Since I worked with two students from McPherson High School this summer, I found news of a story being censored from the student newspaper particularly interesting.
The Student Press Law Center reports that a story about two pregnant teenagers was censored from a recent issue: http://www.splc.org/newsflash.asp?id=1967&year=.
Kansas is quite unlike most states in the country in the rights it grants to student publications. While most public schools in the country operate under the Supreme Court's decision in Hazelwood, Kansas affords additional protections to the free speech rights of student journalists. (Coincidentally, the controversial student story behind Hazelwood also dealt with teenage pregnancy.)
Still, it's worth looking back at Hazelwood. The dissenting justices, I believe, expressed well why a handful of states like Kansas have laws offering additional freedoms to student journalists.
Writing for the dissent in Hazelwood, Justice Brennan said, "In my view the principal broke more than just a promise. He violated the First Amendment's prohibitions against censorship of any student expression that neither disrupts classwork nor invades the rights of others, and against any censorship that is not narrowly tailored to serve its purpose," wrote Justice Brennan.
The dissent concluded: "Instead of "teach[ing] children to respect the diversity of ideas that is fundamental to the American system," Board of Education v. Pico, 457 U.S., at 880 (BLACKMUN, J., concurring in part and concurring in judgment), and "that our Constitution is a living reality, not parchment preserved under glass," Shanley v. Northeast Independent School Dist., Bexar Cty., Tex., 462 F. 2d 960, 972 (CA5 [291] 1972), the Court today "teach[es] youth to discount important principles of our government as mere platitudes." West Virginia Board of Education v. Barnette, 319 U.S., at 637. The young men and women of Hazelwood East expected a civics lesson, but not the one the Court teaches them today."
I write more about student press rights, including links to the Kansas law for student journalists and links to what the Kansas Attorney General has said about documents and meetings that should be open to reporters, here: http://flinthillswriter.blogspot.com/2009/07/day-2-first-amendment-student-press.html. You'll also find information on the huge responsibility that comes with your additional rights as student journalists.
More on student press rights:
The Hazelwood decision in full: http://www.bc.edu/bc_org/avp/cas/comm/free_speech/hazelwood.html
From the Student Press Law Center: http://www.splc.org/legalresearch.asp?id=4
Showing posts with label Free speech. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Free speech. Show all posts
7/20/09
First Amendment
Here they are, the first 45 words of the First Amendment:
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."
7/17/09
Day 2-First Amendment & Student Press Rights
Kansas student press rights background
Congratulations. If you're from Kansas, you live in an anti-Hazelwood state.
To which you most likely say, huh?
Here's the deal. In 1988, the Supreme Court took a look at a student newspaper case out of Hazelwood, Mo. Members of the student newspaper staff sued when two pages of the student newspaper were deleted -- pages that included stories about student pregnancy and the impact of divorce on students. The school principal had nixed the pages during a review before publication with worries that the unnamed pregnant students might be identifiable and that talk of sexual activity and birth control wasn't appropriate for younger students.
The court had previously held that public school students and teacher don't "shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate." (Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District) Yet, in this case, the majority of justices said the Hazelwood principal acted appropriately. Essentially, they said that the student newspaper was part of the school's educational curriculum and not a public forum. That meant the principal could edit -- or censor -- the content as he saw fit.
Not everyone agreed. Three justices dissented. The students, they said, had signed up for class expecting a civics lesson. "In my view the principal broke more than just a promise. He violated the First Amendment's prohibitions against censorship of any student expression that neither disrupts classwork nor invades the rights of others, and against any censorship that is not narrowly tailored to serve its purpose," wrote Justice Brennan.
So what does this mean today? Kansas is among six states that has passed laws promising stronger student press rights in public schools. (Although you can't count on these protections if you're in a private school.) As it stands in Kansas, any attempt by a public school administrators to censor the work of the student newspaper would be illegal. Specifically, the law bars suppressing material in a student publication because it is controversial and prohibits firing or transferring an adviser for refusing to infringe on students' free expression rights.
Perfect, right?
This won't give you a free pass. You can be sued for libel, invasion of privacy or copyright infringement.
And nothing protects students from the reality that newspaper stories (even ones that are important and need to be told) can make people really mad. There's no protection from the sting of writing stories that bring glaring heat from fellow students, parents and administrators -- a true lesson in what professionals often face as they tackle tough stories.
Also, it helps to know that there is a difference between what you can publish without getting sued and what your staff finds ethically acceptable. For example, our newspaper could publish grisly accident scene photos. It chooses not to publish them. A student publication staff should feel empowered to talk through tough ethical questions.
The law in Kansas
72-1506. Liberty of press protected; regulation authorized; review of material not restraint on publication; material not protected; responsibilities of editors and advisers; liability, immunity and limitations. (a) The liberty of the press in student publications shall be protected. School employees may regulate the number, length, frequency, distribution and format of student publications. Material shall not be suppressed solely because it involves political or controversial subject matter.
(b) Review of material prepared for student publications and encouragement of the expression of such material in a manner that is consistent with high standards of English and journalism shall not be deemed to be or construed as a restraint on publication of the material or an abridgment of the right to freedom of expression in student publications.
(c) Publication or other expression that is libelous, slanderous or obscene or matter that commands, requests, induces, encourages, commends or promotes conduct that is defined by law as a crime or conduct that constitutes a ground or grounds for the suspension or expulsion of students as enumerated in K.S.A. 72-8901, and amendments thereto, or which creates a material or substantial disruption of the normal school activity is not protected by this act.
(d) Subject to the limitations imposed by this section, student editors of student publications are responsible for determining the news, opinion, and advertising content of such publications. Student publication advisers and other certified employees who supervise or direct the preparation of material for expression in student publications are responsible for teaching and encouraging free and responsible expression of material and high standards of English and journalism. No such adviser or employee shall be terminated from employment, transferred, or relieved of duties imposed under this subsection for refusal to abridge or infringe upon the right to freedom of expression conferred by this act.
(e) No publication or other expression of matter by students in the exercise of rights under this act shall be deemed to be an expression of school district policy. No school district, member of the board of education or employee thereof, shall be held responsible in any civil or criminal action for any publication or other expression of matter by students in the exercise of rights under this act. Student editors and other students of a school district, if such student editors and other students have attained the age of majority, shall be held liable in any civil or criminal action for matter expressed in student publications to the extent of any such student editor's or other student's responsibility for and involvement in the preparation and publication of such matter.
http://www.kslegislature.org/legsrv-statutes/getStatute.do?number=29398
Resources
The Student Press Law Center offers solid guidance for student journalists. Check out all it has to offer at www.splc.org.
However, if you're trying to pry documents from your school district or attend a closed-door meeting, you'll probably be working under the Kansas Open Records Act (KORA) or the Kansas Open Meetings Act (KOMA). For information about navigating that law, try contacting the Kansas Press Association or Kansas Attorney General. The best guidance I've found on what's available under the law are in these documents produced by the AG's office about KORA and KOMA.
Congratulations. If you're from Kansas, you live in an anti-Hazelwood state.
To which you most likely say, huh?
Here's the deal. In 1988, the Supreme Court took a look at a student newspaper case out of Hazelwood, Mo. Members of the student newspaper staff sued when two pages of the student newspaper were deleted -- pages that included stories about student pregnancy and the impact of divorce on students. The school principal had nixed the pages during a review before publication with worries that the unnamed pregnant students might be identifiable and that talk of sexual activity and birth control wasn't appropriate for younger students.
The court had previously held that public school students and teacher don't "shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate." (Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District) Yet, in this case, the majority of justices said the Hazelwood principal acted appropriately. Essentially, they said that the student newspaper was part of the school's educational curriculum and not a public forum. That meant the principal could edit -- or censor -- the content as he saw fit.
Not everyone agreed. Three justices dissented. The students, they said, had signed up for class expecting a civics lesson. "In my view the principal broke more than just a promise. He violated the First Amendment's prohibitions against censorship of any student expression that neither disrupts classwork nor invades the rights of others, and against any censorship that is not narrowly tailored to serve its purpose," wrote Justice Brennan.
So what does this mean today? Kansas is among six states that has passed laws promising stronger student press rights in public schools. (Although you can't count on these protections if you're in a private school.) As it stands in Kansas, any attempt by a public school administrators to censor the work of the student newspaper would be illegal. Specifically, the law bars suppressing material in a student publication because it is controversial and prohibits firing or transferring an adviser for refusing to infringe on students' free expression rights.
Perfect, right?
This won't give you a free pass. You can be sued for libel, invasion of privacy or copyright infringement.
And nothing protects students from the reality that newspaper stories (even ones that are important and need to be told) can make people really mad. There's no protection from the sting of writing stories that bring glaring heat from fellow students, parents and administrators -- a true lesson in what professionals often face as they tackle tough stories.
Also, it helps to know that there is a difference between what you can publish without getting sued and what your staff finds ethically acceptable. For example, our newspaper could publish grisly accident scene photos. It chooses not to publish them. A student publication staff should feel empowered to talk through tough ethical questions.
The law in Kansas
72-1506. Liberty of press protected; regulation authorized; review of material not restraint on publication; material not protected; responsibilities of editors and advisers; liability, immunity and limitations. (a) The liberty of the press in student publications shall be protected. School employees may regulate the number, length, frequency, distribution and format of student publications. Material shall not be suppressed solely because it involves political or controversial subject matter.
(b) Review of material prepared for student publications and encouragement of the expression of such material in a manner that is consistent with high standards of English and journalism shall not be deemed to be or construed as a restraint on publication of the material or an abridgment of the right to freedom of expression in student publications.
(c) Publication or other expression that is libelous, slanderous or obscene or matter that commands, requests, induces, encourages, commends or promotes conduct that is defined by law as a crime or conduct that constitutes a ground or grounds for the suspension or expulsion of students as enumerated in K.S.A. 72-8901, and amendments thereto, or which creates a material or substantial disruption of the normal school activity is not protected by this act.
(d) Subject to the limitations imposed by this section, student editors of student publications are responsible for determining the news, opinion, and advertising content of such publications. Student publication advisers and other certified employees who supervise or direct the preparation of material for expression in student publications are responsible for teaching and encouraging free and responsible expression of material and high standards of English and journalism. No such adviser or employee shall be terminated from employment, transferred, or relieved of duties imposed under this subsection for refusal to abridge or infringe upon the right to freedom of expression conferred by this act.
(e) No publication or other expression of matter by students in the exercise of rights under this act shall be deemed to be an expression of school district policy. No school district, member of the board of education or employee thereof, shall be held responsible in any civil or criminal action for any publication or other expression of matter by students in the exercise of rights under this act. Student editors and other students of a school district, if such student editors and other students have attained the age of majority, shall be held liable in any civil or criminal action for matter expressed in student publications to the extent of any such student editor's or other student's responsibility for and involvement in the preparation and publication of such matter.
http://www.kslegislature.org/legsrv-statutes/getStatute.do?number=29398
Resources
The Student Press Law Center offers solid guidance for student journalists. Check out all it has to offer at www.splc.org.
However, if you're trying to pry documents from your school district or attend a closed-door meeting, you'll probably be working under the Kansas Open Records Act (KORA) or the Kansas Open Meetings Act (KOMA). For information about navigating that law, try contacting the Kansas Press Association or Kansas Attorney General. The best guidance I've found on what's available under the law are in these documents produced by the AG's office about KORA and KOMA.
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