8/20/2025 UPDATE: Lawrence student journalists have now published a story on the ongoing lawsuit, calling it a victory for the student press. Alongside yesterday’s court order acknowledging adviser protections in the Kansas New Voices law, editors received written assurance from the district that it would not restrain the student journalists or their adviser going forward.
8/19/2025 UPDATE: On Tuesday afternoon, the court denied the student plaintiffs’ request for an emergency temporary restraining order — meaning one issued without giving the school district a chance to respond — but it deferred a decision on a preliminary injunction until after the district responds. The Student Press Law Center will continue to follow this matter.
Lawrence High School officials are illegally censoring student journalists and intimidating their adviser in the wake of a recent lawsuit, according to a new court motion.
Earlier this month, nine current and former students at Lawrence and Free State high schools filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against Lawrence Public Schools in Kansas. They allege that the district’s use of Gaggle, a controversial AI surveillance tool that flags and removes files in the district’s Google Workspace that it deems a safety risk, violates their privacy and press freedom rights.
Now, those same students are asking a federal judge for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction, claiming school leaders are suppressing their right to report on the lawsuit itself.
According to a motion filed Friday by the students’ attorneys, Lawrence High School Principal Quetin Rials prohibited The Budget and its student journalists from reporting on the lawsuit or any Gaggle-related issues, which they have covered extensively for months.
Though the directive has since been rescinded, The Budget’s editor-in-chief — who is identified as “A.T.” in the lawsuit — said in the filing that the ban’s “practical effect persists” through implications that their adviser could be fired and the newspaper eliminated.
The motion alleges that the adviser was visibly worried and had been called into a meeting with the administration, but the principal refused to communicate directly with the student journalists. A representative for the teacher’s union told A.T. that their adviser’s job was in danger.
In a statement to the Student Press Law Center, A.T. said, “Our principal’s blanket ‘no-coverage’ order was a prior restraint. Even after the district said it rescinded the ban, I was urged to ‘consider other options besides publishing’ and warned there could be ‘consequences to other people’s lives’ — including my adviser’s — and that they could even ‘let The Budget die.’ No student journalist should have to choose between reporting and risking their adviser’s job. We just want to publish our story without fear.”
Gary Green, executive director of the Student Press Law Center, noted that administrators often use advisers as a way to intimidate student journalists.
“Targeting advisers is a common and alarming tactic used by administrators to silence student journalism. It’s a backdoor form of censorship — and one that the law explicitly prohibits in states like Kansas,” Green said. “Student journalists at The Budget have admirably covered the district’s use of this surveillance tool from the beginning, asking tough questions and representing student voices as the very best of student journalism is meant to do.”
Kansas is one of 18 states with laws specifically prohibiting the censorship of student journalists. Enacted in 1992, the Kansas Student Publications Act says that student journalists determine the content of school-sponsored media, like The Budget, except in certain very narrow circumstances. The law also says that advisers cannot be penalized for their students’ content or for refusing to infringe on their students’ press rights.
The students are represented in the lawsuit by Harrison Rosenthal, Mark P. Johnson and Jacob S. Margolies of Dentons.
In a statement to SPLC, Rosenthal said, “The record establishes a categorical ‘no-coverage’ directive by the principal — classic prior restraint — followed by coercion that leveraged the adviser’s job to deter publication. That combination is irreconcilable with the First Amendment. Our Temporary Restraining Order asks the Court to lift the gag and enjoin further pressure so these students can publish immediately.”
Prior advocacy for press freedom rights
Three of the plaintiffs — recent Lawrence High graduates Natasha Torkzaban, Morgan Salisbury and Jack Tell — have been advocating for student press rights for more than a year.
Working with SPLC and local attorneys, they argued to Lawrence High administrators that the surveillance tool violated their rights to report freely under the First Amendment, the Kansas shield law and the Kansas Student Publications Act by sweeping up confidential reporting materials stored in their Google Drives.
In an editorial, they detailed the steps they took to advocate for themselves and offered advice for other student journalists in similar circumstances. They also flagged several other potential Gaggle-related issues affecting all students, including that the software prevented flagged emails from being delivered, which could delay messages from students seeking help.
Their efforts won the support of hundreds of students and staff at the high school, and the district eventually agreed to remove the journalists’ files from the tool’s reach. The lawsuit alleges, however, that Gaggle significantly interfered with their ability to publish.
Torkzaban, Salisbury and Tell’s impressive efforts have become a model for students across the country. In recognition of their continued advocacy for press freedom, they were named as finalists for SPLC’s 2024 Courage in Student Journalism Award. They also shared their story in an SPLC webinar this spring.
About the Student Press Law Center: 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. Since 1974, we have helped students and their educators navigate the law, strengthen their reporting and stand up for press freedom. Our legal support, education and advocacy empower student journalists to report freely and courageously. Learn more at splc.org.