Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier Impact
Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier negatively impacted America by narrowing student’s freedom of press that may otherwise allow students to develop academically, professionally, and socially, which promotes the schools basic educational mission to prepare students for the future. In the Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier case the court ruled in favor of Hazelwood high school saying that school officials could censor student’s freedom of press if it was not in line with the schools basic educational mission but it is freedom of press that helps to promote this mission.
In addition to the court saying that high schools could limit student’s freedom of press, the court majority also offered a broad set of specific circumstances in which school officials would be justified in censoring student publications. For example cases in which the material in question was "ungrammatical, poorly written, inadequately researched, biased or prejudiced, vulgar or profane, or unsuitable for immature audiences." (LoMonte, Frank D. "Don't Silence Young (Female) Journalists." Education Week 34.21 (2015): 24. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 16 Mar. 2015 ) This negatively impacted students because a school principal could reject a critical article on the basis that it was "poorly written" when in actuality the principal just didn’t want the article to be published. This case placed restrictions on students' protections under the First Amendment.
The 1st Amendment, prohibits the passing of any law that impedes the free practice of religion, free speech, and freedom of the press, but the court decision directly prevents students from publishing articles deemed inappropriate by school officials. Because of this case many questions have been raised as to when student’s freedom of press may or may not be violated. The Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier case has even affected other colleges in their decision on when an article written by students can be censored.
The Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier case...