SPLC urges Education Department to reconsider proposed FERPA rules
[Student Press Law Center]
5/12/08: The Student Press Law Center ("SPLC"), the nation's leading advocate for the legal rights of college and high-school journalists to gather and publish news, is cautioning that key provisions in proposed federal education privacy rules will result in denying the press and public access to important information necessary to keep schools accountable. For the full story, go to:

http://www.splc.org/newsflash.asp?id=1754

 

Facebook ordered to turn over info about fake page

[AP / First Amendment Center]

5/12/08: Indiana judge acts day after Catholic high school dean sues Web site, alleging harassment and identity theft by unidentified creator of profile. For the full story, go to:

http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/news.aspx?id=20032

 

Minn. students suspended for not standing for Pledge

[AP / First Amendment Center]

5/12/08: Junior high principal says school officials are reevaluating policy requiring pupils to rise for, but not necessarily recite, oath. For the full story, go to:

http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/news.aspx?id=20035

 

Tensions swell over free speech rights

Lodi school says students' actions evoke slang of drug culture

[Stockton Record]

5/12/08: When Lodi High seniors Josh Niemeyer and Amanda Carter lined up for their "Techno City"-themed prom photos last month, they flashed t hand signs. When school administrators saw the photo, however, they slapped Niemeyer and Carter with suspensions. For the full story, go to:

http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080512/A_NEWS0401/805120315

 

Jacobs v. Clark County School Board

[9^th Circuit Court of Appeal]

5/12/08: Public school districts across the country have increasingly turned to the adoption of mandatory dress policies, sometimes referred to as “school uniform policies,” in an effort to focus student attention and reduce conflict. These policies are not without controversy, and many students, as well as their parents, find them offensive to their understanding of core First Amendment values. In a case of first impression in this circuit, we address just such a set of challenges and largely conclude that public school mandatory dress policies survive constitutional scrutiny. In a case raising constitutional challenges to a public school district's mandatory dress policies or "school uniform policies," the circuit court rules that neither the school district's regulation, which created a standard dress code for all county students, nor the individual school uniform policies implemented thereunder violated plaintiffs' free speech, free exercise, or due process rights. To read the entire decision in Jacobs v. Clark County School District, go to:

http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data2/circs/9th/0516434p.pdf

 

State’s Budget Options Run Thin

[Stockton Record]

5/11/08: This will not be a typically bad budget year. It will be worse. California has faced rough times recently, but the cavalry - in the form of massive borrowing or pushing off the state's debts and obligations for another day - has always managed to rescue the governor and the Legislature before they were forced to seriously cut state services or raise taxes. Now those options are largely gone. For the full story, go to:

http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080511/A_NEWS/805110313/-1/A_NEWS

 

Sacramento area districts will lay off fewer teachers than planned

[Sacramento Bee]

5/11/08: Thursday is the deadline for California school districts to finalize the preliminary layoffs they issued in March. Back then, it looked like 600 teachers in Sacramento County – and about 15,000 statewide – would be losing their jobs at the end of the school year. For the full story, go to:

http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/929080.html

 

Other states woo California teachers

[Los Angeles Times]

5/10/08: Drawn by pink slips issued to thousands of teachers, recruiters from school districts nationwide are wooing California teachers with greater fervor than usual. Districts in Arizona, Nevada, Hawaii, Kansas, Virginia and Texas have been buying newspaper ads and renting billboard space, calling teachers unions and sending recruiters to regions facing the biggest school budget crunches. For the full story, go to

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-recruit10-2008may10,0,3773464.story

 

Teacher evaluations too lax, educators say

[Associated Press / Los Angeles Daily News]

5/8/08: More than half of teachers believe it's too difficult to weed out ineffective teachers who have tenure, and nearly half say they personally know such a teacher, according to a survey released Tuesday evening by the Education Sector, a nonpartisan think tank. For the full story, go to:

http://www.dailynews.com/education/ci_9175923

 

San Francisco teachers to get reprieve - layoffs off

[San Francisco Chronicle]

5/8/08: San Francisco school officials said Wednesday that they will rescind all 535 teacher layoff notices they mailed in March, based on a commitment from the Board of Supervisors to give up to $20 million to help fill the school district's budget gap. For the full story, go to:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/05/08/MNH210IEA3.DTL

 

Lawyer blames school in shooting of gay Oxnard student

[Los Angeles Times]

5/8/08: Attorney for youth facing arraignment on murder charges says officials failed to defuse tensions. For the full story, go to:

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-oxnard8-2008may08,0,7672260.story

 

L.A. Unified officials knew of molestation allegations against principal

[Los Angeles Times]

5/6/08: After Steve Thomas Rooney was accused of sex with a student, administrators moved him to a desk job. He was later transferred to another school but apparently was never internally cleared. For the full story, go to:

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-rooney6-2008may06,0,2354654.story

 

Teachers’ private postings may make waves in school
[First Amendment Center]

5/4/08: Free expression is an essential guarantee of the First Amendment — the freedom to speak and write as we will, without censorship by the government. But the freedom to express oneself doesn’t necessarily provide a buffer against the reaction to what is said or written. For public employees like schoolteachers, that’s increasingly an issue in the Internet Age, when off-campus postings easily reach the school community. For the full story, go to:

http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/commentary.aspx?id=19991

 

Lake Elsinore: Teachers say administrators went to Nevada to catch them on day off

Elsinore High instructors say they were using 'comp' days

[North County Times]

5/3/08: Two school district administrators traveled almost 300 miles and crossed state lines to catch teachers they mistakenly believed were using sick days to take a three-day weekend in Nevada, according to teachers who call the incident "creepy" and "Orwellian." For the full story, go to:

http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2008/05/03/news/californian/lake_elsinore/zba48dd8cae31e9028825743d005bd62.txt

 

Overpaid school employees may have to pay back the district

[Oakland Tribune]

5/2/08: Some 100 Oakland school district workers who were overpaid, apparently because of data entry errors, might have to cut checks to their employer. While most of the mistakes involved stipends and were relatively small, seven employees received two-thirds of the $120,000 in misspent funds. The district paid one worker $20,000 more than they should have between September 2005 through March of this year. For the full story, go to:

http://www.insidebayarea.com/oaklandtribune/localnews/ci_9136838

  

Official sees 'depravity' in cheating case

[San Diego Union Tribune]

5/2/08: In an emotional memo to teachers written the day after a cheating scandal was uncovered at Rancho Bernardo High School, an assistant principal revealed details of the investigation and reacted to what he described as the declining morality of some students. For the full story, go to:

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/education/20080502-9999-1m2rbhack.html

 

Students await decision from Calif. principal who confiscated papers
[Student Press Law Center]

5/1/08: Student editors at Eureka High School are waiting for a decision from their principal on whether they will be allowed to reprint about 400 copies of the April Redwood Bark to replace copies the principal ordered removed from distribution bins. For the full story, go to:

http://www.splc.org/newsflash.asp?id=1749

 

Californians divided over new taxes for schools, poll finds

Respondents fault the governor and Legislature for not providing more leadership over education.

[Los Angeles Times]

5/1/08: Californians want their public schools protected from state budget cuts and are willing to tax the rich to make that happen. But despite the threat of schools taking a beating in next year's state budget, residents are sharply divided over whether they would support higher taxes for themselves, according to a statewide poll released late Wednesday. For the full story, go to:

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-poll1-2008may01,1,4775983.story

 

Charter-school battle unfolds

[Los Angeles Daily News]

5/1/08: Just one month after Los Angeles Unified offered space on its campuses for nearly 40 charter schools, district officials said Wednesday they have withdrawn seven of the offers and are considering yanking five more. For the full story, go to:

http://www.dailynews.com/breakingnews/ci_9114461

 

Teachers, Testing, & Civil Disobedience

[Teacher Magazine]

4/30/08: When Washington state science teacher Carl Chew was suspended for refusing to administer a standardized test, he sparked off fervent debate on the Teacher Leaders Network discussion group. Some wished they had the courage to emulate Chew's actions while others found Chew arrogant for acting in opposition to national and state policy. For the full story, go to:

http://www.teachermagazine.org/tm/articles/2008/04/30/31tln_norton.h19.html

 

Judge Dismisses Connecticut’s Challenge to NCLB

[New York Times]

4/30/08: A federal judge ruled that Connecticut failed to prove that federal officials had forced the state to spend its own money to comply with President Bush’s signature education law. For the full story, go to:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/30/us/30child.html

 

Federal appeals court reverses Oregon special ed cost ruling

[Portland Oregonian / Associated Press]

4/28/08: An Oregon district may have to pay for the private tuition of a student who was never enrolled in special education, but who struggled in school due in part to a marijuana addiction, after a federal appeals court on Monday reversed a lower court's ruling. Educators and psychologists unanimously agreed in 2001 that the student had no learning disabilities, but other specialists later said he had "learning difficulties" and ADHD. He was never enrolled in any special education program in Forest Grove, but his family argued that federal law for students with learning disabilities required the school district to pay the private school costs at the Mount Bachelor Academy. For the full story, go to:

http://www.oregonlive.com/newsflash/index.ssf?/base/news-24/12094055543710.xml&storylist=orlocal

 

State budget '$20 billion out of whack'

[San Diego Union Tribune]

4/29/08: A shortfall of that size in a projected general fund of $101 billion would create more pressure for deep cuts and tax increases to balance a budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1. For the full story, go to:

http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20080429/news_1n29budget.html

 

Schools get graded

[San Jose Mercury News]

4/28/08 One student designed a palm tree with the dots on the answer sheet. Another breezed through 60 questions in five minutes. Others answered questions based on the quintessential teen attitude: whatever. As schools across the state hunker down for annual tests that determine their fate and reputation, high school teachers face the daunting challenge of motivating students who may not know - or care - about the high stakes involved. For the full story, go to:

http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_9081297

 

Officials cite 'conflicting reports' on bullied boy's injury

[San Francisco Chronicle]

4/28/08: The top administrator of the Oakland Unified School District cast doubt Friday on a first-grade boy's version of how a bully fractured his skull this week as he waited for a ride after school. For the full story, go to:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/04/26/BA7310C2IA.DTL

 

Laguna Beach's lucky schools escape state's funding crunch

[Los Angeles Times]

4/28/08: 'Basic aid' districts are supported solely by property taxes. It means that while their neighbors are facing layoffs and cutbacks, their classes are safe and may even be expanded. For the full story, go to:

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-schools28apr28,1,2485841.story

 

Borenstein: Retiree benefits could bankrupt West Contra Costa Schools

[Contra Costa Times]

4/27/08: The beleaguered West Contra Costa school district is sitting on a financial time bomb that if not defused could eventually send it into bankruptcy. For the full story, go to:

http://www.contracostatimes.com/danielborenstein/ci_9070632

 

Schools reclassify students, pass test under federal law

[Sacramento Bee]

4/27/08: Will C. Wood Middle School faced a vexing situation when last year's test results came out in August. Most students had met the mark set by No Child Left Behind. But African American students' math scores fell far short of it, bringing the school into failing status in the eyes of the federal law. For the full story, go to:

http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/893199.html

 

Bullying episode stuns community

[Contra Costa Times]

4/25/08: Most victims of bullying have their feelings hurt or their confidence shattered. But sometimes — like in the case of 7-year-old Zachary Cataldo — the outcome of schoolyard bullying is much, much worse. The Oakland boy spent two days in the intensive care unit of Children's Hospital Oakland with a fractured skull after one relative said he was bullied at school.  For the full story, go to:

http://www.contracostatimes.com/education/ci_9047886?nclick_check=1

 

Day of Silence creates flap at Hoover High

[Los Angeles Daily News]

4/25/08: A flap at Hoover High in Glendale began after some local cable-access shows implied that by attending school on the "National Day of Silence" today, students would be supporting a "homosexual agenda." But the issues at the Glendale school are just a microcosm of an aggressive national campaign to protest the 12th annual event. For the full story, go to:

http://www.dailynews.com/education/ci_9046529

 

Truth, et. al. v. Kent School District

[9^th Circuit Court of Appeals]

4/24/08: In an action alleging Equal Access Act and constitutional violations brought against a school district and other defendants arising from plaintiff's attempt to form a student Bible study club at a high school, summary judgment for defendants is reversed where: 1) although the district did not violate the Act or plaintiff's First Amendment rights by applying its non-discrimination policy to require plaintiff to remove its general membership provision; nevertheless, 2) to the extent plaintiff alleged the district violated the Act or the First Amendment by refusing to provide an exemption to its non-discrimination policy—based on plaintiff's religion or the content of its speech summary judgment was error. To read the full opinion:

http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data2/circs/9th/0435876p.pdf

 

Oakland: When school bullies get out of hand

[San Francisco Chronicle]

4/24/08: Anthony Cataldo of Oakland first raised concerns about aggressive bullying at his son's elementary school last year after Zachary lost four teeth on the playground - but he said he received only a verbal assurance that things would change. For the full story, go to:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/04/24/MNPC10AK04.DTL

 

Law firm targets Hiram Johnson over teacher qualifications, student placements

[Sacramento Bee]

4/23/08: A San Francisco law firm focused on equality in schools has filed two legal complaints alleging that staffing issues and inappropriate class placements at Hiram Johnson High School have denied equal access for some of the school's neediest teens. For the full story, go to:

http://www.sacbee.com/education/story/882921.html

 

Martin hits SUSD board with claim

Ex-athletics administrator alleges reputation damaged

[Stockton Record]

4/23/08: Controversial former athletics administrator Joe Martin said Tuesday he has slapped the Stockton Unified School District Board of Education with a claim seeking "damages exceeding $25,000," charging the trustees with "defamation, slander, libel" and other acts that injured his reputation and future ability to earn a living. For the full story, go to:

http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080423/A_NEWS/804230334

 

Law firm targets Hiram Johnson over teacher qualifications, student placements

[Sacramento Bee]

4/23/08: A San Francisco law firm focused on equality in schools has filed two legal complaints alleging that staffing issues and inappropriate class placements at Hiram Johnson High School have denied equal access for some of the school's neediest teens.

http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/882921.html

 

Education Secretary Offers Changes to ‘No Child’ Law

[New York Times]

4/23/08: Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings used her executive powers to propose a series of fixes to President Bush’s signature education law, No Child Left Behind. For the full story, go to:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/23/washington/23child.html

 

Teacher misconduct rule change approved

[Inland Daily Bulletin / Associated Press]

4/22/08:

The state Senate on Monday unanimously approved legislation to automatically suspend teachers' credentials if they have had their license revoked in another state for sexual misconduct. For the full story, go to:

http://www2.dailybulletin.com/breakingnews/ci_9013195

 

Teacher refuses to give standardized test, gets 2 weeks without pay

[Seattle Times]

4/21/08: A Seattle educator who refused to give the Washington state standardized test to his class was suspended for two weeks without pay. Middle-school science teacher Carl Chew said he believes the test does little to help students or schools and instead takes time away from learning. For the full story, go to:

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004364005_apwawaslrefuser.html

 

Bill will ease recruiting of teachers

[San Gabriel Valley Tribune]

4/21/08: With the persistent concern of a looming teacher shortage, a new bill aims at clearing away barriers that sometimes deter out-of-state teachers and those seeking to become educators from entering the classroom. SB 1186, authored by state Sen. Jack Scott, D-Pasadena, would reduce some hurdles in credentialing for teachers, particularly in the areas of mathematics, science and special education. For the full story, go to:

http://www.sgvtribune.com/news/ci_8997684

 

Out-of-state districts recruit California teachers

[Associated Press / San Jose Mercury News]

4/21/08: Precious Jackson was among a wave of teachers hired in recent years as California raised education spending to cut class sizes. Now she is at the mercy of state legislators who are negotiating more than $4 billion in education cuts proposed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to combat a budget shortfall caused by the housing slump and a stagnant economy. For the full story, go to:

http://www.mercurynews.com/localnewsheadlines/ci_8982729?nclick_check=1

 

Home schooling: Parent-teachers aim to prove skeptics wrong

[San Jose Mercury News]

4/21/08: Giannina and Helena liked sea horses, so their teacher - who is also their mom - designed a biology project to measure nitrates and pH levels and watch in awe when the sea horses birthed their babies. A San Jose teen is learning Italian at Santa Clara University as part of her home-school curriculum. And a robotics engineer introduces Newton's law of motion to other home-school students through water-bottle rockets. For the full story, go to:

http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_8991810

 

California public schools seek private money just to cover the basics

[Los Angeles Times]

4/20/08: Foundations are nothing new, but they're multiplying as huge budgets cuts loom. And beyond enrichment, their goals now are saving teacher positions and keeping class sizes down. For the full story, go to:

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-foundations20apr20,1,2829757.story

 

Wis. Catholic schools not immune in employment complaints

[Associated Press / First Amendment Center]

4/19/08: A Wisconsin appeals court refused last week to give Catholic schools immunity from employment-related claims filed by teachers. Catholic schools had argued their First Amendment right to the free exercise of religion barred state agencies from ruling on employment complaints such as age, gender or racial discrimination. They said those actions limit the church’s power to choose its own spiritual leaders. For the full story, go to:

http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/news.aspx?id=19941

 

Linden school district limits its searches of students' cell phones

[Sacramento Bee]

4/18/08: In schools across the country, cell phones go on and cell phones get confiscated, often on a daily basis. Students may lose their beloved phone for the rest of the school day. But they don't expect to lose their privacy. In a small town east of Stockton, that is what happened to a senior named Justin Tomek at Linden High School last October. For the full story, go to:

http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/871702.html

 

Other states woo California teachers amid wave of pink slips

[Sacramento Bee]

4/18/08: Precious Jackson has two years of teaching under her belt and two school teacher-of-the-year awards to show for it. She also has a pink slip. Now Jackson is a prime target for growing school districts across the country hoping to cherry-pick from thousands of California teachers who have been warned they could be laid off because of state budget woes. For the full story, go to:

http://www.sacbee.com/827/story/873104.html

 

State teachers union chief says California needs more money

[Orange County Register]

4/18/08: Surrounded by about 70 parents, teachers and students holding up signs protesting proposed cuts to local public schools, the president of the state teachers union said today that California must increase its revenue streams to solve the state budget crisis and fully fund education this fall. For the full story, go to:

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/teachers-state-california-2020348-school-schools

 

Ruling: Teacher accused of slapping student acted appropriately

[Chicago Sun-Times / Associated Press]

4/16/08: An Indiana teacher did not commit battery when she grasped a 15-year-old student's chin to stop her from yelling profanities at classmates, the state's Court of Appeals ruled in a 2 to 1 vote. The girl accused gym teacher Paula J. Fettig of slapping her, but a lower court judge had dismissed the charges, saying the educator's behavior was appropriate, and that she had simply used "touching to restore order and redirect the focus of the class."  For the full story, go to:

http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/897746,slap041608.article

 

Waukee gives bonuses to special education teachers

[Des Moines Register]

4/15/08: An Iowa district will spend $62,716 on bonuses to retain and attract special-education teachers, who are sometimes lured away to regular classrooms once they encounter the additional stress and constant paperwork. "I know that we've lost some good candidates to larger districts who offer bonuses," said retiring special educator Linda Myers. "We want quality people, and we want people who will stay." For the full story, go to:

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080415/NEWS02/804150345/1004

 

Publishers Sue Georgia State on Digital Reading Matter

[New York Times]

4/16/08: Three prominent academic publishers are suing Georgia State University, contending that the school is violating copyright laws by providing course reading material to students in digital format without seeking permission from the publishers or paying licensing fees. In a complaint filed Tuesday in United States District Court in Atlanta, the publishers — Cambridge University Press, Oxford University Press and Sage Publications — sued four university officials, asserting “systematic, widespread and unauthorized copying and distribution of a vast amount of copyrighted works” by Georgia State, which the university distributes through its Web site. The lawsuit, which may be the first of its kind, raises questions about digital rights, which are confronting many media companies, but also about core issues like the future of the business model for academic publishers.  For the full story, go to:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/16/technology/16school.html

 

Wash. adviser fired for helping underground paper regains job

[Student Press Law Center]

4/14/08: The Everett (Washington) School District reached a settlement Friday with a former Cascade High School teacher fired in November for helping students run an underground newspaper.

http://www.splc.org/newsflash.asp?id=1741

 

Charter schools' rise weighs on districts

Petitions to establish independent facilities getting more scrutiny

[San Gabriel Valley Tribune]

4/14/08: Financial problems that threaten to close at least one charter school in Pasadena highlight the role school districts play in approving and ultimately overseeing these independent schools. For the full story, go to:

http://www.sgvtribune.com/ci_8908051

 

Some home-schoolers balk at tests

Risk of funding loss puts charters in tough spot

[Stockton Record]

4/14/08: April may be the cruelest month for charter schools that serve home-schooled students. That's because April is when California public school students take the STAR test. STAR stands for Standardized Testing and Reporting. And standardized is exactly what charter schools - and home-schooling families - are not. For the full story, go to:

http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080414/A_NEWS/804140319/-1/A_NEWS

 

Expelled, but not out

[Las Vegas Sun]

4/14/08: In recent weeks, up to 100 Clark County, Nev., students have been recommended daily for expulsion, a trend that has district officials scrambling to find space within the system's handful of alternative schools that enroll such displaced students, and which is placing an added burden on what some observers say is an already overtaxed disciplinary system. For the full story, go to:

http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2008/apr/14/expelled-not-out/

 

Virginia Beach parents enlist help in special education battle

[The Virginian-Pilot]

4/13/08: Paid special-education advocates are more often accompanying Virginia parents as they meet with educators about their children's needs. "As a parent, you don't know the laws inside and out. I don't have time to research the laws and know if they're telling me the truth or not," said parent Lona Hyde. "It's the school system versus the parent. It is not a team." For the full story, go to:

http://hamptonroads.com/2008/04/virginia-beach-parents-enlist-help-special-education-battle

 

Per-pupil spending rankings all relative

[San Diego Union Tribune]

4/13/08: Does the amount of money spent on each public school student in California, with the world's eighth-biggest economy, rank near the bottom among states or near the middle? For the full story, go to:

http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20080413/news_1n13pupil.html

 

California Court of Appeal Interprets School District’s Responsibility For Students To and From School

Cerna v. City of Oakland

[First District California Court of Appeal]

4/11/08: In a negligence action against a city and school district for injuries resulting from a traffic accident on a city street, summary judgment for defendants is affirmed where: 1) underlying conditions in the city's intersection did not create a "dangerous condition" as defined under Gov. Code section 830.2; and 2) the school district was not responsible for the safety of students outside the school premises, as Ed. Code section 44808 does not create general negligence liability and the district did not specifically assume responsibility for plaintiffs' safety. For the full decision, go to:

http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data2/californiastatecases/a115296.pdf

 

New interim superintendent for Oakland schools chosen under questionable circumstances

[San Francisco Chronicle / Oakland Tribune]

4/11/08: The Oakland school board wasted no time flexing its renewed political muscle, secretly and perhaps improperly naming an interim superintendent Wednesday one day after the state restored the board's authority over district personnel. The school trustees voted 4-3 during a closed session to hire an interim superintendent and offer the job to state fiscal analyst Roberta Mayor. Teachers, parents and others interested in school affairs had no idea the hiring was up for a vote. For the full story, go to:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/04/11/BAE9103CFC.DTL

http://www.insidebayarea.com/oaklandtribune/localnews/ci_8888854

 

California Considers Bill to Protect Journalism Teachers

[San Francisco Chronicle]

4/10/08: A state Senate committee has approved a San Francisco lawmaker's proposed legal protections for high school and college journalism teachers after hearing instructors' complaints of retaliation for hard-hitting articles in student newspapers. "Allowing a school administration to censor in any way is contrary to the democratic process and the ability of a student newspaper to serve as the watchdog," Sen. Leland Yee said after the Judiciary Committee sent his bill to the Senate floor Tuesday. The measure, SB1370, would prohibit school officials from punishing teachers for allowing students to publish articles that are covered by California's guarantee of freedom of the press on campus. For the full story, go to: