Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier 1988
| Author | Daniel Brannen, Richard Hanes, Elizabeth Shaw |
| Pages | 56-60 |
Page 56
Petitioners: Hazelwood School District, et al.
Respondents: Three former students at Hazelwood East High School
Petitioners' Claim: That Principal Robert E. Reynolds did not violate the freedom of the press when he deleted two pages from Spectrum, a student newspaper.
Chief Lawyer for Petitioners: Robert P. Baine, Jr.
Chief Lawyer for Respondents: Leslie D. Edwards
Justices for the Court: Anthony M. Kennedy, Sandra Day O'Connor, William H. Rehnquist, Antonin Scalia, John Paul Stevens, Byron R. White
Justices Dissenting: Harry A. Blackmun, William J. Brennan, Jr., Thurgood Marshall
Date of Decision: January 13, 1988
Decision: Principal Reynolds did not violate the students' free press rights.
Significance: Public schools may control the contents of student newspapers that are part of classroom education.
Page 57
During the 1982-1983 school year, students taking a Journalism II class at the Hazelwood East High School ran a student newspaper called Spectrum. It gave the students a chance to practice what they learned in Journalism I. Like most student newspapers, Spectrum featured stories about student life in and out of school. Over 4,500 students, school personnel, and other people in St. Louis County, Missouri, read Spectrum. The May 13, 1983, issue of Spectrum was supposed to contain two controversial articles. One article described the experiences of three students who were pregnant. Spectrum used different names for the three girls to protect their privacy. In the article, the pregnant girls commented on their sexual activity and use or non-use of birth control. The second article described the way divorce affected students at Hazelwood East High School. In the article, one student blamed his father for his parents' divorce. He said his father did not spend enough time with the family, argued about everything, and always was out of town on business or out late playing cards with his friends.
Principal Robert E. Reynolds holds up a copy of the Spectator. The Court decided in favor of a principal's right to censor school papers.
Page 58
Principal Robert E. Reynolds reviewed each issue of Spectrum before it was published. When he reviewed the May 13 issue three days before publication, he did not like the...
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