Recognizing student media as public forums

The SPRC and the Center for Scholastic Journalism at Kent State University are recreating an interactive map to showcase schools where student press freedom and editorial independence are protected. We want your school on our map!

Public forums can exist by policy, practice or both.To be eligible, complete the form by downloading the rewritable PDF, saving it with your school’s name and then emailing it to John Bowen at jabowen@kent.edu.

Please note we need a copy of any official school board policy and/or publication policy attached to or linked in that email.

To help you understand what we consider public forums, please note these definitions:

• Forums by policy: An official school policy exists that designates student editors as the ultimate authority regarding content. School officials actually practice this policy by exercising a “hands-off” role and empowering student editors to lead. Advisers teach and offer students advice, but they neither control nor make final decisions regarding content.

• Forums by practice: A school policy may or may not exist regarding student media, but administrators have a “hands-off” approach and have empowered students to control content decisions. Advisers teach and offer students advice, but they neither control nor make final decisions regarding content.

We appreciate your help in building a database and map that will show where public forum schools exist across the nation.

We feel public forum student media are more common than people may think and want to establish that fact publicly.