Tweet16: Know how to fight legal battles, if you must
If legal battles are necessary, students have to fight them, and know protected from unprotected speech. #25HZLWD http://tinyurl.com/bc98rs4
Advisers cannot fight legal battles for students. It is imperative students understand the difference between protected and unprotected speech and what is worth fighting for. Additionally, students need to know the process and resources available for them to fight censorship. Decisions to enter into legal battles cannot be made lightly. Before this step is taken, know the best ways to fight.
Resources for unprotected speech:
• SPLC/CMA Legal Bootcamp – Student Press Law Center
http://www.splc.org/presentations/pppressfreedom.pps
• Student media guide to Internet law
http://www.splc.org/knowyourrights/legalresearch.asp?id=73
• Understanding student free-expression laws
http://www.splc.org/news/report_detail.asp?id=1351&edition=43
• SPLC presentations and handouts usable in the classroom; also lesson plans (scroll down the page)
http://www.splc.org/presentations/
• SPLC podcasts
http://www.splc.org/podcasts/
• First Amendment FAQs
http://archive.firstamendmentcenter.org/Speech/faqs.aspx?id=15822&
• Legal guide for the private school press
http://www.splc.org/knowyourrights/legalresearch.asp?id=52
Resources for fighting censorship:
• Fighting censorship: A Checklist
http://www.studentpress.org/nspa/trends/~law0305hs.html
• Fighting censorship after Hazelwood
http://www.splc.org/knowyourrights/legalresearch.asp?id=5
• High school confidential
http://www.ajr.org/article.asp?id=2554
• Censorship statement
http://azaipa.org/?page_id=66
• A student media adviser’s guide to fighting (and surviving)_ censorship
https://www.splc.org/classroomresources/mediaadvisertips.asp
• Fighting journalistic media censorship must start locally
http://jeasprc.org/fighting-scholastic-media-censorship-must-start-locally/
• Posts tagged “The Spoke”
http://jeasprc.org/tag/the-spoke/
• Resources for publications facing censorship
http://friendsofthespoke.org/Resources_for_a_publication_facing_censorship_-_Friends_of_The_Spoke.html
• Press freedom at a public junior or high school
http://www.splc.org/knowyourrights/legalresearch.asp?subcat=1
Anniversary provides opportunity to thank, educate decision-makers
While next week’s 25th anniversary of the Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier decision isn’t something to celebrate in a traditional sense, it does offer the opportunity for pause and reflection. And in some cases, it gives us the chance to say thanks.
Thank you to the principals, school board members and decision-makers out there supporting student journalists and the educational experience involved in a media program free of administrative control. Thank you for trusting students, under the guidance of teachers and advisers, to do their jobs as reporters. Thank you for encouraging their journey through a process that involves tireless research, interviewing, critical thinking, writing, editing and revision — the stories they tell truly make a difference.
In many states, principals by law can exercise prior review. Thankfully many know better and decide against this practice. The 25th anniversary of the Hazelwood decision seems like a great time to say thank you to those principals. If you’d like to send a letter or note of appreciation, now’s the time.
Here’s a simple card you can download and customize as a way to say thanks from journalism students to their principal, for example. Ready to print and use — with student signatures, a staff photo or whatever meets your needs.
Want to send a letter or email? Maybe this sample will help:
Dear principal/administrator/school official,
Thank you for the continued support of our journalism program and the daily opportunities it provides for our students as 21st-century learners.
This month, we are reflecting on the 25th anniversary of a Supreme Court case that significantly limited student media — Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier — and I am reminded again of how challenging it would be to advise publications in a school setting that failed to support student press freedom. True growth, learning and leadership occurs when students are accountable for their own decision-making process and work independently to serve the school community. Through thorough research and careful reporting, they are able to tell important stories that benefit others.
Advising in a supportive environment free of prior review (a form of censorship) offers a win-win. As students engage in thoughtful decision-making and critical thinking, I am able to focus as the teacher on creating meaningful, standards-based lessons.
I am proud to be part of a school climate that demonstrates a solid commitment to an authentic education and civic engagement.
Sincerely,
Adviser
Fighting censorship?
Here’s a Blueprint for help in your state
by Kathy Schrier
It’s obvious, by the frequent reports of administrative prior review and restraint across the country, that there is a lack of clarity about the law and the First Amendment rights of students. The waters, muddied by the 1988 Hazelwood Supreme Court decision, are much more clear now in seven states where anti-Hazelwood legislation has passed.
For the student press in all other states, there is a constant tug of war between student journalists and their administrators over what is allowed: Under what circumstances is administrative control over content justified? What recourse do students have when their rights have been infringed upon? What is the role of the adviser? Who is liable when unprotected speech slips through and is published?
It has become clear that, in the states where legislation has passed, these questions now have answers; in the states where there is no clarifying law, the answers to these questions are ill defined. There are no winners in the resulting tug-of-war between school administrators, their districts, and the student press.
Members of the Scholastic Press Rights Commission decided this situation warranted the creation of a guide for those in states where legislation has not yet passed. This document would be a “blueprint” to guide individuals determined to see scholastic press rights bills introduced their own states. During an intense two-day meeting in March 2012, a team of SPRC Commission members poured over archives documenting successes and failures in passing legislation, and the result is a downloadable “Promoting Scholastic Press Rights Legislation: A Blueprint for Success.”
This guide is not a guarantee of success, but the SPRC hopes that it will offer insights into the challenges, and will be a practical reference for those who choose to navigate the unpredictable waters of the legislative process. The information will also be available on our homepage, in the menu section, on the right.
To help provide background information about the Hazelwood decision, download this legal research by theStudent Press Law Center.
Read MoreWorth noting
Those looking for guidelines to prepare state groups to pass free expression legislation now have a draft document package to work with.
The Scholastic Press Rights Commission has completed a draft version of its Blueprint for Success: Promoting Scholastic Right Rights Legislation, and makes that information available in time for the JEA/NSPA Seattle convention.
The commission welcomes comments and suggestions before it publishes a final version in the coming months.
The Blueprint can be downloaded here or from a link in the right-hand menu under state legislation on this site.
Several additional legal and ethical sites are also worth noting:
• Back issues of the Student Press Reports. Found at Issuu, this site gives everyone access to information from The SPLC Reports, the Student Press Law Center’s magazine, since it started. Well worth time to just browse or look for information to support local reporting.
• The Panic Button. Found here, The Panic Button links you or your students directly to assistance and information about handling an issue of censorship. Members of the Scholastic Press Rights Commission and 45Words students will respond quickly, offering suggestions and providing information as your students and others plan a strategy to handle censorship.
• The forum map. This map, a project of The Center for Scholastic Journalism, is a list of schools the Center has determined to be open forums for student expression, either by policy or practice. The purpose of the map is to enable journalism programs seeking to become open forums to have models and contacts to assist in the quest.
• Application to be on the forum map. This writable PDF is your way to apply to have your school recognized as an forum by policy or practice.
• Certification map. This map shows requirements for teaching journalism in 49 of the 50 states, plus the District of Columbia and links to each state’s department of education.
Read MoreWorth noting
Those looking for guidelines to prepare state groups to pass free expression legislation now have a draft document package to work with.
The Scholastic Press Rights Commission has completed a draft version of its Blueprint for Success: Promoting Scholastic Right Rights Legislation, and makes that information available in time for the JEA/NSPA Seattle convention.
The commission welcomes comments and suggestions before it publishes a final version in the coming months.
The Blueprint can be downloaded here or from a link in the right-hand menu under state legislation on this site.
Several additional legal and ethical sites are also worth noting:
• Back issues of the Student Press Reports. Found at Issuu, this site gives everyone access to information from The SPLC Reports, the Student Press Law Center’s magazine, since it started. Well worth time to just browse or look for information to support local reporting.
• The Panic Button. Found here, The Panic Button links you or your students directly to assistance and information about handling an issue of censorship. Members of the Scholastic Press Rights Commission and 45Words students will respond quickly, offering suggestions and providing information as your students and others plan a strategy to handle censorship.
• The forum map. This map, a project of The Center for Scholastic Journalism, is a list of schools the Center has determined to be open forums for student expression, either by policy or practice. The purpose of the map is to enable journalism programs seeking to become open forums to have models and contacts to assist in the quest.
• Application to be on the forum map. This writable PDF is your way to apply to have your school recognized as an forum by policy or practice.
• Certification map. This map shows requirements for teaching journalism in 49 of the 50 states, plus the District of Columbia and links to each state’s department of education.
Read More