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An Overview of Student Expression in 2007

The largest development in 2007 for student expression was the Supreme Court's decision to limit student speech in Morse v. Frederick. Learn more

Below you will find an archive of articles or opinion pieces we found in 2007 involving student expression and censorship. They are organized by topic (we apologize if some of the links are dead - we try to keep them up-to-date but often online news sites will take down content after some time).

View by topic

Academic Freedom
Books
Internet
LGBT Issues
Media, Art and Entertainment
Political Dissent and Protest
Religion
Science
Student Press
Tee-Shirts and Dress Codes

Academic Freedom

» February 16th, 2007 Proposed Bill Would Ban Political Opinions in Classes (Arizona Republic)PHOENIX, AZ — A proposed state law would prohibit any instructor in a public school or college from advocating or opposing a political candidate or one side of a social, political or cultural issue that is part of a partisan debate.

Books

» July 12, 2007 Palm Beach County School Board denies mother's request to ban books (palmbeachpost.com) PALM BEACH COUNTY, FL —Parent Laura Lopez thinks that books on homosexuality, abortion and atheism have no place in school libraries. The Palm Beach County School Board says the selections will stay on the shelves. Lopez is a member of Christ Fellowship Church, listing the church on her requests to remove the books. But the church's spokesman notified the board's lawyer that it did not support Lopez, stating "It's an individual on a crusade. She does not represent Christ Fellowship." Lopez said she'll return with a petition with thousands of names of people who share her opinion. She also plans to explore legal action.

» June 18, 2007 Commack Summer Reading Book Creates Stir (NYTimes.com)COMMACK, NY — A summer reading book for high school freshman has caused a stir at Commack High School, where a parent questions the appropriateness of the novel's subject matter. In Stephen Chbosky's "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" the protagonist describes watching a date-rape: "He reached to take off her pants, but she started crying really hard, so he reached for his own." The boy pushes the girl's head down to perform oral sex. Cindy Henis, a Commack High School student's-mother, said the book is too graphic and wants it off Commack High School's summer reading list.

» May 29, 2007 Judge upholds decision to keep Harry Potter books in a Georgia school district libraries (School Library Journal)LAWRENCEVILLE, GA —The adventures of boy wizard Harry Potter can stay in Gwinnett County school libraries, despite a mother's objections, a judge ruled Tuesday. Laura Mallory, who argued the popular fiction series is an attempt to indoctrinate children in witchcraft, said she still wants the best-selling books removed and may take her case to federal court.

Internet

» August 14, 2007 NSBA Releases Social Networking Study (District Dispatch) WASHINGTON DC — Today, the National School Boards Association released its study, "Creating & Connecting: Research and Guidelines on Online Social - and Educational - Networking." Overall, this study provides some heft for many of the arguments made by ALA.

» July 16, 2007 Free Speech Suit Filed (registercitizen.com) BURLINGTON, CT —A Lewis S. Mills High School student who was barred from running for class office after she called administrators a derogatory term on an Internet blog is accusing top school officials of violating her free speech rights.

» July 6, 2007 2nd Circuit Upholds Student's Suspension for Instant-Messaging Violent Image (Law.com) WEEDSPORT, NY —The First Amendment was not violated by the suspension of a student who sent his instant messaging buddies a violent image calling for the death of a teacher, even though the message was a joke, a federal appeals court ruled Thursday.

» June 15, 2007 Lawmakers Look to Curb Cyberbullying in Oregon (Foxnews.com)SALEM, OR — The Oregon Legislature gave final approval to a bill that would require school districts to come up with a plan to combat cyberbullying, which involves threats or taunts sent electronically. This bill requires schools to come up with ways to address cyberbullying that happens on campus, near campus, on school buses or at school-related activities. It doesn't ban malicious posts and videos created when students are at home.

» June 14, 2007 United States Will Appeal Child Online Protection Act Ruling (SPLC)PENNSYLVANIA — In another step of a legal marathon that has spanned three attorney generals and traveled to the U.S. Supreme Court and back, a federal court in Pennsylvania ruled March 22 that a law intended to shield children from Internet pornography violates the First and Fifth Amendments. The U.S. government has filed an appeal. This latest decision said there is no practical method to prevent minors from accessing potentially harmful material without also denying adults of protected speech tO which they are constitutionally entitled.

» April 16, 2007 Student Who Posted Profanities About School Principal on MySpace Wins Before Indiana Court of Appeals (FindLaw)INDIANA — On April 9, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled in favor of a female middle-school student known only as A.B., and against Indiana's Attorney General.

» March 22, 2007 Catholic School Bans Pupils from MySpace (WoodTV.com)BLOOMFIELD HILLS, MI — Students at a suburban Catholic school are being ordered to take down their photos, snappy comments, or anything else they may have posted on MySpace.com.

» February 28, 2007 Response to "Gay" Comment Spurs Suit (Denver Post)SANTA ROSA, CA — When a few classmates razzed Rebekah Rice about her Mormon upbringing with questions such as "Do you have 10 moms?" she shot back: "That's so gay." Those three words landed the high school freshman in the principal's office and resulted in a lawsuit that raises this question: When do playground insults used every day all over America cross the line into hate speech that must be stamped out?

» February 13th, 2007 Teacher Convicted in Porn Case (ABC News)WINDHAM, CT — [Julie Amero] was convicted last month of exposing seventh-grade students to pornography on her classroom computer. She contended the images were inadvertently thrust onto the screen by pornographers' unseen spyware and adware programs.

LGBT Issues

» May 13, 2007 Lawsuit Over Brokeback Mountain in Class (ABC News)CHICAGO, IL — A girl and her grandparents have sued the Chicago Board of Education, alleging that a substitute teacher showed the R-rated film "Brokeback Mountain" in class. The lawsuit claims that Jessica Turner, 12, suffered psychological distress after viewing the movie in her 8th grade class at Ashburn Community Elementary School last year.

» May 4, 2007 Teacher, School Reach Settlement in Flap Over Student Column (Washington Blade)WOODBURN, IN — A settlement has been reached in a dispute between a journalism teacher at Woodlan Junior-Senior High School in Woodburn, Ind., and East Allen County Schools that stems from a student-penned op-ed piece supporting gays that ran in January in the school newspaper.

» February 23rd, 2007 Judge Dismisses Lexington Suit Over School Lesson Involving Same-Sex Couples (Boston Globe)LEXINGTON, MA — A federal judge today dismissed a lawsuit by two Lexington couples who claimed the local public school district violated their constitutional rights by teaching their young children about different types of families, including those headed by same-sex couples. Chief Judge Mark L. Wolf of the US District Court said that under the Constitution, public schools are "entitled to teach anything that is reasonably related to the goals of preparing students to become engaged and productive citizens in our democracy. Diversity is a hallmark of our nation."

» February 22nd, 2007 Hampton University Denies Recognition to Gay and Lesbian Student Group Without Explanation (FIRE)HAMPTON, VA — For the second time in two years, Hampton University has inexplicably denied official recognition to students seeking to start a gay and lesbian group on campus. The group, Students Promoting Equality, Action and Knowledge (SPEAK), contacted the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), which is calling on Hampton to either explain or reverse its decision.

Media, Art and Entertainment

» August 2, 2007 Student Who Wrote Violent Story Loses Appeal at 11th Circuit (law.com) ROSWELL, GA — Citing school shootings from Columbine to Virginia Tech, a federal appeals court has ruled against a Georgia student suspended in 2003 after a teacher saw a story the student had written in which the narrator dreams of shooting her math teacher.

» May 14, 2007 Trouble Over ‘Grease’ Still Hot in Boulder (Helena Independent Record)BOULDER, MT — A firestorm of controversy blew up May 4, following a parent complaint about Jefferson High School’s performance of “Grease.” The parent, Marian Olsen, who hadn’t seen the play, wrote a letter to the administration criticizing cigarette smoking (using fake cigarettes) and foul language in the performance. She questioned why student behavior in the drama wasn’t held to the same standards expected of the student body. Her letter concluded by questioning “if a second show is even necessary.”

» May 11, 2007 Silencing Student Voices Hurts Education, Democracy (SPLC) Students who work on high school media learn to think critically, research topics, conduct interviews, write clearly for an audience and work together as a team. In schools with strong journalism programs, they also learn how a free and responsible press can work to improve their school communities, to inform, influence and entertain.

» April 27, 2007 Student Arrested for Essay's Imaginary Violence (Northwest Herald)CARI, IL — A high school senior was arrested after writing that "it would be funny" to dream about opening fire in a building and having sex with the dead victims, authorities said.

» April 24, 2007 Case Before 11th Circuit Will Test Student Threats, Free Speech (Law.com)ROSWELL, GA — Federal appeals court judges to hear of high school student suspended for story about shooting a teacher.

» March 6, 2007 Girls Suspended Over 'Vagina Monologues' (San Francisco Chronicle)CROSS RIVER, NY — A public high school has suspended three students who disobeyed officials by saying the word "vagina" during a reading from a well-known feminist play. The honor students, Megan Reback, Elan Stahl and Hannah Levinson, included the word during their reading of "The Vagina Monologues" because, "It wasn't crude and it wasn't inappropriate and it was very real and very pure," Reback said.

» January 23rd, 2007 Supreme Court Denies Hearing To Student Suspended For Horror Story (SPLC)NEW YORK — An appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court was denied yesterday in the case of Dylan Finkle, a student who was suspended because of a horror story he wrote that included names of fellow students and violent, sexually explicit material.

Political Dissent and Protest

» January 19th, 2007 HS Paper, Principal at Odds Over Picture of Student with Ripped 'Flag' (SPLC)ST PAUL, MN — ...[W]hen the school paper, The Crier, tried to publish the picture, the principal censored it. Now the editorial board of the Crier is crying First Amendment foul. The school district superintendent is defending the decision, saying the photograph could be offensive. Not good enough, say several legal experts, who think school officials have overstepped their authority.

Religion

» June 21, 2007 High school apologizes for removing reference to God from yearbook (SPLC) ARIZONA —A Maricopa County high school has apologized to a student for deleting a reference to God out of his school yearbook profile. Anthony Sciubba, one of more than a dozen students who were given a full-page profile in the Higley High School yearbook, discovered that the attribution of his success in school and athletics to God had been edited out of the yearbook without explanation. Sciubba, who is photographed holding a Bible in the profile, said he was surprised that his school abridged his free speech rights in name of the separation of church and state.

» June 14, 2007 Texas Governor Signs Religious Student Expression Law (SPLC)TEXAS — A measure signed into law by Gov. Rick Perry (R) on June 8 will protect students' rights to religious expression in the state's public schools. The Religious Viewpoints Antidiscrimination Act, sponsored by Rep. Charlie Howard (R), prevents public school districts from punishing students who express a religious viewpoint in "homework, artwork, and other written and oral assignments." Supporters of the act said it was necessary because it affirms students' free speech rights but critics have said the act may result in increased hurtful, discriminatory speech on school campuses.

» February 19th, 2007 ACLU Defends Student's Challenge of Teacher's Proselytizing (NY Times)NEWARK, NJ — The American Civil Liberties Union, the People for the American Way Foundation and a partner from a large Manhattan law firm stood beside the student, Matthew LaClair, as he and his family threatened to sue the Kearny Board of Education if their complaints are not resolved. Last fall, Matthew, 16, taped the teacher, David Paszkiewicz, telling students in a history class that if they do not believe that Jesus died for their sins, they “belong in hell.” On the recordings, which Matthew made surreptitiously starting in September, Mr. Paszkiewicz is heard telling the class that there were dinosaurs aboard Noah’s ark and that there is no scientific basis for evolution or the Big Bang theory of the origin of the universe.

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Science

Student Press

» June 6, 2007 Student journalists in hot water for James Bond-themed prom supplement (SPLC)MAPLE PARK, IL — A student newspaper has landed itself in controversy after it published a supplement for the school’s James Bond-themed prom. With the headline “Achieving the ‘Bond’ Look for Prom,” the April issue of the Kaneland Krier displays a boy in a tuxedo pointing a water gun at the reader against the backdrop of a martini glass and a girl holding a prop pistol. But some members of the community, have expressed criticism about its depiction of violence and drinking.

» June 5, 2007 Texas school district seeking parental permission to release records for pending open-meetings suit (SPLC)DANBURY, TX — The legal dispute continues in a case that started with an act of censorship and turned into an open-meetings lawsuit as an attorney for the Danbury Independent School District is seeking parental permission to release student statements for use in the case.

» April 22, 2007 Teacher's Job On Line for Student Column (advocate.com)WOODBURN, IN —The column in the student newspaper seemed innocent enough: advocating tolerance for people "different than you." But since sophomore Megan Chase's words appeared Jan. 19 in The Tomahawk, the newspaper at Woodlan Junior-Senior High School, her newspaper adviser has been suspended and is fighting for her job, and charges of censorship and First Amendment violations are clouding this conservative northeastern Indiana community.

» April 18, 2007 Students Question Principal's Newspaper Editing (Tallahassee.com) FORT MYERS, FL — A Golden Apple teacher who advises Fort Myers High's school newspaper has resigned her post, and students are question whether their principal's editing has crossed the First Amendment line.

» April 6, 2007 Controversial Sex Article Leads to Slight Revision of High School's Prior Review Requirements (SPLC)MONTROSE, PA — A student newspaper is breathing a sign of relief that its publications policy was not drastically changed at a March 19 school board meeting after a controversial article on sex was published in February. The article titled "Not Everyone Thinks 'Friends' Have 'Benefits' " was published in the February issue of Montrose High School's student newspaper, The Meteor Chronicle. The article's discussion of teenage sexuality prompted parents to complain to the administration. Distribution of the newspaper's March issue was later halted by school officials to give the school board an opportunity to review the district's student publications policy.

» March 30, 2007 Parents Protest Sex Issue of High School Newspaper (Boston Globe)HAMPTON, NH — Some parents are protesting the "sex" edition of the student newspaper at Winnacunnet High School. Several said they were especially offended by a photograph of two women kissing under the headline, "Why men love women who love women," a quiz question about anal sex, and an interview with an unnamed custodian who said he had found a vibrator in the girls' shower.

» January 26th, 2007 Danbury High School Editor Files Complaint With Principal (SPLC)CLUTE, TX — The editor of the Danbury High School student newspaper has filed a formal complaint with the principal after he refused to distribute a December issue featuring sexually themed stories on its front page.

» January 23rd, 2007 Princeton High School Magazine Will Not Be Subject to Prior Review (SPLC)PRINCETON, OH — In a reversal of his previous decision, a superintendent has announced that members of the staff of the high school magazine will not be subjected to prior review. Princeton city schools Superintendent Aaron Mackey said he will not instill the policy, which was proposed last month after the principal at Princeton High School censored an article in Odin’s Word. Mackey attributed the reversal to continued discussions with administrators over the merit of prior review.

» January 18th, 2007 Principal Pulls Magazine Column Critical of Football Team (SPLC)PRINCETON, OH — After a school’s principal censored a high school magazine article critical of the football team, the school superintendent has announced he will broaden school officials’ oversight of the publication.

» January 9th, 2007 Ohio Parents Object to Principal's Censorship of Son's Column (AP)CINCINNATI, OH — Parents of a high school sportswriter are questioning whether an opinion piece his principal ordered ripped out of the school magazine because of its digs at the football team met the U.S. Supreme Court's standards for allowing censorship of student journalism. The student staff was ordered to rip out two pages of the December issue of Odin's Word magazine containing the column by Evan Payne, a 17-year-old junior at Princeton High School.

» January 5th, 2007 Princeton Censors Student Magazine (Student Press Law Center)PRINCETON — Princeton’s principal censored the December issue of its student-run magazine, Odin’s Word, by making the student staff rip out two pages that contained an opinion piece criticizing the school’s football team for the past three losing seasons. The school’s athletic director and football coach had complained that the article was unfair to the team and didn’t give them the opportunity to respond.

Tee-Shirts and Dress Codes

» October 9 , 2007 - Student Sent Home for Wearing John Edwards TShirt Waxahachie, TX - Sophomore Pete Palmer was sent home from Waxahachie's public high school for wearing a political tshirt supporting John Edwards. The school has a dress code policy that prohibits students from wearing tshirts other than those supporting school events or colleges and universities.

See NCAC's Letter to Superintendent and Board of Ed of Waxahachie Independent School District

» July 5, 2007 California court throws out school's dress code (SPLC) REDWOOD, CA —A California superior court Monday scrapped the dress code at Redwood Middle School, citing the Supreme Court's affirmation of basic student expression rights in the recently decided "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" case. The school's ban on all pictures, logos, words, stripes and patterns had landed a seventh-grader in the principal's office for wearing socks displaying Tigger, the character from Winnie the Pooh.

» March 22, 2007 Teen Who Wants to Wear Anti-Gay T-Shirt Takes Battle to Court (Chicago Sun-Times)NAPERVILLE, IL — A Neuqua Valley High senior has gone to federal court seeking the right to wear an anti-gay T-shirt to school next month on the day after a national event in support of gays is scheduled in schools. Heidi Zamecnik, 17, is asking the court to order her school and Indian Prairie District 204 to allow her to express her anti-gay beliefs on April 19, the day after the 11th annual "Day of Silence'' is scheduled to protest harassment of gays in schools.

» March 21, 2007 Pooh Character Leads to Suit on Dress Code (NY Times)SAN FRANCISCO, CA — Strict dress codes are common at many public schools in California, but Toni Kay Scott, 14, says her school crossed a constitutional line when it punished her for wearing knee socks with the Winnie-the-Pooh character Tigger.

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