School paper suspended for publishing story on football transfers

The news article is well done for high school kids, but the editorial is kinda dickish: Student Press Law Center | Censored editorial: Hear me roar I can see why the admin would be mad about the editorial. It is more of a personal attack on the players and their heart than it is a criticism of transfer policies. The accusation of "bullying" in the editorial is not without merit.

 

Arkansas passed the Student Publications Act back in 1995 clearly outlines the reasons a school can censor a publication. I don't think any of what they published meets the criteria.

Student Press Law Center | Arkansas Student Publications Act (1995)

 

I agree. I don't think they have a legal leg to stand on... but calling the editorial "bullying" doesn't seem so crazy. And I agree that "bullying" is not a legal reason to pull down the entire issue.

 

The problem the students are going to run into if they challenge the district on this is they need to prove it wasn't a disruption to the learning environment because that is the standard set up by the Supreme Court. The editorial aside, the fact the community got upset following the article and the fact this could affect students means the district might be able to argue it harms the ability to maintain a safe and productive classroom setting. I kind of want the students to challenge the district in court just because I want to see if the student press freedoms stand up against Tinker v Des Moines and Hazelwood School District v Kuhlmeier (both went against students' First Amendment freedoms).

 

I would also like to see that. That standard is an issue because almost any controversial topic could cause some sort of disruption to the learning environment.

Which side has the burden of proof? Does the district have to prove the disruption or do the students have to prove that it wasn't disruptive?

 

I hate how liberally the term bullying is used in school settings now, but you're not wrong. To be fair, I had read the article, but didn't get to read the editorial until today. Some of the district's claims make more sense now.

 

Articles going back up.

Har-Ber Herald Articles Investigating Football Players’ Transfers To Be Reposted Online

 

Wow. I didn't expect a district to reverse course like that.

 

I’m guessing this is a soft reversal to try to blunt criticism. They let the article go back up, but continue to require students to submit copy for review and don’t shred the letter of reprimand in the teacher’s file.

 

Am I crazy to think this story buried the lead? A teacher/coach is caught on videotape drinking alcohol in the presence of students.

 

You are not crazy at all. When you read the column, it is clear the students writing the original article were going after the transfers, which may explain why they buried that part of the story.

 

Wonder whether a separate story about the unprofessional teacher would have generated the same administrative outrage as the transfer story.