Recent events involving student journalists in the Lawrence school district shed light on the importance of a free student press in Kansas as guaranteed under the Kansas Student Publications Act.
On Aug. 1, 2025, former and current Lawrence High School and Lawrence Free State High School students filed a federal suit against USD 497 over its use of AI surveillance, via a company called Gaggle, on student Google accounts. The lawsuit, as well as the history and rationale leading up to its filing, has been covered by local and national media. To recognize and honor the journalism students for their coverage of this controversy, LHS was a finalist for the Student Press Law Center’s Courage in Student Journalism Award in 2024 and was awarded the Kansas Scholastic Press Association’s Courage in Journalism Award in 2025.
When LHS journalism students started the school year, their attempts to report on the lawsuit for the LHS online news site The Budget were banned by their principal and another district administrator, according to The Budget staff. The same individuals ordered the adviser to tell students not to report on the topic, also according to The Budget. In response, students requested a restraining order on Aug. 15 against the district, citing their rights under the Publications Act.
That same day, the LHS principal lifted the ban, stating The Budget was free to publish a story about the lawsuit, and any other story of interest, without restriction. The statement, published in a story on The Budget, also clarified that no school or district official will further prohibit or otherwise restrain journalism students or their adviser from lawful reporting on any subject. On Aug. 19, a judge denied the request for an emergency temporary restraining order based on the ban being lifted and affirmed that Kansas law protects journalism advisers from adverse action for protecting the student press.
The board of directors of the Kansas Scholastic Press Association extends its full support of these students and their adviser and reaffirms its commitment to the protection of students’ free press rights. The LHS principal and district administrators were wrong to censor the students and their actions appear to have violated state law.
Kansas is one of 18 states with laws specifically prohibiting the censorship of student journalists, and penalizing advisers for their students’ content or refusing to censor students. The Student Press Law Center has also issued its support of the LHS students and their adviser.
Kansas has a long history of producing some of the strongest student journalism in the country, and KSPA believes the Student Publications Act plays a role in that by allowing students to determine their own content. The LHS journalism students, as well as all student journalists in Kansas, deserve a space that allows them to think critically, act courageously and inform the public on matters of public interest. We encourage students and their advisers to educate themselves and their administrators about the law and to stand up for what they want to publish. If you are a student or adviser who needs assistance with possible First Amendment issues or possible violations of the Student Publications Act involving publications, please contact KSPA for support.
*Disclosure: Barbara Tholen, former LHS journalism adviser who mentored students during their coverage of the Gaggle implementation, now serves as the executive director of KSPA. Jared Shuff, current journalism adviser at Lawrence Free State, is a member of the KSPA board of directors.
Sincerely,