Censorship of student media in the United States

The censorship of student media in the United States is the suppression of student-run news operations' free speech by school administrative bodies, typically state schools. This consists of schools using their authority to control the funding and distribution of publications, taking down articles, and preventing distribution. Some forms of student media censorship extend to expression not funded by or under the official auspices of the school system or college (for example, confiscating independently produced underground publications or imposing discipline for material posted on off-campus websites).

Current legal precedent implies that pupils are not responsible enough to be trusted with constitutional rights and school faculty are allowed to suppress student speech that is deemed to provoke controversy or disrupt learning. Scholars maintain that this type of censorship violates the constitutional right of free speech that young people are afforded under the First Amendment. Opponents of this legal censorship, such as the Student Press Law Center, a non-profit that tracks and provides pro-bono legal aid to student-run media organizations in the U.S, point to the civic and educational value in student expression that is used to organize reform movements and develop political opinions as reasons to encourage unimpeded student journalism.