Student free expression resources
- Comments from an administrator on the importance of student free expression
- SPRC Foundations package (mission, policy, ethics, manual)
- JEA Adviser Code of Ethics
- Press Rights Minute
- Seeking to cure the Hazelwood Blues
- Constitution Day lessons and activities
Apply for First Amendment recognition
with FAFPA Award
Constitution Day participation can be a time to focus student journalists a on recognition for First Amendment practices and policies as well as civic engagement.
For instance, the FAPFA award.
This First Amendment Press Freedom Award recognizes high schools that actively support, teach and protect First Amendment rights and responsibilities of students and teachers. The recognition focuses on student-run media where students make all final decisions of content without prior review.
Roughly, here’s a sample of what the judging committee looks for in determining FAPFA recipients:
- No prior review or restraint by school faculty for all student media.
- Student staffers make all final decisions of content for all student media.
- Establish policies at all student media and school system levels or both as public forums for student expression.
- Remove Internet filters for student journalism use
- Students, advisers and administrators agree on First Amendment practices, philosophy and application across platforms.
As in previous years, schools compete for the title by first answering questionnaires submitted by an adviser and at least one editor. Those who advance to the next level will be asked to provide responses from the principal and all media advisers and student editors, indicating their support of the First Amendment. In addition, semifinalists submitted samples of their school and media online or printed policies that show student media applying their freedoms.
Schools recognized as meeting FAPFA criteria will be honored at the opening ceremony of the JEA/NSPA Spring National High School Journalism Convention in Seattle.
First round applications are due annually by Dec. 1. Downloadable applications for 2017 will be available on the JEA website in the fall.
Save this link and apply now.
Meet the challenges raised by Constitution Day. Apply to be a FAPFA-recognized school.
This is the 17th year for the award.
Read MoreApply for First Amendment Press Freedom Award recognition
by John Bowen
With the recognition and celebration of Constitution Day, applications are now available for this year’s First Amendment Press Freedom Award (FAPFA).
Finding pieces of the puzzle
that is scholastic media
Looking for the pieces to the journalistic puzzle a new year of student media will bring?
Here are some pieces that might help:
• Use of the Panic Button can help with legal or ethical issues.
• Constitution Day materials available around the first of September. Congress mandated schools must provide lessons and activities on Constitutional issues Sept. 17. Check out our past materials and be on the lookout for ones to come this year.
• Need a quick way to start your class each day or once a week? Listen to our Press Rights Minutes with information on a variety of legal and ethical points.
• Facing changes in what you report and how to do so? Our Foundations Project will provide extensive information, lessons and articles on building effective editorial policies, supporting them with strong ethical guidelines which in turn are strengthened by detailed staff manual procedures.
More, including links to SPRC lessons, will come soon.
Read More5 Important points you might have missed this week
With all the attention to Constitution Day and its lessons this week (which are usable any time), you might have missed other points of information:
• Friday, Sept. 19, the SPLC released information about reprinting its articles. For more information, go here.
• The same day Evelyn Lauer posted commentary to Huffington Post on the Neshaminey board suspension of its newspaper editor and adviser.
• An article on the Thinkprogress site about the Neshaminy issue.
• A column by Megan Fromm about the importance of news literacy and a scholastic journalism where students make all final decisions of content and learn from that action.
• A Thinglink visual linking to other essential SPRC works
Read More