We did not spend much time on school free press issues in the first section of Comm Law, primarily because the general rule for speech in high schools applies to high school press as well: speech can be censored if it interferes with the pedagogical aims of the institution. See page 94 of Pember for the discussion.
Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier, 484 U.S. 260 (1988), is the seminal case that said a principal at a school-sponsored newspaper has the right to exercise control over student newspaper stories. The stories he spiked were about teenage pregnancy and divorce.
Hazelwood did not address what control state universities have over student publications, but Hosty v. Carter may. The case involves student editors of The Innovator at Governor’s State University in Illinois who sued after the paper was shut down by administrators over content. In 2003 a panel of the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals held that Hazelwood does not apply to college student publications because of the difference in age and function of publications on college campuses. See page 96-98 in Pember.
However, earlier this year, that court, sitting en banc this time, reversed its position, holding that college student publications that accept funding from the colleges must accept some control by university administrators. This is not in the book because it’s so new.
Now the students in that college case, Margaret Hosty, Jeni Porsche and Steven Barba, have appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which has not ruled on the topic. It would make a great case to watch if accepted. Read the link.