Student-journalists at Churchill County High School in Nevada successfully fought off a libel suit this week using any journalist’s best defense: the truth.
A CCHS music teacher had sought $10,000 from the school district, the principal and the newspaper adviser because of a story in the student newspaper that reported the music teacher’s practice of not submitting student audition tapes for a state music contest.
“There is not a single sentence contained in the school article which is false or known by any district defendant to be false,” judge William Rogers wrote in his decision.
The judge also added a statement about the importance of an aggressive and free student press.
“The publication of these concerns by a student author/editor in a student newspapers serves to communicate this information directly to [Churchill County School District] administrators,” Rogers wrote.
Editor Lauren Maclean has been lauded for her reporting and leadership efforts.
Of course, Nevada does not have a student publications act, such as the Kansas Student Publications Act, which guarantees students their full First Amendment rights. The Kansas law protects administrators by excusing them from liability if they follow the law and don’t censor student publications. The Kansas law also protects advisers from retaliation.
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