On March 31, 2022, the principal of Grand Island Northwest High School walked into the journalism classroom with a new list of rules from the administration. Three transgender students were forced to use their given names for bylines because their use of chosen names was “controversial.”
In response, the students published their final issue of the year in June, dedicating three stories to LGBTQ+ pride. After this issue was published, the school administration retaliated by shuttering the paper, leaving their high school without any student journalism.
Unfortunately, what happened in Grand Island is not an outlier. The Student Press Law Center has chronicled dozens of similar issues over the past few years. But Legislative Bill 1071, which is currently being considered by the Nebraska Legislature, has the chance to make this kind of censorship a thing of the past in our state.
We speak as students who have succeeded in our high school paper because we attend a school whose administration does not arbitrarily censor student journalists. But unfortunately, we know that not every student journalist in Nebraska is so fortunate.
At a time in which social media has enabled misinformation about our schools to run rampant, student journalism has emerged as a vital source of information for students, teachers and parents. We want every student journalist in Nebraska to have the same opportunities we had to tell stories that are important to their communities.
LB 1071 would narrow the circumstances in which school administrators could censor student publications. If passed into law, administrators in Nebraska would only be able to censor student journalism if it invades others’ privacy, breaks the law, violates accepted standards of journalistic ethics, or creates a clear and present danger to the school.
In 1988, the Supreme Court ruling in Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier said that school administrators have the right to censor media when censorship is “reasonably related to legitimate pedagogical concerns.” This ruling curtailed the recognized precedent established in Tinker v. Des Moines – but only for student journalists. Regular students cannot be censored unless their speech disrupts the learning environment. The Hazelwood standard has essentially given school administrations carte blanche to censor student newspapers.
Often, as we saw at Grand Island Northwest, stories that are censored address LGBTQ+ issues, issues related to race, are critical of the school administration, or expose scandals. As Nebraskans, it’s important to us that we’re able to report on issues affecting us and our community.
In the status quo, that line is blurred – this legislation serves to help not only student journalists but their schools by protecting the school and district from liability. In turn, this helps to create an environment where students feel free to report on and engage with complex topics, sharpen their journalistic prowess and prepare them for the world. Districts often try explaining that student publications and the opinions of the district are inextricably intertwined as a point to knock this type of legislation. This bill specifically targets this type of argument, giving school boards a reason to support LB 1071.
Moreover, this bill protects school districts from lawsuits. To this date, no school district has ever been held liable in U.S. court for the content of a student publication. But, through Hazelwood’s vague definitions of “legitimate pedagogical concerns,” expensive and embarrassing litigations between students and schools often ensue. After the student journalists at Northwest High were censored by administrators, taxpayers in Grand Island had to foot the bill for a costly lawsuit from the ACLU and Nebraska High School Press Association alleging the students’ First Amendment rights were violated. A clear, direct policy about when student media may be restrained ensures that schools and journalists are protected.
Most importantly, it overturns the policy of prior review. Prior review exists when a school administration must approve a student publication before it goes to print. Prior review is criticized by every journalism education group in the U.S. as the wrong way to teach student journalists. Yet, prior review continues in Nebraska. When a policy is criticized by all national education associations surrounding a certain subject, it is removed from the curriculum, not further entrenched. Students cannot learn algebra without learning quadratic functions, nor biology without learning cell functions. This policy allows us to practice good journalism with the guidance of an adviser who will support us in our pursuit of newsgathering.
LB 1071 does not open schools to lawsuits, allow students to publish without proper feedback, or step on any other district policy. When student journalists are free to address issues affecting their community, the whole student body benefits. Passing LB 1071 is imperative for all students who wish to attend schools where justice is the default operational motivation instead of censorship.
For the past 138 years, The Register has served the students and teachers of Central High School by seeking out the most important stories of the day and uplifting student voices. Today, we ask for your support in ensuring that future student journalists at Central can continue that mission. Contact your state senator and urge them to support LB 1071 to protect Nebraska’s student press for generations to come.