In the landmark Supreme Court case Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier in 1988, the court handed down a decision that gave power to high school administration to censor school sponsored publications. The case involved the high school newspaper at Hazelwood East High School, which had written stories about teen pregnancy and about divorce.
High school staffs are still facing the effects of this case today. The following handout was created by the Student Press Law Center and is available here at this link.
The guide provides details of the entire case as it made its way through the judicial process. In addition, it answers several questions that advisers and staffs might come cross in their work. Some of the questions answers are:
Does Hazelwood apply only to student news media?
Does Hazelwood apply to all high school student media?
What is “school-sponsored”?
Are all school-sponsored student media covered by Hazelwood?
Does the decision apply to student media produced in an extracurricular activity?
What is forum analysis?
What is the difference between an “open public forum,” a “designated public forum” and a “non-public forum”?
What is the difference between an “open public forum,”
a “designated public forum” and a “non-public forum”?
What is the difference between an “open public forum,” a “designated public forum” and a “non-public forum”?
When is censorship by school officials allowed?
What is a “legitimate pedagogical [educational] concern” that justifies censorship under Hazelwood?
At the end of this handout there is a model policy that a staff can adopt for their own use.
Broadcast Staff Manual For The Scholastic Press 