Censorship and Student Rights in Schools

In 1983, Hazelwood East High School's journalism class faced censorship when Principal Reynolds removed articles on teen pregnancy and divorce from the school paper, citing privacy concerns. This led to a lawsuit by student editor Kathy Coolmeyer, supported by the ACLU, claiming a violation of First Amendment rights. The case reached the Supreme Court, which ruled in favor of the school, emphasizing the paper's educational purpose. The decision highlighted the balance between student expression and school authority, with references to the Tinker vs. Des Moines case, affirming students' rights to non-disruptive expression.

What elective was offered at Hazelwood East High School?

• Photography

• Music

• Journalism

• Drama

What was the name of the school paper?

• The Beacon

• The Times

• The Spectrum

• The Chronicle

What topics did Principal Reynolds find controversial?

• Sports and Music

• Science and Technology

• Teen Pregnancy and Divorce

• Politics and Religion

What was the main concern of Principal Reynolds regarding the articles?

• Teacher opinions

• Student privacy

• Parental feedback

• Financial impact

Why did Principal Reynolds cut pages from the paper?

• To include more sports news

• To add more advertisements

• Due to controversial content

• To save printing costs

What was the outcome for the articles that were not controversial?

• They were also removed

• They were ignored

• They were published separately

• They were edited and included

Who did Kathy Coolmeyer approach for help?

• The American Civil Liberties Union

• The student council

• The local newspaper

• The school board

What was Principal Reynolds' main argument?

• He was protecting student privacy

• He was promoting school events

• He wanted to increase paper sales

• He was following state law

What did Kathy and the ACLU argue?

• The articles were disruptive

• The articles were plagiarized

• The articles were outdated

• The articles were valid student perspectives

What did the ACLU argue was violated by censoring the paper?

• Student's right to education

• Student's right to privacy

• Student's First Amendment rights

• Student's right to assembly