Pressure from students and faculty at the University of Iowa has finally helped halt a state bill that would have forced students and faculty living off-campus to pay the equivalent of a commercial rate for Internet use.
Tag: Fall 1997
Principal tries to censor prom coverage
A controversy over the prom led Principal Jimmy Jones of Lamar High School to butt heads with editors of the student newspaper, The Viking Scroll.
The other side of the schoolhouse gate
Parents say harassment over Web site led to son's suicide
Gabriel Kelley was only 17 when he was found dead after hanging himself near the dormitories of his high school, the Texas Academy for Leadership in the Humanities in Beaumont on April 29.
Manifesto leads to suspension, lawsuit against school
Distributing fliers got a Montclair High School student quickly grounded by his principal.
A Note to Private School Students
The First Amendment applies only to laws made by the government and its agencies; private schools are not covered. Therefore the administrators of a private school have, with some important exceptions, significant leeway in punishing even off-campus speech. Unfortunately, a detailed discussion of the rights of private school students is beyond the scope of this article. Additional information is available in the SPLC packet, Press Freedom and Private Schools, available from the SPLC, or on our Web site.
Maryland teen files $2.6 million claim
The Anne Arundel County Board of Education and a student newspaper reporter are currently facing a $2.6 million libel suit filed by the family of a former student who claims a quote attributed to him was so damaging to his reputation he had to change schools.
Middle school editor sues for $50,000
Dan Vagasky, the 14-year-old editor of Ostego Middle School's student newspaper, the Bulldog Express, is trying to teach his school district a lesson in federal court.
What category does your speech fall into?
School-Sponsored Speech* Takes place on campus* Financially supported by the school* Distributed on school grounds* Supervised by a faculty adviser or sponsor* The most regulated of all the categoriesNon-School-Sponsored Speech On Campus* Includes underground newspapers and other independently produced student works* Distributed on campus* Uses no school resources* School can only regulate how and when it is distributedNon-School-Sponsored Speech Off Campus* Includes underground newspa- pers, other independent student works and Web sites* Distribution is off school property* The least regulated of all three categories* The subject of this article
States find teachers to be public officials
In two recent court rulings, a public high school teacher and a professor at a public university were determined to be public figures.