On the road with the Tinker Tour: Mary Beth Tinker’s mission: Standing up for students’ rights INSIDE: JOURNALISTS TRYING TO USE DRONES FACE LENGTHY, COMPLICATED APPROVAL PROCESS INSIDE THIS ISSUE The Student Press Law Center Report (ISSN 0160-3825), COVER STORY published three times each year by the SPLC, summarizes current cases and controversies involving the rights of 18 First Amendment evangelism the student press. The Report is researched, written and produced by journalism interns and SPLC staff. Free speech plaintiff Mary Beth Tinker and attorney Mike The Student Press Law Center Report, Vol. XXXV, No. 1, Hiestand spent the fall traveling the country in an R.V. to talk Winter 2014, is published by the Student Press Law Center Inc., 1101 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 1100, Arlington, VA 22209- with students about the First Amendment. 2275, (703) 807-1904. Copyright © 2014 Student Press Law By Sara Tirrito Center. All rights reserved. Yearly subscriptions are $15. Contributions are tax-deductible. ACCESS 5 On the sidelines 21 Border reporting High school journalists are facing Students reporting on immigration post-season broadcast restrictions issues in border states find because of exclusivity contracts themselves facing a host of cultural, signed by state high school athletic safety and language barriers. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: Frank LoMonte associations. It makes it harder for ATTORNEY ADVOCATE: Adam Goldstein student journalists to practice their PUBLICATIONS FELLOW: Sara Gregory 15 Understanding Samantha Sunne craft live, advisers say. JOURNALISM INTERNS: censorship at HBCUs and Samantha Vicent A national journalism organization CONTRIBUTORS: Casey McDermott and Sara Tirrito 28 It’s a bird, it’s a plane is investigating what conditions COVER PHOTO: Photo courtesy of John Bowen Several college journalism lead to censorship at historically programs are seeking government black colleges and universities after CORPORATE BOARD OF DIRECTORS approval to fly drones for reporting the ouster of two Grambling State Organizations for identification purposes only purposes, but have encountered a University editors garnered national Patrick Carome complicated, years-long process. attention. WilmerHale l Washington, D.C. (chairman) Kevin Corcoran SOCIAL MEDIA Lumina Foundation | Indianapolis, Ind. 25 Facing charges 8 They’re watching you When college journalists find Jane Eisner More and more high schools are themselves facing disciplinary Editor, The Forward | New York, N.Y. contracting with outside companies charges because of their reporting, Susan Enfield to monitor students’ social media it can create a , First Highline Public Schools | Burien, Wash. activity — even off campus. The Amendment advocates warn. Marie Groark monitoring implicates students’ Get Schooled, I nc. | Seattle, Wash. constitutional free speech rights. Sommer Ingram Georgetown University Law Center | Washington, D.C. Andrew Lih American University | Los Angeles, Calif. REGULAR FEATURES Frank LoMonte SPLC | Arlington, Va. (ex officio) 4 FERPA FACT Ted McConnell Fact-checking the use of FERPA to deny access to public records. Campaign for the Civic Mission of Schools | Washington, D.C. 6 UNDER THE DOME Laura Lee Prather Legislators in Ohio are considering a bill to require private school police Haynes and Boone LLP | Austin, Texas departments comply with the state’s public records law.

Geanne Rosenberg CUNY—Baruch College | New York, N.Y. 7 Q&A Ernie Sotomayor The Appalachian’s editor-in-chief explains the paper’s decision to fight back Columbia University | New York, N.Y. against the school’s closed presidential search.

Mary Stapp Educator | Washington, D.C. 12 ON THE DOCKET Mark Stencel Two Virginia papers have won a long-fought legal bid to run ads about alcohol. Author | Washington, D.C. Nabiha Syed 31 LEGAL ANALYSIS Levine Sullivan Koch & Schulz, LLP | New York, N.Y. What public forum doctrine means for your student publication.

2 REPORT w WINTER 2014 A MESSAGE FROM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FRANK D. LoMONTE Journalism: Love it or leave it

“There is one matter on which is it permitted, I think, to be way would be both violating the law and subject to termination an absolutist in the newsroom,” the media critic Jay Rosen has (particularly in Pennsylvania, where a state code — which written. That, he explains, is the First Amendment. It is the McGough’s errant column mischaracterizes — gives student editors “article of faith” on which journalism — what New York Times the final say in all but the most extreme cases). veteran Robert H. Phelps described in his memoir as “the secular If principals are newspaper publishers, they’re the most substitute for religion” — is founded. unethical publishers in America. If the publisher of the Times is Plenty of journalists are wise, good-hearted quoted in a news story about a dispute in which he is involved, he people who accept with great seriousness their is ethically bound to refrain from altering the story or ordering obligation to safeguard the First Amendment that it be shaded to favor his side. Principals adhere to no such rights entrusted to each generation by the boundaries, regularly removing stories they find unflattering. Is last. One of the all-time finest, longtime ethical blindness part of the “lesson” that McGough and the Times Times and McClatchy newsman Reggie hope their future employees will graduate having learned? Stuart, has just completed a distinguished Thousands of newspapers have been published for decades free term as chairman of the Student Press Law from prior administrative review, safely and without incident. Center’s board of directors. There is not a single documented case in the nation’s history LoMonte The Society of Professional Journalists — not one — in which a school has been forced to pay damages threw the full weight of its 9,000-strong nationwide membership for anything published by student journalists. Nor is there any behind the sanctity of press freedom in an August 2013 evidence that principals can be trusted to limit their censorship resolution that calls on schools and colleges to forswear reliance decisions to material presenting a legal risk; no such risk exists in on the Supreme Court’s Hazelwood standard to censor student a disagreement over the name of a team mascot. journalism for purposes of image control: “[I]t is well-documented McGough’s club is a sad and lonely one, but not as lonely as it the Hazelwood censorship clause impedes an educator’s ability to should be. In New Jersey, an editor from The Hunterdon Democrat adequately instruct and train students in professional journalistic undermined students’ anti-censorship efforts by telling the school values and practices, including the right to question authority board that “editing” in the principal’s office was no different from and investigate performances of governance.” editing by a professionally trained journalist. In Washington, The Journalism pros at The Philadelphia Inquirer have given Seattle Times has crusaded against student press freedom with such invaluable encouragement to student editors at Pennsylvania’s “get-off-my-lawn” vehemence that its editors have almost single- Neshaminy High School, who are defending their right to refrain handedly torpedoed legislative efforts at reform. from using the offensive word “Redskins” in covering school athletic When professional journalists fail to stand up for the rights teams. Reminding Principal Robert McGee that his authority of student journalists, it feels to students like a betrayal — like extends only to speech disrupting the educational process, Inquirer those who themselves suffered censorship have forgotten the editors wrote, “Free engagement in journalism is educational.” disempowering feeling of being distrusted. The word of journalism Regrettably, each year a few lost journalistic souls, uninformed professionals gives cover to those who censor to deny the public about the law and ignorant of history, accelerate the demise of truthful information about their failing schools. When journalists their profession by disrespecting the only group of Americans side with censors, that is the side they are taking — the side of lies who still look up to them — the young people whose readership over truth, the side of less information over more. they desperately need and whose free labor they gladly accept. The last word on this subject should go to a journalist far more The current “president” of the Journalists Against the accomplished and respectable than McGough, Paul Steiger of the First Amendment Club is Los Angeles Times editorial investigative website ProPublica. Accepting the Burton Benjamin columnist Michael McGough. Uncritically parroting the legal Memorial award from the Committee to Protect Journalists on disinformation dished out by school lobbyists, McGough told the Nov. 26, Steiger told his colleagues: “We can’t rest. We need to gutsy Neshaminy High editors in his Nov. 19 column that they stand up in stout opposition whenever the First Amendment is should be thankful for the valuable “lesson” their “publisher” — challenged at home. We need to speak out, even more vigorously the principal — is teaching them about who’s boss. than before, when journalists are abused around the world.” Let’s put the stake in this one for all time. Nothing about being An attack on a student journalist is an attack on all journalists. the principal of a high school is in any way analogous to being the When your moral compass deserts you so badly that you find publisher of a newspaper. “Publisher” is a term of legal significance yourself sympathizing with censors over journalists, it’s time to set that identifies an individual with complete editorial discretion. A down the pen and walk away. publisher can use the editorial page to launch personal political crusades and to advocate for the election or defeat of his chosen candidates. A principal who used the student newspaper in that

WINTER 2014 w REPORT 3 FERPA Fact FERPA Fact is an SPLC project to fact check the use of FERPA — the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act — when denying access to public records. Sometimes, the records are legitimately protected by FERPA. Sometimes the records are protected by other privacy laws. And sometimes, schools just don’t want to release the records.

The family of a high school senior THE ARNE METER @ Believing that women and older found dead inside a rolled-up gym FERPAFACT.TUMBLR.COM workers are discriminated against in mat last January asked to see video hiring, the graduate student union at surveillance footage from the school the University of requested gym where his body was found. statistical data from the university. Kendrick Johnson’s family believes The students asked to see “the salary, the video may show evidence that total earnings, appointment and his death was not an accident, as the classification for employees hired in Lowndes County Sherrif’s Office has different departments,” according determined. The Lowndes County to The Daily Bruin. The university School system attorney, Warren has denied the records request Turner, said the district cannot release because providing such information the recordings because they are would violate FERPA, the Family protected by FERPA. Educational Rights and Privacy Act, a SPLC Attorney Advocate Adam spokeswoman told the paper. Goldstein: Let’s just get the law out Goldstein: The information as of the way so we can truly ponder the requested is purely anonymous magnitude of maladjusted selfishness statistical data, so this isn’t even that invoking FERPA in this instance identifiable information. But even requires. FERPA rights generally if the information wasn’t purely terminate at death. However, when the statistical, let’s all have a look at the rights involve a minor—and Kendrick is about the murder of a gay student list of things that aren’t considered Johnson was 17—the rights belonged, at the University of Wyoming. The protected: “records relating to an and still belong, to his parents. You school held a mandatory “dialogue individual who is employed by an might also recall that FERPA is a session” for attendees, but told The educational agency or institution, that: right of access statute as well, ensuring Daily Mississippian that attending the (A) Are made and maintained in the that parents (or eligible students) can meeting or interviewing anyone who normal course of business; (B) Relate obtain copies of their own records. attended would violate FERPA. exclusively to the individual in that That’s true even when other students Goldstein: No. Just, no. FERPA is individual’s capacity as an employee; might be identified in the record, if about education records. Education and (C) Are not available for use for those students relevant to the incident records are defined as those records any other purpose.” So in short, the school district maintained by the institution that So the question is, are records of is violating the FERPA rights of are directly related to a student. Here, salaries, earnings, appointment and Johnson’s parents by refusing to hand there are no records yet. When those classification of employees made in the over the video and citing FERPA as a records would be created, they would ordinary course of business and related basis for why it’s violating FERPA. be in the possession of students. exclusively to employment status? We rate this: Three Arne Duncans Furthermore, FERPA regulates Presumably, the school isn’t intending In October, a performance of “The the activities of school employees to grade people on their age and race? Laramie Project” at the University and agents. Nothing a non-employee So even if there are identifiable of Mississippi was interrupted by student can do on his or her own can employees in this data, it shouldn’t be members of the audience who yelled violate anyone’s FERPA rights, ever. protected by FERPA anyway. gay slurs throughout the play, which We rate this: Three Arne Duncans We rate this: Three Arne Duncans

4 REPORT w WINTER 2014 Exclusivity contracts limit student journalists’ live sports coverage As more high school athletic associations enter into agreements granting third parties exclusive broadcasting rights, journalists are figuring out how to deal with the restrictions. BY SAMANTHA VICENT

When Hannah Daly went to cover her school’s reporters at Regis Jesuit High School in Aurora, Colo. competition in the California Interscholastic Federation’s RJ Live, Regis Jesuit’s broadcast journalism club, produces Southern Section boys’ 2013 water polo championships, she live online streams of regular season games, but PlayOn! expected the process would be similar to that of regular- Sports has exclusive rights from the Colorado High School season games. Mira Costa High School, where Daly is a Athletic Association to show postseason games. CHSAA’s sports producer for the school’s Mustang Morning News new bylaws, passed this year, state anyone wanting to broadcast, was one of California’s top-ranked water polo broadcast a high school game online or on TV must obtain teams, and students were interested to follow the team’s permission from the association first — live or otherwise. progress throughout the postseason. The contract between CHSAA and PlayOn! prioritizes However, when she called CIF officials a few days before profits for the organizations at the expense of complete the championship to request a credential, Daly received an reporting, Dawkins said. unwelcome surprise: She wouldn’t be able to show Mira Costa’s RJ Live uses PlayOn! Sports’ equipment to broadcast live championship game live, like the Morning News does usually. — but viewers have to subscribe and pay a fee to PlayOn! to “They also said I can only shoot highlights — six watch, he said. But because the subscription fees are mor