Courts have consistently ruled that media advisers at public colleges cannot exert any editorial control on student publications. However, Johnson was criticized for content in the newspaper that he had no direct control over.
News
Mont. ruling opens meetings of high-level college officials
In a 5-2 decision, the Montana Supreme Court found that the officials’ closed-door discussions of university policy and other matters violated requirements for public meetings in the state constitution.
Commercial radio station could bump student station off the air
WASHINGTON
Bill takes aim at material deemed 'harmful to minors'
On April 28, Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., introduced the “Parents’ Empowerment Act of 2004,” which allows parents to sue anyone involved in the distribution of pornographic material that is obscene or otherwise “harmful to minors” to which minors could be exposed.
Student poet's felony conviction overturned
The student, referred to in court documents at “George T.,” served 100 days in juvenile hall during his sophomore year after showing a classmate a poem that read in part: “For I can be the next kid to bring guns to kill students at school. So parents watch your children cuz I’m back.”
Record fine issued for Clery Act violations
The $250,000 fine levied against Salem International University, formerly Salem-Teikyo University, is the biggest ever for violating the Clery Act, a federal law that requires all colleges and universities to keep and maintain publicly accessible crime logs, annually report crime statistics and warn the campus community about security threats.
DOE: Colleges cannot prevent victims from speaking out
The U.S. Department of Education has decided that universities cannot forbid a sexual assault victim from disclosing to the public the outcome of his or her accused assailant’s student disciplinary proceeding.
Alaska court orders school to release settlement terms
The court found that the district’s use of the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act as a justification for not releasing the details of legal settlements was improper.
Ill. principal objects to video tribute for student who died
Each year more than 30,000 Americans between the ages of 15 and 24 die, according to the National Center for Health Statistics, leaving many school communities to decide on appropriate tributes.
Put to the test
An increasing number of high schools have canceled journalism courses in which students create a publication in favor of traditional English courses that some say will help better prepare students for standardized tests. At Hartsville High School in South Carolina, all English electives, including journalism, were cut because of low student test scores and teacher shortages.