THE SPECTRUM HAZELWOOD V. KUHLMEIER HAZELWOOD EAST HIGH SCHOOL Hazelwood School District HAZELWOOD EAST HIGH SCHOOL - May 1983 HAZELWOOD V. KUHLMEIER In May of 1983, Hazelwood East High School’s Principal, Ryan Reynolds, was asked to review the final draft of Hazelwood’s student newspaper, The Spectrum before it was printed and distributed. In his reading, he discovered two student articles which he found to be inappropriate for younger readers. Under the impression that there was insufficient time to edit the articles before printing, he cut them out. The students who wrote the articles felt that their First Amendment right to freedom of the press had been violated by Reynolds’ censoring of The Spectrum’s contents. They decided to take Reynolds and the school district to court over the matter. The case began in District Court, and was afterward brought to the Court of Appeals, then finally moving to the Supreme Court.

THE SPECTRUM KEY PLAYERS Hazelwood School District HAZELWOOD EAST HIGH SCHOOL - May 1983 KEY PLAYERS Cathy Kuhlmeier - student writer for Hazelwood East High’s school newspaper, The Spectrum Ryan E. Reynolds – principal of Hazelwood East High Robert P. Baine, Jr. – argued for case of petitioner (Kuhlmeier) Leslie D. Edwards – argued for case of respondent (Hazelwood) Justice Byron R. White – wrote majority opinion on case Justice William J. Brennan – wrote the dissent

THE SPECTRUM CONSTITUTIONAL ISSUE Hazelwood School District HAZELWOOD EAST HIGH SCHOOL - May 1983 CONSTITUTIONAL ISSUE Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier deals with the Bill of Rights – more specifically, the First Amendment and the peoples’ right to freedom of the press The students felt their right to freedom of the press were violated because the principal prevented them from printing certain articles in the school newspaper

THE SPECTRUM OPPOSING VIEWPOINTS H A Z E L W O O D K U H L M E I E R Hazelwood School District HAZELWOOD EAST HIGH SCHOOL - May 1983 OPPOSING VIEWPOINTS H A Z E L W O O D K U H L M E I E R First Amendment rights were violated prohibiting students from preventing specific text violated their right to freedom of the press The Spectrum was a public forum of expression, which means it falls under the protection of the right to freedom of the press First Amendment rights were not violated school officials should be able to limit what students write in order to ensure that what they discuss is school-appropriate what the principal edited out of the paper was inappropriate for younger readers, and therefore needed to be censored

THE SPECTRUM HAZELWOOD EAST HIGH SCHOOL Baine’s Oral Argument Hazelwood School District HAZELWOOD EAST HIGH SCHOOL - May 1983 Baine’s Oral Argument Opinion Announcement Court of Appeals decision overturned, declared Constitutional District Court decision overturned, declared unconstitutional Declared Constitutional U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Missouri (1985) U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit (1986) Supreme Court of the United States (1988)

THE SPECTRUM HAZELWOOD EAST HIGH SCHOOL Baine’s Oral Argument Hazelwood School District HAZELWOOD EAST HIGH SCHOOL - May 1983 Baine’s Oral Argument Opinion Announcement Court of Appeals decision overturned, declared Constitutional District Court decision overturned, declared unconstitutional Declared Constitutional U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Missouri (1985) U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit (1986) Supreme Court of the United States (1988)

THE SPECTRUM HAZELWOOD EAST HIGH SCHOOL Baine’s Oral Argument Hazelwood School District HAZELWOOD EAST HIGH SCHOOL - May 1983 Baine’s Oral Argument Opinion Announcement Court of Appeals decision overturned, declared Constitutional District Court decision overturned, declared unconstitutional Declared Constitutional U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Missouri (1985) U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit (1986) Supreme Court of the United States (1988)

THE SPECTRUM HAZELWOOD EAST HIGH SCHOOL Hazelwood School District HAZELWOOD EAST HIGH SCHOOL - May 1983 “It is only when the decision to censor a school-sponsored publication, theatrical production, or other vehicle of student expression has no valid educational purpose that the First Amendment is so directly and sharply implicated as to require judicial intervention to protect students‘ constitutional rights.” Baine’s Oral Argument Opinion Announcement -- majority opinion, written by Justice Byron R. White Court of Appeals decision overturned, declared Constitutional District Court decision overturned, declared unconstitutional Declared Constitutional U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Missouri (1985) U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit (1986) Supreme Court of the United States (1988)

THE SPECTRUM OUTCOME OF CASE Hazelwood School District HAZELWOOD EAST HIGH SCHOOL - May 1983 OUTCOME OF CASE After the scenario actually occurred in 1983, the Supreme Court decision was finalized in 1988 Five votes for Hazelwood (Justices White, Stevens, O’Connor, Scalia, and Rehnquist) and three votes for Kuhlmeier (Justices Brennan, Marshall, and Blackmun) Hazelwood won on the grounds that students’ in-school rights “are not automatically coextensive with the rights of adults in other settings" and that schools may limit student speech and writing if it is inconsistent with the school’s “basic educational mission”

THE SPECTRUM ENDURING LEGACY Hazelwood School District HAZELWOOD EAST HIGH SCHOOL - May 1983 ENDURING LEGACY Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier allows for Constitutional censorship of student expression within reason (as determined by the school) A very similar situation occurred here at Marple Newtown High School this fall, when a student article was edited out of the school newspaper against the student writers’ will. It was an article outlining the flaws in the school administration’s new policies.