© 2000 Student Press Law Center (splc.org)
Q: Do students at a public college or university have First Amendment rights?
A: Emphatically, yes. As the United States Supreme Court said back in 1969, “It can hardly be argued that either students or teachers shed their constitutional right to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate.” As agents of the government, public school officials are prohibited by the First Amendment from censoring most student speech. Students at a public school have the right to voice their opinions and write about the issues that concern them just like every other American.
Q: But if school officials or student governments fund a student publication, radio or television station, can’t they censor it like any other publisher or owner could?
A: Not at a public school. The courts have ruled that if a school creates a student news or information medium and allows students to serve as editors, the First Amendment drastically limits the school’s ability to censor. Among the censoring actions the courts have prohibited are confiscating copies of publications, requiring prior review, removing objectionable material, limiting circulation, suspending editors and withdrawing or reducing financial support.
Q: Can student reporters protect confidential news sources or information when they receive a court subpoena asking that they turn it over?
A: In most cases, yes. Some states have “shield laws” and others have court-created reporters privileges that protect journalists from having to reveal this kind of information. Most states have never explicitly applied these laws to student journalists, and the language of a few of these might not protect students.
Q: One of our star student athletes has been accused of stealing thousands of dollars of school computer equipment. Rather than going to the local court system, the school has decided to try the case before the University Judicial Board, or campus court. They have said the proceeding is closed and they refuse to release any information. What can I do?
A: Many schools claim that these proceedings are “educational” in nature, and that releasing information about them will unfairly invade students’ rights to privacy. Student journalists (and many commercial journalists as well) believe that schools are simply using campus courts to control or bury information that hurts the school’s reputation. They argue that when these proceedings involve charges of criminal rather than academic activity, the public has a right to know what goes on behind closed doors. College students, they argue, are adults, and should be treated as such. The public routinely has a right to attend criminal proceedings in public courts. Public access insures fairness and accountability, both to the accused and to the system and victims. Where schools take on the responsibility of a public criminal court they must be held to the same standards of openness and accountability. Invoke the power of your state’s open records and open meetings law.
