The Journalism Education Association has presented some of its top annual awards to organizers of the "New Voices" student press rights movement, including the architects of successful campaigns in Illinois, Maryland and North Dakota.
The Northern Highlands Board of Education reintroduced changes to its school-sponsored publications policy on Monday after faculty and alumni criticized attempts to change the policy last year.
Of the 6,406 students and teachers who attended the National High School Journalism Convention in Washing, D.C., Nov. 6-9, 2013, 464 students and 51 advisers responded to survey questions asking about their experiences with censorship of student media.
The bill's author said the rules would also apply to surveys from student reporters because the school serves as publisher and sponsor of the newspaper. He said he hopes schools will tell the newspaper staff they are not allowed to survey students on sensitive topics.
The bill would require parents to approve any surveys asking students to provide “sexual information,” mental health information, medical information, student health risk information, information about drug use and other topics the school board deems “sensitive.”
Earlier this month, the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication approved a unanimous resolution urging schools to refrain from censorship made lawful by the Supreme Court's 1988 ruling in Hazelwood School District v.