What are your rights as a student journalist? SRL talks rights and (free!) legal resources with the Student Press Law Center
February 21, 2025
By: Anthony Payne
Following the recent walkouts and protests challenging President Trump’s new immigration policies, high school and college newsrooms may have questions about how to cover these and other current events locally. Whether you’re a student, teacher, or advisor, it’s always good to know your rights – you have more than you might think. We spoke with the legal team at the Student Press Law Center (SPLC) to help you do just that.
The SPLC is an independent, non-partisan nonprofit that defends free press for students and advisors. For example, they recently helped a student reporter avoid disciplinary action after being arrested during a campus protest at Stanford. They offer legal advice to students and teachers who are unduly censored or punished for fair reporting, offer reporting guides for students, and are at the forefront of a movement to codify student press rights into state law.
Sr. Legal Counsel Mike Hiestand manages the SPLC’s free legal hotline, where people can book phone consultations and get their media law questions answered.
“Public school officials, no matter what they say, do not have unlimited license to censor or control content,” Hiestand says. “There are significant legal restrictions, and students do have some pretty strong First Amendment protection when it comes to publishing what they want.”
Why do students’ First Amendment rights feel so limited? You can blame the Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier case. The Supreme Court tipped the balance in favor of school administrations back in 1988 with the Hazelwood verdict, which affirmed that schools can limit student speech if it goes against the school’s very broadly defined “educational mission.” A common misconception is that students are usually being censored because they are writing inappropriate stories about “sex, drugs, and rock and roll,” says Hiestand, but the number one predictor of whether or not a story is going to be censored is if school officials think it makes them or the school itself look bad.
“It goes back to that kind of misunderstanding that the student newspaper is there to be an extension of the PR office,” Hiestand explains. Often, censorship doesn’t come down to the school’s educational mission, but their reputation. The SPLC helps defendants prove that they are within their rights.
Standing up to protect your rights may feel like an uphill battle that isn’t worth the trouble. Students can just wait until they’re adults to speak their minds, right? Well, that’s a slippery slope.
For the SPLC, it’s important that free press not be limited to a concept that is taught in class; students should feel free to put the First Amendment into practice. Hiestand asserts that exercising these rights begins in schools. “If you have a well-run student newsroom, you’re practicing journalism in its purest form,” says Hiestand. “You don’t typically have to worry about pleasing advertisers and all that. You really can just focus on telling the truth and telling it the best way you can.”
In lieu of the Hazelwood verdict setting such a low baseline for federal First Amendment protections, it falls on state legislatures to further protect student press rights. The SPLC is championing a student-powered grassroots effort to get these protections set up in all 50 states, called the New Voices movement. So far, 18 states have passed laws to protect student press freedom.
“Where these laws have passed are places where you have enough students show up to the state capital and talk to their lawmakers and show up at the hearings,” says Hiestand.
One such student, Poojasai Kona, is a high school sophomore and On Our Minds: Election 2024 host. She works as a regional organizer for the New Voices movement’s North Texas coalition. Right now, the group is in the process of finding a bill sponsor and media partnerships to generate more momentum and raise awareness.
“Student journalists are trying to make a change,” Kona says. “They’re not trying to hurt anyone. They’re not trying to hurt anyone’s reputations. They’re just trying to call out the inequities they’re seeing [with] their own eyes, as a person and as part of the student body.”
Kona became invigorated to advocate for student press freedom after a piece she wrote was nearly censored by her school’s administration. An opinion piece she wrote, arguing that menstrual products should be provided in bathrooms by her school district, was almost pulled from her school publication after being flagged by her principal. After speaking with her administration, she believed she was being censored for making her school look bad.
Kona went to the SPLC for guidance, and they advised her to ask for the district’s explicit press freedom policies and to show her exactly where she was in violation. After multiple meetings with her administration and a district representative, her piece was approved to stay up.
“If the New Voices law does get passed in our state,” said Kona, “we won’t have to walk on eggshells. We can work without fear.”
Currently, 18 states have New Voices laws in place that protect student press freedoms. If you’re in one of the 32 states yet to follow suit, Hiestand and Kona have these tips:
Get informed.
“The biggest thing is, first, understand what’s happening in your own school district,” says Kona. “After I gained a better understanding about how my school, my administrators, and my district sees student journalism, I was able to know my foundation and where I was fighting from.”
Keeping up with the Student Press Law Center is one way she stays informed. “I just followed them on Instagram and subscribed to their newsletter. They’re really good at informing people about the big cases that aren’t being covered by major publications.”
Find your allies.
Know where your advisor, newsroom staff, and school administrators stand. Their support can go a long way. Have a conversation with your friends about student press freedom and why it’s important to you.
Talk to people who don’t care.
“Talking more about free speech just in casual conversation is a great way to just get people to really think about the importance of free press,” Kona offers. “Often, people have the same issues that you have, and care more than they might realize.”
Seek out local student journalism groups.
Organizations like the New Voices coalitions, the Journalism Education Association, or other student journalism groups may have more information about student press rights in your state and efforts to protect them.
Create your own platform.
Since media has moved from exclusively print, students are no longer dependent on their school or larger publications to make their voices heard. Consider creating your own websites or social media accounts to share information that way. Check out this guide to publishing your work independently, (and you can always pitch your story to SRL, too!)
Start local.
For those in states without strong student press protections, Hiestand recommends going to the district to inquire about establishing a local policy. District policies work the same way as state laws, albeit with a smaller area of effect. “These things tend to get passed when you have a school board member that has an appreciation of what a free press is,” Hiestand affirms, “and why it really is important that we not just teach about it in our civics class, but we actually let students practice the First Amendment.”
Remember that this is not a partisan issue.
Hiestand attributes this misconception to subpar civics education. “Good student journalism reminds people of what a press really is,” he says. “It’s not there to push an agenda. It’s there to tell the truth.”
Kona agrees: “It doesn’t matter if you’re conservative or if you’re liberal. You’re someone. You’re a person who has an opinion. It might be a different opinion from someone else, but you should be able to share it. As humans we just want our voices to be heard.”