more on school censorship

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Arik Hesseldahl <arik () arik org>
Date: November 25, 2004 7:30:04 PM EST
To: dave () farber net
Subject: more on school censorship
Reply-To: arik () arik org

Dave, the Trypophan is making me lazy.

Here's some links regarding the Supreme Court case I referred to my last
mailing.

http://www.splc.org/legalresearch.asp?subcat=1

"The Supreme Court's 1988 decision in the case Hazelwood School 
District v.
Kuhlmeier defined the level of First Amendment protection public high 
school
students working on school-sponsored publications are entitled to.  
That case
was a follow up to the landmark 1969 Supreme Court decision in Tinker 
v. Des
Moines Independent Community School District.  Together, these cases 
set the
standards school officials must meet before they can legally censor 
student
expression under the First Amendment. (State laws and regulations may 
provide
additional protection -- see below.)'

And here's a background on the case itself
http://www.splc.org/legalresearch.asp?id=4

"In January 1988, the United States Supreme Court handed down its 
decision in
the case Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier.1 The decision upheld 
the right
of public high school administrators at Hazelwood  East High School in 
suburban
St. Louis, Mo., to censor stories concerning teen pregnancy and the 
effects of
divorce on children from a school-sponsored student newspaper.

"The Hazelwood  decision was in dramatic contrast to the decisions of 
courts
across the country handed down over the previous 15 years that had given
student journalists extensive First Amendment protections. As a result, 
many
students and advisers are concerned about the status of their rights.

"Although the Supreme Court was only dealing with a student newspaper 
in this
case, it seems clear that all student news and information media could 
be
affected. Student newspapers, yearbooks and literary magazines as well 
as radio
and TV programs can use this information as a guide. Because the First
Amendment only protects against the actions of government officials and 
the
Hazelwood  case only dealt with First Amendment rights, private school 
students
are unaffected by the Hazelwood  decision. They must rely on school 
policies or
state law to protect their free expression rights.

"The most significant aspect of the Hazelwood  decision is the emphasis 
it
gives to determining whether a student publication is or is not a 
"public
forum" for student expression. Some student publications that formerly 
may have
been presumed public forums may not be after Hazelwood.  The 
determination of
forum status may not always be clear, but this packet describes how it 
will
likely be made."

The other important case in this area is from 1969: Tinker V. Des 
Moines.

http://www.splc.org/law_library.asp?id=2

"Summary: Students were suspended by school officials for wearing a 
simple
black armband to school to protest Vietnam War. U.S. Supreme Court held 
that
students’ speech was protected. Students, the Court held, do not “shed 
their
constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the 
schoolhouse
gate,” and school officials may not punish or prohibit student speech 
unless
they can clearly demonstrate that it will result in a material and 
substantial
disruption of normal school activities or invades the rights of others.'


The more relevant case here is Tinker, but I believe this decision has 
been
eroded over the years, in particular because of Hazelwood.

Since public schools are generally funded at the state level, then 
state law
and case law usually apply with more force and in most cases are more
restrictive than the federal level, IIRC.

Arik



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