Student Press Law Center

Student Press Law Center
AbbreviationSPLC
Formation1974 (1974)
Type501(c)(3) Non-Profit
52-1184647
PurposeAdvocate for student journalists and open government on campus
HeadquartersWashington, D.C., U.S.
Region served
United States
Executive Director
Gary Green
Websitesplc.org Edit this at Wikidata

The Student Press Law Center (SPLC) is a non-profit organization that aims to promote, support and defend press freedom rights for student journalists at high schools and colleges in the United States. It is dedicated to student free-press rights and provides information, advice and legal assistance at no charge for students and educators.[1]

SPLC was founded in 1974.[2] The Kennedy Memorial Foundation and the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press created the center at the recommendation of the Commission of Inquiry into High School Journalism in Captive Voices, a book that found that censorship was pervasive and identified the need for an organization that would stand up for students’ First Amendment rights.[3] The center became a separate corporation in 1979.[4] It is the only legal assistance agency in the United States with the primary mission of educating high school and college journalists about the rights and responsibilities embodied in the First Amendment and supporting the freedom of expression of student news media to address issues and express themselves free from censorship.[5][6][7]

SPLC is a non-partisan 501(c)(3) corporation. It is headquartered in the University of California Building in Washington, D.C. It was previously headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, where it shared a suite of offices with the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.[8]

  1. ^ Ralston, Neil; Hudson, David L. (September 2017) [2009]. "Student Press Law Center". The First Amendment Encyclopedia. First Amendment Center. Retrieved June 26, 2021.
  2. ^ "Breaking the back of Hazelwood: a press lawyer's decade-long campaign". Poynter. 2017-07-17. Retrieved 2020-07-08.
  3. ^ "History of the Student Press Law Center". Student Press Law Center. Retrieved 2023-08-25.
  4. ^ Hudson, David L. Jr. "Student Press Law Center". www.mtsu.edu. Retrieved 2020-07-08.
  5. ^ "SCJ". www.scj.us. Archived from the original on 2007-06-21.
  6. ^ "Student Press Law Center". Idealist. Archived from the original on 20 May 2011.
  7. ^ "Got Censorship? Here's A Place To Turn". Poynter's High School Journalism Guide. Archived from the original on 5 June 2011.
  8. ^ "Student Press Law Center director tells UMD students their rights have "gotten worse"". The Diamondback.