Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier was a landmark Supreme Court case in 1988 that dealt with the First Amendment rights of students in a public high school. The case originated when the principal of Hazelwood East High School in Missouri censored two pages of the school-sponsored newspaper, Spectrum. The pages contained two articles, one about three Hazelwood East students’ experiences with pregnancy and another about the impact of divorce on students at the school. The principal believed the articles were inappropriate for a school-sponsored publication. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the school district, holding that the Spectrum was not a public forum, and therefore school officials had the authority to regulate the content of the Spectrum and other school-sponsored expressive activities “so long as their actions are reasonably related to legitimate pedagogical concerns.”

The Kuhlmeier decision has had significant implications for the free-speech rights of students in public schools. The ruling established a framework that allows school officials to exercise greater control over student publications and other forms of expression that are part of the school curriculum. 

In the aftermath of Kuhlmeier, various states have enacted legislation to protect student press rights in public schools consistent with the First Amendment, but most states do not have such laws, and the ruling still serves as precedent that allows schools to censor student expression in the context of school-sponsored activities.