Facts and Case Summary - Hazelwood
v. Kuhlmeier
The case involves the Hazelwood school district vs.
students Kuhlmeier on the First Amendment. The
students felt that it was a violation of their First
Amendment rights when the school removed several
articles from the paper. The school felt that they were
revealing too much even though names were concealed,
that it was still obvious who the paper was referring to.
This was regarding 2 articles, one was on teen pregnancy
at the school and the other was on a divorce story that
pointed fingers at the father.
Reasons in support of the students (Kuhlmeier):
 The First Amendment
 Names were concealed
 The Spectrum was written by students in the Journalism
II course as part of the requirements of that course.
Reasons in support of the school (Hazelwood):
 The school felt that the name changes still were not
protecting the identity of those involved
 Journalistic Fairness-the father in the divorce story
would have needed an opportunity to speak his side.
 No time to edit the articles so they needed to be fully
removed