Does The First Amendment Protect The Freedom of Speech for Students?

            School newspapers should be censored by school officials because some student speech goes against the opinions or written goals of the school.  Unless the student newspaper is considered to be a public forum, censorship is allowed due to the restrictions on free speech in a limited public forum.  The student newspaper was considered a limited public forum in this case because staff members of the school retained some control over the content of the newspaper.  The First Amendment only applies to open public forums, where there is a continuous practice of free expression.  When an official’s concerns of the content of certain articles are legitimate and reasonable, censorship is allowed.  Privacy, timing issues, and protection of younger people are included in the justifiable concerns.  Student speech that does not cohere with the mission of the school can be censored.  Speech that places the school in a biased position can be rejected by the school if necessary.  Because the articles on pregnancy and divorce were inappropriate for younger students, the censorship of the school newspaper was reasonable.  When necessary, student speech should be censored, but in a reasonable fashion.