NEW VOICES TEXAS
17 states have passed legislation to protect student journalists.
Why isn’t Texas one of them?
Student journalists have a unique role in their campus communities to inform students, faculty, administrators, parents, and other stakeholders about the condition of their educational experience. All of these consumers of student media need uncensored journalism to inform them of their school’s achievements and its shortcomings. Unfortunately, some administrators have used the Hazelwood decision as a means to protect their own images or the image of the school at the cost of losing free, honest, and ethically reported journalism.
Spearheaded by the Student Press Law Center (SPLC), New Voices is a youth-led advocacy movement consisting of student leaders organizing within their respective states to enact legislation that will challenge the consequences of the 1988 Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier Supreme Court decision.
Today, cases of administrative censorship for student media publications across the nation are not uncommon. The Hazelwood ruling affirmed that school officials could censor a school-sponsored publication under “legitimate pedagogical interest.” As such, this broadly defined language places decision-making in the hands of school administration, making it almost impossible to return a favorable outcome.
Amplify our voices.
We are leading and empowering a statewide coalition of advisers and student journalists to secure complete press freedom across the state.
Ensuring that student media organizations aren’t censored, prior restrained, or retaliated against for simply doing their job is of the greatest priority.
Focused on transparency, accountability, and student empowerment, New Voices Texas prioritizes the First Amendment and student expression.
New Voices of Texas 