Endorsements of the Student Free Press and Civics Readiness Act
A number of leading student and professional organizations and student expression experts stand united behind the New Voices movement and endorse the Student Press Press and Civics Readiness Act. We all agree that our state must protect the new voices of today, because they will be the journalists and leaders of tomorrow.
SPJ Detroit Chapter
Michigan Collegiate Press Association
Michigan State University First Amendment Law Clinic
Statements of Support
It has been more than 25 years since the Supreme Court’s Hazelwood decision, and educators have seen its devastating effects. As Gene Policinski, executive director of the First Amendment Institute, said, “We are training a generation of journalists who take no for an answer.” Click below to see why these organizations say that’s just not acceptable any more.
Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication 2013 Resolution on Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier Anniversary
- “[T]he Hazelwood level of control over student journalistic and editorial expression is incompatible with the effective teaching of journalistic skills, values and practices at the collegiate level…”
- Colleges and universities should reject “Hazelwood as a legitimate source of authority for the governance of student and educator expression.”
Journalism Education Association 2013 Resolution on Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier Anniversary
- The combined 150 years’ experience of states with statutory student free press guarantees demonstrates “that the Hazelwood level of administrative control is unnecessary for the advancement of legitimate educational objectives.”
- “[N]o legitimate pedagogical purpose is served by the censorship of student journalism on the grounds that it reflects unflatteringly on school policies and programs, that it candidly discusses sensitive social and political issues, or that it voices opinions challenging to majority views on matters of public concern.”
Society of Professional Journalists 2013 Resolution on Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier Anniversary
- “[T]he Society of Professional Journalists believes in an unfettered press, including the right of all school students to report fairly and accurately without prior review or censorship.”
- “[I]t is well-documented the Hazelwood censorship clause impedes an educator’s ability to adequately instruct and train students in professional journalistic values and practices, including the right to question authority and investigate performances of governance.”
American Society of News Editors Resolution Supporting Legal Protection for Student Journalists and Their Advisers
- “… a free and independent student media is an essential ingredient of a civically healthy campus community, conveying the skills, ethics and values that prepare young people for a lifetime of participatory citizenship”
- “student journalists are also subject to threats of disciplinary action and intimidation on a regular basis, which often threatens their growth as the next generation of journalists and productive citizens
Student Press Law Center Statement on Press Freedom & Censorship
- “Students learn journalism best under a light touch of guidance from a well-trained adviser, not the heavy hand of government ‘spin control.’“
- “Every K-12 student should have the benefit of a sensible free-expression policy modeled on the Supreme Court’s Tinker standard, protecting the right to engage in lawful, non-disruptive speech.”
In 1989, the National Council of Teachers of English passed a resolution urging state legislators, state departments of education, and local school districts to promote legislation protecting the rights of students in their exercise of freedom of speech and press. The group has regular made states in the years since against censorship.
- “For more than 25 years, Hazelwood has had a negative impact on scholastic media because administrators often go far beyond ‘legitimate pedagogical concerns’ when it comes to censorship. The ruling has had a chilling effect on students’ ability to develop critical thinking skills, learn to question authority, and join in the discourse of a democratic society. Only through learning to make their own content decisions do students become better writers, thinkers, and doers.” — 2016 resolution on legislation to protect the rights of student journalists
- “The expression of ideas without fear of censorship is a fundamental right” — 2014 NCTE Beliefs about Students’ Right to Write