Last year was perhaps one of the most challenging ever for scholastic journalism. Beyond the many traditional hurdles that student media encounter, students and advisers also faced unprecedented community pushback to coverage of the Israel-Hamas war, book bans, LBGTQ rights and more — frequently putting programs and jobs at risk.
These challenges will likely continue this school year, unfortunately, but the Student Press Law Center is here to help. SPLC staff attorney Jonathan Gaston-Falk shares the below open letter to advisers to acknowledge and offer support for the particularly difficult moment they face.
Dear Beloved High School Advisers:
We hope you all were able to take a deep breath this summer and be reminded of the power you all have as a community, interlinked to learn from and support each other. We saw that support in real time this past school year, as things proved more than bumpy for student media advisers across the country. The integrity of scholastic journalism, community relations and job security all experienced intense challenge and tribulation. In a few situations, our community experienced great loss.
The nationwide crucible continues this school year, but know that we at the Student Press Law Center are here to help. We have seen what you have been going through and understand the mounting stresses and pressures many of you continue to face, particularly when certain topics feel like they could put your student media program or your job in jeopardy. First and foremost, SPLC is here through our Legal Hotline to be your sounding board: we can listen to your unique situation, lay out some options for you based on the law and what we have seen elsewhere, and work with you on whatever path forward you and your students choose.
This is what we did last year amidst the tough positions that community rancor caused many of you and your colleagues, and we will continue to do so. Though we are often unable to openly share everything we do to stand up for this community due to the confidentiality we guarantee any student or adviser who approaches us, please trust that we have not stood idly by. We continue to be a resource for any adviser plagued by vocal detractors, ignorant administrators or obstructive board policies. And these experiences have only emboldened our efforts to fight for explicit legal protections for advisers throughout the country through New Voices legislation.
None of this, of course, will change the fact that this will likely be a tough year for you as advisers, but communicating with us and each other will help pave the way for changing the tide. Whether you know it or not, you have important tools at your disposal that can be fashioned into creative responses to any of these challenges. Sometimes that means enlisting the support of your local community or stakeholders in ways you may not have considered. Certainly, getting your students involved is paramount, but that requires its own strategy and particular energy. We hope to help you there.
Each state, each school district and each individual school building is different. Your classroom is a unique ecosystem all its own. It’s impossible for us to create an advisory or a guide that addresses everything that may come at you this year, despite the plentiful media law resources available on our website. And know this: our legal team is here to talk with you through our Legal Hotline when you need us. It’s never too soon in a situation to reach out for help, no question is too small.
Reaching out also helps us help others. You are a significant part of how SPLC keeps our finger on the pulse of patterns and trends around the country, whether that’s a clever tactic by a manipulative building administrator or a self-inflated school district attorney who doesn’t understand press law. Our community suffered both circumstances this year in harsh relief.
Alongside the strength of the scholastic journalism community, SPLC has been helping students and advisers like you stand up to the controversy du jour for 50 years. Know that we are here for you too. Together, we can weather this year and beyond.
With Profound Respect,
Jonathan Gaston-Falk
Staff Attorney