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
Media coverage of Wentzville board meeting
Here are some links to coverage by KSDK, KMOV and the Post-Dispatch. Pretty solid coverage, from the free speech point of view, particularly KSDK http://www.kmov.com/video/featured-videos/Students-support-teacher-in-censorship-of-article-88521402.html http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/education/story/92A93A77207257DD862576EB0012F829?OpenDocument I’ll upload photos to my facebook account and link later today. http://www.kmov.com/video/featured-videos/Students-support-teacher-in-censorship-of-article-88521402.html
Wentzville BOE meeting update
Bedecked in their green Team McCandless shirts, a group of 50 or students, parents and family members gathered at the monthly meeting of the Wentzville Board of Education, hoping to have their voices heard over the censorship of the newspaper and yearbook at Timberland High School. Those green shirts failed to bring any luck to…
Caution: revisionism at work
Like the Chrysler ad depicting three cars with the narrator saying George Washington’s first car had a hemi engine, historical revision spreads into the new decade. We tend to associate historical revisionism with changes made in Soviet history following WW2 and the fall of the soviet bloc when leaders changed historical and political concepts to…
Lighting the way: leadership for the future
The New York Times reported on a crisis mapping operation involving what it called everyone-as-informant March 12. The Times article reported the operation suggested a new paradigm for humanitarian work. This project, shaped to fit the needs of scholastic journalism, suggests a viable paradigm for scholastic new media to lead, not only through content but also…
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.