50 Ways to Celebrate Student Press Freedom Day

📕 Learn About Student Press Freedom

Make sure you know the rights of student journalists, why press freedom matters, and how to undertake powerful — and legally responsible — journalism. (And then share this knowledge with others!)

• Take the Student Press Freedom crash course. Learn from SPLC’s Senior Legal Counsel Mike Hiestand about the legal landscape for student journalists. Watch here.
• Join one (or all!) of the Student Press Freedom Day events from SPLC and our fantastic partners. Through skills-building workshops and discussions of many pressing topics facing student journalists, there are many opportunities to learn this year!
• Get the scoop on why all this matters now. These talking points and this explanation of Student Press Freedom Day are great places to start to understand why independent student journalism is so important and why we all should stand up for it.
• Understand that the rules are likely different (but no less important) at private schools. Review this SPLC guide.
• Keep up with the latest student press freedom news by subscribing to SPLC’s email newsletter.

✊ Protect & Advance Student Press Freedom

Now that you understand how most student journalists have fewer rights than others, let’s take steps together to restore those First Amendment protections.

• Get involved with the New Voices movement. Depending on the status of student press rights in your state, you can either learn about your New Voices law (the law isn’t helpful if everyone doesn’t know about it!) or join a coalition of advocates in your state to help enact one. Contact us at newvoices@splc.org.
• Write a letter to your state legislators. If you are in a state with a pending New Voices bill, your letter really could make a difference.
• Explore your district’s policies. Learn more about your school district’s policies on student media and, if they could be improved, reach out to your administrators and school board to talk about updating them. It’s easy to get started with this toolkit.
• Organize a rally or lobby day at the statehouse. It’s your chance to call on legislators to pass student press freedom protections in your state, just like others across the country.
• Financially support student press freedom. Make a gift to your local student news organization, SPLC or another organization bolstering press freedom.

📢 Spread the Word

Student journalism doesn’t get the love it deserves, so help share the message about why #studentpressfreedom matters.

• Craft an opinion piece. Tell your community why student press freedom matters to you, and why it should matter to them too. Check out these talking points and this guide to spur your creative juices, and then watch the Op-Ed Boot Camp to learn how to sharpen your message. Then, reach out to local, regional or even national outlets and pitch your op-ed. (Here and here are some great ones for inspiration. One tip: Make sure to include a call to action, such as supporting a New Voices bill, learning more on studentpressfreedom.org or SPLC.org, etc.)
• Show off your support for student press freedom with some new gear. We have several cool designs — available on shirts, stickers, mugs and more — in the SPLC Store.
• Create educational videos about student press rights in your state. (Some inspiration here and here.)
• Post your censorship testimonial as an Instagram Reel or Tiktok. When you explain why this is personal to you with a meaningful example of censorship, other people will take notice.

📢 Spread the Word

Student journalism doesn’t get the love it deserves, so help share the message about why #studentpressfreedom matters. Our event planning guide has additional tips.

• Set up a table on campus. Use Student Press Freedom Day to interact with your audience and explain why you do what you do — and why your independence matters. (Some inspiration here.)
• Publish an editorial. Explain to your audience why it is important to protect and support student voices through your journalism. (Some inspiration here, here and here.)
• Give your audience an inside look at how your newsroom operates. A behind-the-scenes Instagram Reel or TikTok can help people understand the important role you play on campus. (Some inspiration.)
• Run Student Press Freedom Day digital and/or print ads. Use it to solicit donations or to direct readers to more information, such as your Student Press Freedom Day editorial or the Student Press Freedom Day website. Make your own ad with the Day’s logo! 
• Report on press freedom issues, on campus or elsewhere. Watch this webinar from the Freedom of the Press Foundation to get tips on how to do just that.
• Organize a guest speaker on the topic of student press freedom. Many local journalists would be happy to share their wisdom. (Some inspiration.) 
• Offer a giveaway. Entice your audience to learn more about you; we all love free swag, right? (Some inspiration here and here.)
• Host a bake sale. There’s no better way to bring people in than sweets, and once you have them, you can talk about why your important work matters. (Some inspiration.)
• Create a zine about student press freedom. Here’s a handy how-to guide. (And if you’re publishing off campus, check out these legal guides to know your rights.)
• Get creative with other types of events. We’ve seen students use carnival games to draw attention, and even some who turned a high school library into a “Newseum” with exhibits explaining key court cases and milestones in the fight for student press freedom.

✊ Protect & Advance Student Press Freedom

You know you may have fewer rights than others, so let’s take steps together to restore your First Amendment protections.

• Invite your government representative to visit your newsroom. Too often, school board members or government officials (at any level) have no clue about the important work of student media. In at least one case, such a visit so impressed a state representative that they became a sponsor and successful champion of a state New Voices law. Check out our toolkit with a template invitation letter.
• If you’re experiencing censorship right now, learn your options. Review this guide on responding to censorship, but most importantly, get free legal help through SPLC’s Legal Hotline.
• Learn to recognize and resist self-censorship. Many students don’t even know they engage in it, so take SPLC’s Self-Censorship Quiz to know the signs!
• Psych yourself up for all this advocacy with this Student Press Freedom Day playlist. It’s from 2020, but we think it holds up pretty well.
• Understand the laws protecting your newsroom and materials from police searches. While extremely rare, the Marion County, Kansas, newsroom raid in August 2023 and the 2026 search of a Washington Post reporter’s home reminded us all that it can happen. Learn the law and some practical steps to prepare in this post.
• Make plans to participate in SPLC’s New Voices Student Leaders Institute for high school students. This virtual summer program is meant to improve your leadership and organizing skills, develop your role as a leader within the New Voices movement, and identify the best strategy to expand student press freedom in your community. We’ll open applications over the next few weeks, so stay tuned to SPLC’s newsletter.

🖋️ Undertake Powerful Student Journalism

Put your rights and legal knowledge to use by reporting out stories that ensure transparency and accountability from decision-makers or that amplify historically excluded voices in your communities.

• Put SPLC’s Public Records Request Letter Generator to work. Created in 1997, this free FOI resource has been used hundreds of thousands of times by students and others to obtain public records across the country. Research proves it’s an effective tool! (And once you publish your story, nominate it for the Student FOI Award — which has a cash prize!)
• Request a copy of your school’s budget. Every student news organization in the country should be regularly requesting and reviewing a copy of your school’s annual budget to mine for story ideas. If you are at a public school, the budget is a public document available under your state open records law.
• Request a copy of the latest health inspection report of your dining facilities. Public school students can obtain a copy from their school under their state open records law. Private (and public) school students can obtain a copy from the state or local government agency that conducted the inspection. 
• Attend a school board meeting. If you attend a public high school, your school board meets regularly to discuss and establish school policies. Their meetings — with limited exceptions — are open to the public under your state’s open meetings law. Similarly, if you attend a public college, your board of trustees (or regents) meetings should also be open.
• Bookmark this wonderful (and free) FOI resource. The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, a long-time SPLC partner, publishes its Open Government Guide, a 50-state compendium created specifically to quickly answer reporters’ questions about their state’s open records and open meetings laws.
• Find out what your third-grade teacher thought about you. The federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) requires schools to provide you with a copy of your “educational records,” which includes things like your test scores, transcripts and your teacher’s academic notes about you, upon request. You can use SPLC’s free FERPA Request Letter Generator to create a letter you can send to your school.
• Explore other powerful student reporting for inspiration. Browse examples by looking at winners of prestigious awards from ACP, CMA, CSPA, JEA, NSPA, SPJ, SPLC or other journalism organizations.
• Prepare yourself to cover protests or to report on immigration or sexual harassment issues. Review SPLC’s protest guide and immigration FAQs, plus watch this SPLC presentation on legal issues related to reporting on stories about sexual assault, harassment and misconduct.

Be sure to review the “For Everyone” section too!

📕 Teach/Learn About Student Press Freedom

Make sure you and your students know their rights, why press freedom matters, and how they can undertake powerful — and legally responsible — journalism.

• Teach high school students about their First Amendment rights. From covering Tinker’s armband to today’s legal landscape, SPLC has done all the work for you. Use this pre-made presentation with speaker’s notes, or share our recorded video. Or even better, have your students watch our Student Press Freedom 101 crash course. 
• Prepare your students for reporting by teaching about a number of other media law topics. SPLC has pre-made presentations on issues like copyright, reporter’s privilege, invasion of privacy, libel and more. 
• Put your students’ media law knowledge to the test. Our friends at the Journalism Education Association have this great quiz covering a number of legal topics. (And this full blog post on other helpful ideas for Student Press Freedom Day.)
• Or drill in on their knowledge with more specific quizzes. SPLC has 11 quizzes — on a variety of media law topics — to print out for the classroom. The interactive, online versions have all the answers explained.
• Bring in a prominent local journalist to inspire your students to do powerful reporting. (Some inspiration here.)
• Schedule an SPLC attorney to speak with your students virtually. Nothing beats letting students learn about the law directly from an expert. Just get your request in early!
• Explore other resources for the classroom. Many Student Press Freedom Day partners have great classroom tools available for free online. Take some time to peruse the terrific list of organizations and their websites.

Also check out the “For Students” section for other potential classroom and newsroom exercises.

📢 Spread the Word

Student journalism doesn’t get the love it deserves. Help share the message about why #studentpressfreedom matters.

• Report on the important work of student journalists in your community. Undoubtedly, there are groundbreaking stories being told by high school and college journalists near you. Start with these seven things to know to aid your reporting. (Some inspiration here and here and here.)
• Publish an editorial. Explain to your audience why it is important to protect and support student voices through journalism. (Some inspiration here and here.)
• Host an Instagram Live conversation with student journalists. It’s an effective and easy medium to highlight their powerful reporting and the need for press freedom.
• Highlight student censorship stories through a podcast. (Some inspiration.)
• Post on social media about why student journalism is so important to democracy. And if you were a student journalist, share what it meant to you!

📕 Teach About Student Press Freedom

Help students understand their rights, why press freedom matters, and how to undertake powerful — and legally responsible — journalism.

• Speak to a local journalism class or student newsroom. Whether it’s at your nearby high school or college, the students will appreciate your perspective on the role of journalism in a democratic society. And frankly, you might leave even more inspired than they will.