FLORIDA — A student editor at Florida Atlantic University has been disciplined for what school officials say was his refusal to follow police orders to leave a crime scene. Dylan Bouscher, the editor, said he was reporting on a a public space, but agreed to accept two of four student disciplinary charges because he feared he would face criminal charges if he did not.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — After a lengthy debate about the definition of “journalist,” the Senate Judiciary Committee has approved legislation that would establish a reporter’s privilege not to disclose confidential sources. There’s no timeline for when the bill, which protects college journalists, will go before the full Senate.
CALIFORNIA — A California school district replaced its controversial social media monitoring policy after students and parents complained. The policy went into effect this year and allowed the school district to punish students for online posts the school deemed “inappropriate.” Students were required to sign the policy as a condition of participating in extracurricular activities. The Lodi Unified School District replaced the contract with guidelines for responsible social media use.
OREGON — Editors at the University of Oregon’s conservative-leaning Oregon Commentator say they were told they could not use the money from the magazine’s budget to pay for public records requests because the paper receives student fee money. The school said it will look into the issue further.
NEW JERSEY — A longtime adviser at Hunterdon Central Regional High School in New Jersey resigned last spring to protest the school district’s decision to require prior review of student publications. Editors at The Lamp have protested the school board’s decision with an editorial and have also spoken at board meetings about the impact of prior review on their newspaper.