What’s in your state press law?
by John Bowen and Lori Keekley
Title
What’s in your state press law?
Description
State laws protecting student press rights mean nothing if students don’t know what they cover. For this lesson, students will examine what their state law protects and what its limitations are. Students will also create a dialogue with stakeholders in order to educate them about what the bill and its impact.
Objectives
- Students will evaluate what their state law covers
- Students will locate and quote from their state bill
- Students will create a dialogue to help inform other stakeholders about the bill.
Common Core State Standards
| CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.11-12.4 | Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings; analyze how an author uses and refines the meaning of a key term or terms over the course of a text (e.g., how Madison defines faction in Federalist No. 10). |
| CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.11-12.8 | Delineate and evaluate the reasoning in seminal U.S. texts, including the application of constitutional principles and use of legal reasoning (e.g., in U.S. Supreme Court majority opinions and dissents) and the premises, purposes, and arguments in works of public advocacy (e.g., The Federalist, presidential addresses). |
| CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.9-10.1.D | Respond thoughtfully to diverse perspectives, summarize points of agreement and disagreement, and, when warranted, qualify or justify their own views and understanding and make new connections in light of the evidence and reasoning presented. |
| CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.11-12.1.D | Respond thoughtfully to diverse perspectives; synthesize comments, claims, and evidence made on all sides of an issue; resolve contradictions when possible; and determine what additional information or research is required to deepen the investigation or complete the task. |
Length
50 minutes
Materials / resources
State law (pick the applicable one from those available at the end of the lesson)
Handout: State law sheet
Rubric: State law rubric
Computer
Definitions of legal terms used in various bills
Lesson step-by-step
Step 1 — Introduction (5 minutes)
Thirteen states have now passed student free expression legislation or codes. While many are similar, no one is exactly like any other.
Have students guess what 14 states have this legislation or state code.
(Teacher note — the states in which legislation has passed include: Arkansas, California, Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, North Dakota, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Washington.)
Is your state part of this? (If it is not, have students evaluate one of the other state laws and see Extension 2).
Step 2 — Small groups (20 minutes)
Place students into small groups. Each group will need to complete the “State Law Sheet.” Teachers may need to provide hints about where to find the information either by search or accessing the New Voices USA homepage.
The teacher would also explain why it is important students create a dialogue between a student and either an administrator, school board member, angry parent, angry student or adviser about the bill. The teacher should assign each group one of these people to educate about the significance, relevance and rationale behind the laws, especially as they apply to the stakeholders.
Step 3 — Assessment (25 minutes)
Students will act out the dialogue they created concerning educating someone about the bill. Please see the rubric for point breakdown.
Differentiation
If you have advanced students, you could have students compare their state legislation with another state’s bill. Then they could write a blogpost about whether their legislation needs any changes and why.
We also recommend more than additional class or assignment time for students to work on applying what they learned about their state legislation.
Assessment
The teacher will use the assessment form to evaluate student participation.
Extension Activities
Extension 1:
Have students (in small groups) research the following court cases and reflect upon why they might be used as precedent in a New Voices law:
Tinker v. Des Moines
Bethel v. Fraser
Dean v. Utica
Miller v. California
Morse v. Frederick
The students should present background information about why the court cases laws are relevant and why precise legal language is essential for any such legislation to succeed.
Extension 2:
If your state is not included in the list of 14 states with laws, the teacher might have students use the lesson to focus on differences between two of the state’s legislation is and what should be in students’ state legislation when developed.
Students could also access the New Voices U.S. site and see their state’s status in the New Voices movement and see who to contact if they are interested in helping to pass the bill.
State Laws and Codes:
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Illinois
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Nevada
- North Dakota
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- Washington
The importance of an independent and active press
by Matthew Smith
Title
The importance of an independent and active press
Description
Having a press that is independent and active enough to hold the government accountable has long been considered important for the proper functioning of a democracy. In fact, although the benefits of an active, adversarial press has come under fire, recently, many people (even public officials) have argued that a press that actively challenges public officials for the truth is a necessity for our own democracy to work at all.
This lesson provides some thoughts from public officials and others about the importance of an independent and active press and then asks students to weigh in on these perspectives and consider the state of the free press today and how important it still is and why. This lesson could be applicable in any class that discusses the press or government (including journalism, social students or English classes).
Objectives
- Students will recognize the relationship between an independent press and the functioning of a democracy
- Students will discuss and demonstrate the effect of an independent press on their own lives
- Students will see the importance of the press and its being the watchdog of the government.
Common Core State Standards
| CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.11-12.1 | Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 11-12 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively. |
| CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.11-12.7 | Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in different media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively) as well as in words in order to address a question or solve a problem. |
| CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.11-12.9 | Analyze seventeenth-, eighteenth-, and nineteenth-century foundational U.S. documents of historical and literary significance (including The Declaration of Independence, the Preamble to the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address) for their themes, purposes, and rhetorical features. |
Length
50 minutes
Materials/Resources
Video: Importance of an Independent and Active Press
Handout: Importance of an Independent and Active Press
Prompts: Importance of an Independent and Active Press Discussion
Activity/lesson Step by Step
Step 1 — Introduction (1-2 minutes)
Briefly introduce the topic of the relationship between an independent and active press and the proper functioning of a democracy (feel free to use the language provided at the top of the “Importance of an Independent and Active Press Handout”).
Step 2 — Video (5 minutes)
Play the “Importance of an Independent and Active Press Video.”
Step 3 — Reaction (5 minutes)
Ask for some brief student reactions to the video (feel free to use any of the suggested prompts, below):
-
- How do public officials seem to feel about the press?
- What are some reasons given in support of a free press, even if they don’t always like what they do?
- What can a press (free from government control and active enough to bug public officials about things, even if it’s unpleasant) provide for citizens in a democracy?
Step 4 — Reading (5 minutes)
Pass out the “Importance of an Independent and Active Press Handout.” Ask students to read through the handful of additional views expressed for further discussion.
Step 5 — Discussion preparation (5 minutes)
Pass out the “Importance of an Independent and Active Press Discussion Prompts” and ask students to complete the front.
Step 6 — Pair or small group discussion (5 minutes)
Have students discuss/compare their answers/reactions in pairs or small groups. (Consider having groups put a “+” symbol next to the statement that the entire group mostly agrees with and a “-” symbol next to the statement the group most disagrees with and wishes to discuss in front of the class.)
Step 7 — Large group discussion (20 minutes)
Have students (and/or groups) share responses to the prompts from the handout.
(Consider calling on specific groups/students to discuss and explain the statement they put a “+” or “-” symbol next to. If some students repeatedly take the side of limiting the press or allowing government officials to stop particular debates, it would be helpful to refer back to the main points made in the quotes provided, especially in the handout. Students don’t need to come away convinced the press should be as free and/or active as possible, but they should understand and appreciate the reasons many officials/experts have given for supporting such a press, even if they don’t agree with them or believe most of the press is evil in some way. It may be especially helpful to refer back to Hannah Arendt’s passage and propose back to the students and/or class, what the danger is in citizens coming to believe that everyone is lying. What benefits can a trustworthy press provide? Why? What would it be like if there was no press at all, or if all press was owned/run by the government? These questions may help re-direct discussions if necessary.)
Step 8 — Assessment (5 minutes)
Require students to respond to the following final exit-ticket prompt on the back of the discussion prompt sheet:
-
- How important is the existence of an Independent and active press to your life, today? Explain why.
Differentiation
If time is short, you could drop either the video or handout and complete the discussion prompts and discussion with only one set of quotes.
If more background is needed by students on press rights, you may have the class view “Freedom of the Press: Crash Course Government and Politics #26” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vtpd0EbaFoQ) before this lesson.
Assessment
Skim through the “exit ticket” responses to judge understanding of the reasoning provided.
Extension
In a future class, you could further discussion by providing (anonymously) some of the responses to the exit-ticket question and asking for some additional thoughts related to those.
Students could also be asked to find one additional quote concerning the free press that they most agree (or disagree) with and then explain why. Some decent sources of additional quotes would be the following:
Article, Speaking of a Free Press, American Newspaper Association Foundation
Wiki website, Freedom of the Press
Brainy Quotes website, Free Press Quotes
Particularly if this is for a journalism class, students could be asked to evaluate their own publication and how well it has kept students informed about the local school powers (administrators, district officials, etc.) and possibly how well they have been active in holding them accountable (in an objective, truth-based manner). What are some stories (or some information) that have been missed and/or should be covered? What are some questions that should be asked of local school community leaders?
Read MoreForum status of student media: Quick Tip1
Policy
If you’re developing a new policy, the Scholastic Press Rights Committee recommends using language something like this:
[Name of publication] is a designated public forum for student expression. Student editors make all content decisions without prior review from school officials.
Key points/action: In the post-Hazelwood world, it is more important than ever for student journalists and their advisers to know what policies their school has adopted relating to student publications or student expression.
[pullquote]Quick Tips are small tidbits of information designed to address specific legal or ethical concerns advisers and media staffs may have or have raised. These include a possible guideline, stance, rationale and resources for more information. This is the first in the series. [/pullquote]
The language of those policies (whether they give editorial control to students or keep it in the hands of school officials) and the amount of freedom that students have traditionally operated under at the school can determine whether Hazelwood or Tinker sets the standard for what school officials will be allowed to censor.
A designated public forum is created when school officials have “by policy or by practice” opened a publication for use by students to engage in their own free expression.
Often the most important question in that analysis is which of two First Amendment standards they have to meet.
- The Tinker standard (as defined by the case Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District, 393 U.S. 503 (1969)), which says schools can censor only if their actions are necessary to avoid a material and substantial disruption of school activities or an invasion of the rights of others. This language may sound vague, but as the courts have interpreted it, the Tinker standard is a very difficult one for school officials to meet and typically requires them to show evidence of physical disruption before their censorship will be allowed.
- The Hazelwood standard (as defined by the case Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier, 484 U.S. 260 (1988)), which says schools can censor if their actions are reasonably related to legitimate educational concerns. Although this standard requires school officials to justify every act of censorship as educationally sound, it is a standard that gives school officials more extensive authority to silence or punish student expression.
Stance: Of the three types of forums, open public, limited public and closed, JEA strongly endorses the designated (open) public forum concept.
In the Hazelwood case, the Court said it believed both the policy and practice at Hazelwood East High School reflected school officials’ intent to exercise complete control over the student newspaper’s content. That finding prompted the Court to say a designated public forum did not exist.
Student publications at other schools with different policies and different practices relating to editorial control can be public forums. Where student editors have been given final authority over content decisions in their publications or where a school policy explicitly describes a student publication as a designated public forum, the Tinker standard will still apply.
Reasoning/suggestions: If you’re developing a new policy, the Scholastic Press Rights Committee recommends using language something like this:
[Name of publication] is a designated public forum for student expression. Student editors make all content decisions without prior review from school officials.
Two things are important about the phrasing of this policy statement. First is the use of the words “designated public forum” as opposed to “limited public forum” or other similar language. Although many once believed the two phrases were interchangeable, some recent court decisions have suggested that using the word “limited” opens the door to school censorship as permitted under Hazelwood.
Second, using the phrase “student editors make all content decisions” is in many ways a clearer restatement of the meaning of “designated public forum.” It conveys the intent behind the public forum phrase anyone unfamiliar with the relevant Supreme Court rulings should understand.
To help schools understand what we consider public forums, please note these definitions:
- Forums by policy: An official school policy exists that designates student editors as the ultimate authority regarding content. School officials actually practice this policy by exercising a “hands-off” role and empowering student editors to lead. Advisers teach and offer students advice, but they neither control nor make final decisions regarding content.
- Forums by practice: A school policy may or may not exist regarding student media, but administrators have a “hands-off” approach and have empowered students to control content decisions. Advisers teach and offer students advice, but they neither control nor make final decisions regarding content.
Resources
When your publication is a public forum and when it is not, Mark Goodman, Knight chair in Scholastic Journalism
Choosing your forum status is like choosing the best medicine, JEA Scholastic Press Rights Committee
Read More