The Student Press Law Center is the nation’s only legal organization devoted exclusively to defending and advancing the free press rights of student journalists. For more than 50 years, we’ve helped students and their educators navigate the law, strengthen their reporting and stand up for press freedom.
Creating an open records request is easy with our fully automated, fill-in-the-blanks state open records law letter generator.
If a government agency denies your request for records, use our templates to file a complaint in court and learn about legal options in your state.
As thousands of students across the country walked out of school in January and February to protest the killing of two Minneapolis residents by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, many student journalists were prevented from covering one of the biggest stories of the year. It was the single largest subject of censorship reported to SPLC’s Legal Hotline this school year.
It has been a turbulent year in the courts for student journalism, with a number of decided and ongoing cases that could have long-lasting implications for student press freedom and beyond. The Student Press Law Center reviews where eight of these cases stand right now.
More than 150 student journalists from all 25 public high schools in Montgomery County, Maryland, sent an open letter today demanding their district comply with the state’s New Voices legislation after the release of an alarming memo that requires principals to read and approve every story before publication.
