student free press rights. Others have enacted regulations affecting the student media. Read them here.
- SPLC Model Legislation. At the request of some state legislators, the SPLC has drafted model state legislation to protect student free expression rights. Two versions are available here.
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