Gregorio Olivares Gutierrez is suing administrators at the University of Texas at Dallas, alleging they violated his First Amendment rights when the university found he had discriminated against a student by editing their letter to the editor and publishing it with a disclaimer.
Category: News
New Montgomery County guidelines don’t address prior review concerns
Newly issued guidelines from Montgomery County Public Schools make progress in recognizing the editorial independence of student media, but advocates argue the district still falls critically short of complying with the Maryland New Voices law.
Kansas students win records battle in ongoing AI lawsuit
Current and former students suing the Lawrence, Kansas, school district over its use of AI surveillance tools saw a big victory this summer when a federal judge ordered the district to pay more than $113,000 in the students’ legal fees for violating the Kansas Open Records Act.
Deleted photos, silenced voices: ICE walkouts most censored story of the year
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.
Maryland students call for withdrawal of prior review memo
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.
Press groups to IU: ‘Now is the time’ to demonstrate commitment to student media
A coalition of 14 national journalism organizations sent a letter Tuesday to Indiana University administrators, urging them to act on a student media task force’s recommendations — and warning that the press freedom community is still watching.
Alabama court decision threatens student press freedom
The Student Press Law Center today condemned a federal court ruling upholding — for now, at least — the University of Alabama’s decision to shut down two student magazines, calling the decision a significant threat to student press freedom nationwide.
Virginia legislature commends staff of Theogony
Resolution HJ 196 honors the students for their months-long campaign that fended off their school district’s attempt to curtail their independence and eventually secured greater protections in a new district-wide policy.
Nebraska student appeals censorship of editorial cartoon
Gretna East High School junior Nicholas Mitchell filed an appeal yesterday with the Gretna Public Schools Board of Education, asking them to reverse the recent censorship of an editorial cartoon and to establish a district policy that lets student editors determine the content of school-sponsored student media without prior review.
Alabama cites DEI memo in suspending Black-, women-focused student magazines
Mike Hiestand, the Student Press Law Center's senior legal counsel, said the suspensions appear to be unlawful viewpoint discrimination. He made the following statement: