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
Satire lessons
Satire • Satire is hard Students are funny. Students are smart. But are they smart enough to be funny with satire in a way that advances the journalistic goals of the publication? Can they do it without violating the SPJ ethical guidelines or their own publications’ ethical guidelines? Use this lesson to help students understand…
Tools of Truth landing page
In the era of the fight against fake news, we believe journalists must be aware of the social climate surrounding the work they do. The attacks and delegitimization of the news media on a national scale shouldn’t make us question the work we do. We must be able to educate ourselves and our audiences about…
Creating a ‘Quick Pins’ board
of native ads, sponsored content
by John Bowen Title Activity: Creating a “Quick Pins” Padlet/Pinterest board for native ads and sponsored content Description In this lesson, the teacher will lead students to create a Pinterest board that identifies native ads and sponsored content since it always helps to visually explain journalism terminology. Objectives Students will become better informed about what…
Creating, publishing Storify news
about native ads, sponsored content
by John Bowen Title Activity: Creating and publishing a Storify on news about native ads and sponsored content Description This lesson should follow other lessons on sponsored content. To help maintain student awareness of native ads and sponsored content, students will create Storify news stories and publish them to keep themselves and their communities aware…
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.