Press Rights
JEA stands firmly behind student journalists’ press freedom. Where journalism students delve into the impact of such events as the invasion of the Capitol Jan. 6 and issues stemming from it, they create community engagement and understanding of journalistic responsibility, roles and values. Where the same students make final decisions of content without prior review and restraint, democracy’s ideals flourish and expand. We denounce all efforts to stifle student journalists, and we stand in solidarity with advisers who support them.
Constitution Day is Sept. 17
2025 Theme: Power to the People
The Scholastic Press Rights Committee has put together a set of activities and materials around the 2025 theme "Power to the People" for teachers to use in their classrooms this Constitution Day, Sept. 17. They range from full lesson plans to quick activities and ways to promote Constitution Day in your school community.
Press Rights Quick Links
Prior Review | Law-Ethics Manual | Key Cases | What Are Ethics | Tools of Truth
Talking Points about student free expression
Talking Points and terminology related to free expression legislation With legislation giving students decision-making power over their student media comes questions about roles, purpose and standards. If the school cannot make content decisions who is responsible? What is the role of the adviser? Of students? If the adviser cannot control content, what guidelines will students…
Student free expression resources
Comments from an administrator on the importance of student free expression SPRC Foundations package (mission, policy, ethics, manual) JEA Adviser Code of Ethics Press Rights Minute Seeking to cure the Hazelwood Blues Constitution Day lessons and activities
Free expression sample press release
Sample press release Another option for letting your various communities know about the benefits of free expression legislation is to create a press release to media, civic groups, school board and others. Rather than trying to create a cookie-cutter press release version, we thought we would create a model sample where points from our legislative…
Introduction to 2016 Constitution Day materials … and more
Constitution Day lessons, activities and related materials In preparation for Constitution Day 2016, several members of the Scholastic Press Rights Committee (SPRC), a committee of the Journalism Education Association, created lesson plans specific for the event. We suggest celebrating Sept. 16 since the official Constitution Day is Saturday this year. We created these lessons to help celebrate…
Need help with a censorship issue? You found it.
If you are a JEA member or students of a JEA member who need assistance concerning censorship issues, use the panic button below to generate an online form to explain your situation. This will go to a Scholastic Press Rights Committee member who will assist you quickly and notify others in your state so they can offer assistance. This outreach capability is a direct result of JEA’s Adviser Assistance Program and is designed to combat censorship issues advisers and students might face.