One March 19, 2010 the FDA issued a broad set of regulations directly restricting tobacco companies’ ability to advertise and promote their products. The regulations were issued following President Obama’s signing of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act last June, which granted the FDA extensive authority to create such regulations. The landmark legislation negates the Supreme Court’s 2000 [...]
The cancellation of Terrence McNally’s play Corpus Christi by Tarleton State University, under pressure from the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights and others, is an affront to academic freedom and First Amendment principles of free speech. The play was denounced by Tarleton’s president, Dominic Dottavio, who called it “crude and irreverent.” Texas Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst opined that [...]
Svetlana Mintcheva, Director of Programs at NCAC, will be present at the NewFilmmakers Spring Fest screening on April 3, to discuss film, art, nudity, censorship and the internet.
The National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) issues the following statement opposing Tarleton State University’s recent cancellation of Terrence McNally’s play Corpus Christi:
“[W]hen a public school purports to allow students to express themselves, it must respect the students’ free speech rights,” Justice Alito said in an opinion this week. His words came in a powerful dissent to the Supreme Court’s decision not to hear a case involving students’ musical choice for the graduation ceremony. Justice Alito, the conservative judge who took his [...]
On March 27 from 1-4 at the New York Film Academy, NCAC partners with Kahlil Almustafa, Emily Kunstler, Reel Works, and Global Action Project for an afternoon of making connections and exploring the power of youth-made media. Stop by to view the winning films from our annual Film Contest (Free Speech in School - Does it Exist?)! Hip hop poet [...]
Writing is such a balm when the spring sun shines or even when April is “cruelest of all.” Even our toughest students can usually be persuaded to pen a poem this time of year. There are so many resources for teachers and students to use, and I’...
Last Friday the Texas Board of Education voted along party lines to approve a new school curriculum that will, in effect, rewrite history. The new social studies curriculum will address what one board member referred to as a “skewed” history with a “liberal bias.” Although the proposed changes may individually seem relatively minor, they are not innocuous. For example, the [...]
Chances are high that you wouldn’t be reading this if it weren’t for online professional development. I don’t mean that in the clichéd “If you can read this thank a teacher” way. What I mean is that I would never, ever have had the connectio...
In February, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals issued contradictory opinions involving online student speech. The losing sides of both Layshock and Blue Mountain are asking the Court to rehear their cases before a full court. Both parties agree that the two opinions, issued the same day, seemingly contradict each other. Even the winning parties agree that the conflicting rulings [...]
On Saturday, March 27, 1:00 PM, NCAC screens the winners of the 2009 Youth Free Expression Network (YFEN) film contest at its annual Youth Voices Uncensored event at the New York Film Academy at 100 East 17th Street in Manhattan.
Join us at the New York Film Academy for our second Youth Voices Uncensored event on March 27th from 1-4pm for an afternoon of youth films, fun prizes, and great performances! Meet the winners of the 6th Annual YFEN film contest and make connections while exploring the power of youth-media. It's FREE and open to the public! Who: National Coalition [...]
Concerned because the deletion of government emails has hampered investigations into possible official wrong-doing, NCAC joins OpenTheGovernment.org in requesting Congress to act to insure the preservation of government records. "Concerned with government openness and accountability," the letter reads, "the undersigned organizations respectfully request ... hearings on the apparent destruction of e-mails in the Department of Justice to determine how the [...]
Concerned because the deletion of government emails has hampered investigations into possible official wrong-doing, NCAC joins OpenTheGovernment.org in requesting Congress to act to insure the preservation of government records.
Last week I saw one of our school’s counselors headed down the hallway with a cash box in hand. Under the very serious pressure of budget cuts in our district, I used my standard coping mechanism—bad attempts at humor—and asked her if she was ta...
The United States has a tradition of generally broad protection of freedom of speech, which has persisted in the Internet age. Thus American courts have struck down most laws attempting to limit content on the Internet, including provisions of the Communications Decency Act restricting indecent speech on the Internet (in Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union, 521 U.S. 844 (1997)) [...]
Imagine that you shared this passage from NCTE’s 2010 Legislative Platform with a non-educator you know. The particular person doesn’t matter. You can think of a family member, a neighbor, or a friend. Whoever you choose, simply imagine that you ga...
Join us, Reel Works, Global Action Project and Kahlil Almustafa at the New York Film Academy on March 27th from 1-4pm for an afternoon of youth films, fun prizes, and great performances! Meet the winners of the 6th Annual YFEN film contest and make connections while exploring the power of youth-media. It's FREE and open to the public!
With Congress poised to vote on reauthorizing the USA PATRIOT Act later this week, the New York Civil Liberties Union today joined a coalition of 43 organizations from across New York State in urging the state’s federal lawmakers to support critical reforms to the controversial law that would restore Americans’ privacy and constitutional rights.
Matthew Sottile and Dawson Burke of Connecticut will “Bike for Progress.” On April 5, 2010, the two high school friends will begin their trans-America journey, cycling from Baltimore, Maryland to Canon Beach, Oregon in support of free speech. All pledges and sponsorship for “Bike for Progress” will be generously donated to NCAC. The cross-country trip has been in the works [...]
The limitations on the speech of public school teachers borders on the absurd. Earlier this month, a federal court ruled that a Mississippi special-education teacher was not entitled to any First Amendment protections for complaining to the school principal that another teacher had used corporal punishment on an autistic child. A few days after making the complaint, the teacher was [...]
