For years, student press advocates have been frantically pointing toward the gathering clouds that gravely threaten college news organizations: money problems, censorship and disengaged campus audiences. With a federal government that’s rewriting the rules on press freedoms and higher education, those clouds have become a perfect storm that’s rocking independent student media.
News
Introducing the Student Press Report, a national news desk covering student media and college journalists
This brand-new initiative will showcase the trials and tribulations facing collegiate news organizations and their staffs, as well as highlight the great work student journalists are doing on campuses across America.
FAC, SPLC urge high school to reinstate yearbook senior quotes
FAC and SPLC note that the decision to remove the quotes violates students’ freedom of speech protected by California law Education Code § 48907.
Student Press Freedom Day is Feb. 26
Student Press Freedom Day is a call to show up. It will take all of us — students, educators, advocates and community members alike — to ensure student journalists have the protections they need to continue their critical work.
New Voices advocates testify in Missouri House hearing
Student journalists, educators and other advocates of student journalism, including an attorney from the Student Press Law Center, testified Feb. 11 at a hearing of Missouri’s House Committee on Elementary and Secondary Education in support of HB 2918.
New Voices bill ‘makes journalism better,’ student tells Utah House committee
Utah’s House Education Committee has tabled the state’s New Voices bill for now, but committee members spoke favorably about student press protections in a Jan. 27 hearing. They also demonstrated willingness to work on the bill, one of the first New Voices introductions in Utah.
Q&A with Lowell adviser Eric Gustafson
A California Superior Court judge last week ordered San Francisco Unified Schools to restore Eric Gustafson to his role as Lowell High School journalism adviser. A few days after the verdict, the Student Press Law Center caught up with Gustafson to chat about the ruling.
Court: Lowell High School must reinstate adviser
In a major win for student journalists and a warning to school administrators, a California court found this week that San Francisco’s Lowell High School violated the state’s New Voices law when they reassigned the school’s journalism adviser solely because of his students' reporting.
Raid of reporter’s home underscores risks to confidential sources
This rare and extreme step serves as yet another reminder that student journalists should familiarize themselves with digital security best practices, as well as the laws concerning the protection of confidential sources and materials.
As Hazelwood turns 38, New Voices advocates push for change
So far in the 2026 legislative session, six states have introduced New Voices bills to undo the effects of Hazelwood, while advocates in other states are looking to follow.