A national survey of teachers and students released today offers a mixed bag for civic education and free expression advocates.The survey of about 12,000 students and 900 teachers from 50 high schools across the country was conducted earlier this year with funding from the Knight Foundation.
Author: Brian Schraum
Ind. school can't punish volleyball players over slumber party pics
A highschool violated the First Amendment when it punished members of its volleyballteam for posting pictures of penis-shaped lollipops on the Internet, a federaljudge ruled Wednesday.
Survey finds majority of Americans support students’ online speech rights, scholastic press freedom
The good folks at the First Amendment Center are out with their annual State of the First Amendment survey for 2011 this morning.
Ill. school censors student paper's story on fired basketball coach
Studentjournalists at St. Charles East High School were blocked from publishing astory about the removal of the school’s popular basketball coach.
Texas adviser 'reassigned,' administrator watching newspaper class after year of controversy
The student newspaper adviser at Alvin High School has been reassigned and an assistant principal is sitting in on each period of the newspaper class. The move follows months of controversy over the content of The Clarion and claims of censorship by student editors.
Appeals court: N.Y. school can censor cartoon in 'forum' and independent newspapers
Evena student newspaper that is a “limited public forum” can be censored under Hazelwood, a federal appeals court ruledWednesday.
Va. administrators score a Muzzle award for spiking PE editorial
Albemarle High School joined the ranks of the Obama administration, airport security and the Smithsonian on Wednesday – and not in a good way.Administrators at the Charlottesville, Va., school were given a Jefferson Muzzle award Wednesday following a 2010 spat involving the school’s student newspaper.As the SPLC reported in June, copies of The Revolution were confiscated and destroyed because of an editorial suggesting student athletes be able to opt out of PE class.
Univ. of Illinois announces appeal in federal case involving public records, FERPA
The University of Illinois announced Tuesday it is appealing a judge’s ruling that federal student privacy law does not prevent the release of records under the state open records act.In court filings, the university also asks Judge Joan Gottschall to stay her ruling while the appeal moves forward in the 7th U.S.
Judge rejects Pennsylvania school’s ban on ‘I Heart Boobies’ bracelets
A federal judge on Tuesday prevented a Pennsylvania school district from enforcing its ban on “I (Heart) Boobies” bracelets.
Censored Colorado students to receive Iowa State SPJ’s First Amendment award
Two student editors from Overland High School in Colorado will be honored by next week by the Iowa State University chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists.Lori Schafer and Jaclyn Gutierrez say principal Leon Lundie shut down their newspaper and removed their adviser after they wrote a story about a student who died.