Two Illinois laws, signed in 2016 and 2008, protect the press freedom of Illinois’s public school student journalists and public higher education student journalists and college media advisers. The law says that student journalists cannot be censored by school officials, except in certain very narrow circumstances, and that college media advisers cannot be penalized for refusing to infringe on their student’s press rights.
This brochure, which was last updated in September 2023, provides information about the law and its impacts on student journalists, advisers and school officials. It is not exhaustive and should not be considered a substitute for legal advice. If you have specific questions about the law, please contact the Student Press Law Center’s legal hotline at splc.org/legalhelp.
Jump to:
• About the Student Press Law Center
• Executive Summary
• Public School Students
• College Students
• Advisers
• School officials
• Resources
About the Student Press Law Center
The Student Press Law Center (SPLC) is an independent, non-partisan 501c(3) which works at the intersection of law, journalism and education to promote, support and defend the First Amendment and press freedom rights of student journalists and their advisers at the high school and college level. The SPLC uses the law to help students of all ages meaningfully participate in civic life and learn essential skills, ethics and values through the vehicle of journalism. The SPLC provides information, training and legal assistance at no charge to student journalists and the educators who work with them. For more information, visitwww.splc.org or contact our legal hotline at splc.org/legalhelp.
Executive Summary
Details about the laws and their protections for public high school and higher education student journalists and advisers are enclosed within. To summarize:
- Student journalists determine the content of school-sponsored media.
- High school officials can only restrict student media that:
- Is libelous or slanderous;
- Constitutes an unwarranted invasion of privacy;
- Violates federal or state law; or
- Incites students to commit an unlawful act, to violate school district policies, or to materially and substantially disrupt the orderly operation of the school.
- Higher education officials can only restrict student media that includes harassing, threatening or intimidating speech, obscenity or incitement.
- Higher education advisers cannot be penalized for refusing to censor, interfere with or overrule student decisions relating to lawful school-sponsored media.
- High school officials must justify any censorship before limiting student speech.
- School districts cannot engage in prior restraint of lawful student speech. Colleges and universities officials cannot engage in prior review.
Other laws may also protect your speech from censorship. Contact the Student Press Law Center’s legal hotline immediately at splc.org/legalhelp/ if you are or believe you may be receiving pressure to cut, edit, or amend your student media.
Calls to the legal hotline are confidential until and unless you approve otherwise.
Public School Students
105 ILCS 80
Summary
The Speech Rights of Student Journalists Act protects the press freedom of Illinois’s public school student journalists. The law says that student media cannot be censored except in certain narrow circumstances.
School-sponsored media
The law protects from censorship anything that is “prepared, substantially written, published, or broadcast by” a public high school student journalist, “distributed or generally made available to members of the student body, and prepared under the direction of a student media adviser.” This includes newspapers, yearbooks, broadcast channels, audio or video programs, literary magazines, and other forms of media that may evolve in the future.
School-sponsored media does not include projects you do just for class, your personal social media (which may be protected by other laws or court decisions), or anything you distribute to the student body on your own time without an adviser involved.
Media content
Student journalists are responsible for “determining the news, opinion, feature, and advertising content of school-sponsored media.” While your adviser may make suggestions and offer feedback, you make the final decision about what is, and what is not, included. This also means that you are responsible for the final product, including any praise, criticisms, or (in very rare circumstances) any potential lawsuits.
Censorship
Censorship can take many forms, but in general it is any action that is meant to stop, dissuade, or discourage you from producing or distributing student media. Sometimes it is overt (“you may not publish this”) but sometimes there are more subtle forms of censorship. This can include, but is not limited to, any requirement that a story be withheld or changed, “reviewing” a student piece until the publication deadline has passed, threats to change your grades, remove you from your position or otherwise punish you unless some aspect of a piece is changed, outright or suggested cuts to your student media program’s funding following a controversial piece, reassignment of your adviser, or the disappearance/destruction of student media once you have distributed it. If you believe you have experienced or are at risk of censorship, contact the SPLC’s legal hotline immediately at splc.org/legalhelp/.
If a school official believes your media contains unprotected speech, they are required to demonstrate this to you before they interfere with your ability to publish or distribute the media in question. When possible, get this justification in writing. At the very least, write down all the details as soon as you can, along with the date and time of any conversations.
Prior restraint and prior review
Prior restraint is when a school official tells you that you cannot publish a story or takes action to prevent you from doing so. The law is clear that no school official can engage in prior restraint unless your media includes unprotected speech. If school officials do engage in prior restraint, they must justify their actions to you before they restrain your work.
School officials sometimes engage in prior review, which is where they view student media before it is distributed. If your school officials engage in prior review and hold your student media for more than 72 hours, contact the SPLC’s legal hotline at splc.org/legalhelp/.
Unprotected speech
The law does allow for school officials to restrict some student media, just as you can be penalized for saying certain things in class.
School officials may only prohibit student media that:
- Is libelous or slanderous, or obscene;
- Constitutes an unwarranted invasion of privacy;
- Violates federal or state laws; or
- Incites students to commit an unlawful act, to violate the policies of the school district, or to materially and substantially disrupt the orderly operation of the school.
If content in your media does not fall into one of these categories, school officials – including your principal or your adviser – cannot stop you from producing or distributing it. If they believe your work does include this content, they must demonstrate that to you before censoring you.
Following sound journalism practices and ethics will help ensure your work does not meet any of these criteria. If you are concerned that your work falls into one of these categories, you should talk with your adviser, the Student Press Law Center, or other legal counsel. You can do this at any point in the research, production or distribution proces
If you’ve been censored
If you believe or suspect that you have been censored or are about to be censored, contact the SPLC’s legal hotline as soon as possible at splc.org/legalhelp/. There are a range of options available to you. Whenever possible, write down the dates, times and description of events as they happen to help keep your facts in order and establish a timeline.
FAQs
What is libel? What is slander?
Libel is the publication of false statements of fact that seriously harm a person’s reputation. Slander is the speaking of false statements of fact that seriously harm a person’s reputation. If a statement is true, it cannot be libelous or slanderous, no matter how harmful it is to the person’s reputation.
What is a “material and substantial disruption”?
A substantial disruption is anything that could so interfere with the school day as to make normal school activities nearly impossible. This is decided on a case-by-case basis, but could include walkouts, fights, interruptions to class, or harassment of teachers or students. This “substantial disruption” standard was established by the U.S. Supreme Court in the Tinker vs. Des Moines decision many years ago, so your administrators and advisers have plenty of practice applying it to student speech. Remember, the law does not prohibit you from reporting on these things, just from inciting them.
Isn’t freedom of the press protected by the First Amendment?
Yes, but the U.S. Supreme Court has given public schools some authority to restrict the activities of students. A U.S. Supreme Court decision known as Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District allows school officials to restrict student speech in certain narrow circumstances (including if it would cause a “material disruption” in the school community or could be libelous or slanderous). Another Supreme Court decision known as Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier allowed schools broader authority to censor student journalist’s speech. As a result, many school districts have censored students for reasons that have nothing to do with legitimate pedagogical concerns. This law restores key aspects of Tinker as it applies to student journalists and puts your speech back in line with the standard established by the Tinker decision.
If my school is sued for libel because of content in our student media, who is responsible?
You. However, libel lawsuits against high school journalists are exceptionally rare. (In fact, when this brochure went to press, there had not been a single reported case in the U.S. finding a school district liable for work published by its student media.) As long as you are following standard journalistic practices you should not have to worry.
Can my adviser tell me there are problems with my article?
Your adviser may teach you English and journalism standards, and may give you feedback regarding your article including questioning if something you have written is untruthful or ensuring you are prepared for any controversy. Unless your speech falls within one of the unprotected speech categories above, however, they cannot stop you from distributing your work.
How do I know if I’m being censored?
If nobody has expressly told you “don’t publish this,” it can be easy to tell yourself you’re not being censored or that you are overreacting. Talk with your adviser, parents and the SPLC if you suspect you are receiving any pressure to hold or edit material that does not contain unprotected speech.
Can my principal ask to review something before we distribute it?
This is called “prior review,” and while it’s not expressly prohibited by this law there is certainly no need for your principal to engage in it unless they have reason to believe you are engaging in unprotected speech. In fact, the practice of mandatory prior review by administrators has been roundly condemned by every major journalism education group in the country as the wrong way to teach young journalists. If your principal asks to review your materials before publication, ask if there is anything they are concerned about. If your principal does engage in prior review and holds your work for more than 72 hours, you should contact the SPLC’s legal hotline at splc.org/legalrequest/.
What if my adviser or principal says something is unprotected and I disagree?
They should be able to tell you exactly why it is unprotected, including pointing to the specific law or rule you are violating or giving you a clear reason why they believe your work presents a material and substantial disruption. If they do not give you this information or you disagree with their decision, you should contact the SPLC’s legal hotline at splc.org/legalrequest/.
I go to a private school. Am I protected?
This law does not apply to you at this time. Private schools have more ability to restrict student speech than public schools. However, you may still be able to push back against censorship at your school. Contact the SPLC’s legal hotline at splc.org/legalrequest/ for more information.
College Students
110 ILCS 13
Summary
The College Campus Press Act protects the press freedom of Illinois’s college and university student journalists and their advisers. The law says that student media cannot be censored by school officials, except in certain very narrow circumstances, and that advisers cannot be penalized for refusing to infringe upon their students’ press rights.
School-sponsored media
The law protects anything that is “prepared, substantially written, published, or broadcast by students at State-sponsored institutions of higher learning, that is distributed or generally made available … to members of the student body, and that is prepared under the direction of a student media adviser.” This includes newspapers, yearbooks, broadcast channels, literary magazines, and other forms of media that may evolve in the future.
School-sponsored media does not cover projects you do just for class, your personal social media (which may be protected by other laws or court decisions), or anything you distribute to the student body on your own time without an adviser involved.
Media content
Student editors are “responsible for determining the news, opinions, feature content, and advertising content” of school-sponsored media. While your adviser may make suggestions and offer feedback, you make the final decision about what is, and is not, included. This also means that you are responsible for the final product, including any praise, criticisms, or (in very rare circumstances) lawsuits.
Censorship
Censorship can take many forms, but in general it is any action that is meant to stop, dissuade, or discourage you from producing or distributing student media. Sometimes it is overt (“you may not publish this”) but sometimes there are more subtle forms of censorship. This can include, but is not limited to, any requirement that a story be withheld or changed, “reviewing” a student piece until the publication deadline has passed, threats to change your grades unless some aspect of a piece is changed, outright or suggested cuts to your student media program’s funding following a controversial piece, reassignment of your adviser, or the disappearance/destruction of student media once you have distributed it. If you believe you have experienced or are at risk of censorship, contact the SPLC’s legal hotline immediately at splc.org/legalhelp/.
Unprotected speech
In general, the courts have held that college student journalists cannot be censored by school officials. However, it still happens. This law makes clear that school officials may only limit the speech of college student journalists in very specific circumstances.
School officials may only prohibit student expression that includes “harassment, threats, or intimidation, unless constitutionally protected, or … speech that is not constitutionally protected, including obscenity or incitement.”
If your media content does not fall into one of those categories, school officials cannot stop you from producing or distributing it. They also cannot penalize you or your student media adviser for your decision to produce or distribute the media.
If your student media is censored, contact the Student Press Law Center’s legal hotline immediately at splc.org/legalrequest/.
Following sound journalism practices and ethics will help ensure your work does not meet any of these criteria. If you are concerned that your work falls into one of these categories, you should talk with your adviser, the Student Press Law Center, or other legal counsel. You can do this at any point in the research, production or distribution process.
Prior restraint and prior review
Prior restraint is when a school official tells you that you cannot publish a story or takes action to prevent you from doing so. Prior restraint is limited by the First Amendment.
School officials sometimes engage in prior review, which is where they view school-sponsored media before it is distributed. The law is clear that higher education student media is a public forum and school officials cannot require prior review of student media.
If school officials ask to review your work, let them know that both the First Amendment and Illinois state law prohibits mandatory administrative prior review of college student media. Engaging in prior review might also subject the college to liability for student media that they might otherwise avoid. You can ask if there is something particular they are looking for. If you feel pressured to turn over your work, this is censorship and you should contact the SPLC’s legal hotline immediately at splc.org/legalhelp/.
If you’ve been censored
If you believe or suspect that you have been censored or are about to be censored, contact the SPLC’s legal hotline as soon as possible at splc.org/legalhelp/. There are a range of options available to you, including getting a court to require the publication of your work. Whenever possible, write down the dates, times and description of events as they happen to help keep your facts in order and establish a timeline.
FAQs
Can my adviser tell me there are problems with my article?
Your adviser can teach you English and journalism standards, and may give you feedback regarding your article including questioning if something you have written is untrue or ensuring you are prepared for any resulting controversy. Unless your work contains unprotected speech, they cannot stop you from moving forward with the piece.
How do I know if I’m being censored?
If nobody has expressly told you “don’t publish this,” it can be easy to tell yourself you’re not being censored or are overreacting. Talk with your adviser and the SPLC if you suspect you are receiving pressure not to publish material that does not contain unprotected speech.
If my school is sued because of the content of our student media, who is responsible?
You. However, lawsuits against student journalists are very rare. As long as you are following journalistic standards and ethics, you should not encounter a problem.
Can school administration ask to review something before we distribute it?
They can ask, but you are not required to let them review it. If college officials, including the public relations department, ask to review your work, ask if there is anything they are concerned about before deciding whether or not to grant permission for them to see it. This often happens when a university public relations official wants to “check in” on a story. Be aware that you are under no obligation to share your story prior to publication.
If school officials ask to review your work, let them know that both the First Amendment and Illinois state law prohibits mandatory administrative prior review of college student media. If you feel pressured to turn over your work, this is censorship and you should contact the SPLC’s legal hotline immediately at splc.org/legalhelp/.
Advisers
105 ILCS 80 (high school) & 110 ILCS 13 (higher education)
Summary
The law protects college student media advisers from retaliation for refusing to infringe upon their students’ rights. No college media adviser may be “terminated, transferred, removed, otherwise disciplined, or retaliated against” for refusing to restrict or infringe upon the press rights of student journalists. Illinois law does not currently protect high school media advisers.
Media content
Student journalists are responsible for determining the news, opinions, feature, and advertising content of the media. While you may make suggestions and offer feedback, you cannot overrule the students’ final decisions about what is, and what is not, included in school-sponsored media. The law clarifies that you are permitted to teach “professional standards” of English grammar and journalism.
Adviser protection
Often, advisers report that censorship of student media means professional consequences for them instead of academic ones for the student. Under the College Campus Press Act, a higher education student media adviser “may not be terminated, transferred, removed, otherwise disciplined, or retaliated against” for refusing to overrule, suppress or interfere with lawful student media expression.
Illinois law does not currently protect high school media advisers.
Unprotected speech
The law does allow for school officials to restrict student media content in some narrow circumstances.
Public high school student media is not protected if it:
- Is libelous, slanderous, or obscene;
- Constitutes an unwarranted invasion of privacy;
- Violates federal or state law; or
- Incites students to commit an unlawful act, to violate policies of the school district, or to materially and substantially disrupt the orderly operation of the school.
High school officials are required to justify any restriction of student media before engaging in censorship.
College and university officials have even less ability to restrict student media. The law is clear that higher education student media is a public forum, and that speech is only unprotected if it contains “harassment, threats, or intimidation, unless constitutionally protected, or … is not constitutionally protected, including obscenity or incitement.”
Unless the student media meets these criteria, the media cannot be restricted and higher education media advisers cannot be penalized for refusing to restrict it. If the student has a strong understanding of sound journalism practices and ethics, their work is unlikely to fall into any of these criteria.
Prior restraint and prior review
Prior restraint is when a school official tells you that you cannot publish a story or takes action to prevent you from doing so. Prior restraint is limited by the First Amendment.
School officials sometimes engage in prior review, which is where they view school-sponsored media before it is distributed. The law is clear that higher education student media is a public forum and prior review of student media is prohibited.
Censorship and retaliation
Censorship can take many forms, but in general it is any action that is meant to stop, dissuade, or discourage a student from producing or distributing student media. This can include, but is not limited to, any requirement that a story be withheld or changed, “reviewing” a student piece until the publication deadline has passed, threats to change a student’s grades unless an aspect of a student media piece is changed, or the disappearance/destruction of student media once it has been distributed.
Often, advisers report that the censorship took the form of professional consequences for them instead of academic ones for the student. This has included loss of funding for the student media program, adviser reassignment, meetings or phone calls with administrators in which the administration’s dislike of a story is the main topic, or pressure from other teachers and school employees. If you believe you have experienced or are at risk of retaliation, contact the SPLC’s legal hotline immediately at splc.org/legalhelp/.
If your student has been censored or you have been retaliated against
Contact the SPLC’s legal hotline at splc.org/legalhelp/. There are a range of options available to you.
FAQs
Can I suggest my students not run an article? What if my student produces something I suspect will be disruptive?
You can share your concerns with your students, but unless the work includes unprotected speech, the decision is ultimately theirs. If you believe your student is planning to distribute work which meets the criteria for unprotected speech, you should be as clear as possible with them about the concerns and the reasons why you believe their work is not protected by the law.
How can I ensure the law protects me in the future?
A number of state New Voices laws expressly prohibit retaliation against high school student media advisers who refuse to infringe on their students’ free press rights. To learn more about how to get such a law passed in Illinois, visit splc.org/new-voices/.
What do I do if the administration tells me to edit or stop something from being distributed?
Contact the SPLC’s legal hotline at splc.org/legalhelp/.
School Officials
105 ILCS 80 (high school) & 110 ILCS 13 (higher education)
Summary
The law says that public high school and college or university or student media cannot be censored except in certain specific circumstances. The law also prohibits terminating or otherwise disciplining a college or university student media adviser who refuses to infringe upon student press rights.
School-sponsored media
The law covers any media that is “prepared, substantially written, published, or broadcast” by a student journalist at a public high school or institution of higher education, that is “distributed or generally made available” to the student body, and “prepared under the direction of a student media adviser.” This includes newspapers, yearbooks, broadcast channels, literary magazines, and any other form of media that may evolve in the future.
Student media does not include projects students do just for class, their personal social media (which may be protected by other laws and/or court decisions), or anything they distribute to the student body on their own time without an adviser involved.
Media content
Student journalists are responsible for determining the news, opinion, feature, and advertising content of student media. While advisers may make suggestions and offer feedback, they cannot change the students’ final decisions about what is, and what is not, included. This also means that student journalists are responsible for the final product, including receiving any praise, criticisms or (in very rare circumstances) lawsuits.
Prior restraint and prior review
Prior restraint is when a school official tells a student journalist they cannot publish a story, or takes any action to prevent the student journalist from doing so. Prior restraint is limited by the First Amendment and prohibited under state law except in limited circumstances.
Prior review is when a school official reads the content of school-sponsored media before it is published or distributed. The practice of mandatory prior review has been roundly condemned by nearly every major journalism education group in the country as the wrong way to teach young journalists.
Prior review is prohibited in Illinois’ colleges and universities, and should be avoided by high school officials unless there are specific, articulable concerns that the school-sponsored media contains unprotected speech.
Unprotected speech
The law brings the speech rights of student journalists in line with the standard for all other student speech set forth in Tinker vs. Des Moines, and allows for the restriction of student media in certain narrow circumstances.
Public high school student media is not protected if it:
- Is libelous, slanderous, or obscene;
- Constitutes an unwarranted invasion of privacy;
- Violates federal or state law; or
- Incites students to commit an unlawful act, to violate policies of the school district, or to materially and substantially disrupt the orderly operation of the school.
High school officials are required to justify any restriction of student media before engaging in censorship.
College and university officials have even less ability to restrict student media. The law is clear that higher education student media is a public forum, and that speech is only unprotected if it contains “harassment, threats, or intimidation, unless constitutionally protected, or … is not constitutionally protected, including obscenity or incitement.”
Unless the school-sponsored media meets these criteria, school officials – including principals, deans, advisers, and college public relations departments – cannot stop student journalists from producing or distributing their work.
Material and substantial disruption
A substantial disruption is anything that could so interfere with the school day as to make school activities nearly impossible. The material and substantial disruption exemption applies only if a student journalist is inciting the disruption; reporting on a controversial topic is itself not sufficient cause for restricting student speech. These are taken on a case-by-case basis, but there should be an articulable risk of disruption, informed by specific facts, including past history at the school and current events influencing student behavior.
Whenever a risk of material and substantial disruption occurs, school officials should consider all other avenues of alleviating this disruption before resorting to censorship. School officials are required to inform student journalists before limiting student media why censorship is necessary.
Types of censorship
Censorship can take many forms, but in general it is any action that is meant to stop, dissuade, or urge a student journalist not to produce or distribute student media. While some students have been explicitly told not to publish a particular story, others have faced more subtle forms of censorship. This can include, but is not limited to, any requirement that a story be withheld or changed, “reviewing” a student piece until the publication deadline has passed, threats to change a student’s grades certain aspects of a piece are changed, outright or suggested cuts to the student media program’s funding following a controversial piece, reassignment of the student media adviser, or the disappearance/destruction of student media once it has been distributed.
Adviser protection
Often, advisers report that the censorship took the form of professional consequences for them instead of academic ones for the student. This has included loss of funding for the class or club, adviser reassignment, meetings or phone calls with administrators in which the administration’s dislike of a story is the main topic, or pressure from other teachers and coaches. College and university media advisers may not be “terminated, transferred, removed, otherwise disciplined, or retaliated against” for refusing to infringe upon a student journalist who is not engaging in unprotected speech.
Student media policy
A clear policy can be helpful in making sure everyone has the same understanding and expectation of the student media program. A model policy and other resources are available via the Student Press Law Center.
If a student is unlawfully censored or an adviser retaliated against
They have a range of options available to them.
FAQs
Doesn’t Hazelwood give school administrators the right to restrict student media?
The federal First Amendment provides a “floor” of federal legal protections. States cannot pass laws that provide less protection than that required by the First Amendment, but they can always extend more protections to their residents. Illinois has joined a growing number of other states in extending stronger protections to student journalists and providing more concrete guidance to schools than that put forth by the U.S. Supreme Court in the Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier decision.
What do I tell angry parents when a student writes a controversial article?
The law makes clear that student journalists alone determine the content of school-sponsored media, and that such media is not an expression of school policy. Parents certainly have the option of registering their opinion with the student editor.
If my school is sued for libel or slander, who is responsible?
The student journalist. However, lawsuits against student journalists are exceedingly rare. (In fact, as of when this brochure went to press, there had not been a single officially reported case in the U.S. finding a school district liable for work published by its high school student media.)
Journalism standards and ethics prevent libel and slander. Schools should ensure that advisers and student journalists have adequate training and appropriate resources to thoroughly educate students on media law and journalistic ethics. Students can also reach out to the Student Press Law Center’s legal hotline for more guidance on libel and slander.
If student journalists report on rumors of a walkout, does that constitute a material and substantial disruption?
If they are simply reporting on information, no. The disruption already exists. If they are calling for a walkout and there is a history of such walkouts proving irreparably disruptive to the school, maybe. However, before resorting to the censorship of a student journalist you should consider whether the same call is already reaching students through social media and whether the work by the student journalist offers school officials an opportunity to engage in meaningful dialogue with the student body about their concerns.
Can I talk to a student journalist about my concerns relating to their article?
You can certainly help student journalists have as many facts as possible. Unless the media contains unprotected content you cannot require a student journalist to pull a story from school-sponsored media.
How can I get more information about the Speech Rights of Student Journalists Act and College Campus Press Act Act and our rights and responsibilities?
Contact the SPLC’s legal hotline at splc.org/legalhelp/.
Resources
For more information or assistance on the Speech Rights of Student Journalists Act and College Campus Press Act Act, student press freedom, or other issues regarding student media, please contact:
