May a public school official legally censor a school-sponsored publication, like a newspaper or yearbook?

It depends. If the school has by policy or practice turned the school-sponsored publication into a public forum, or a place traditionally open to the free exchange of ideas, then the school has less authority to censor content. However, most school newspapers are not public forums, and because of a 1988 Supreme Court decision, school officials generally have broad leeway to censor school-sponsored publications. In Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier, the high court ruled that school officials can censor school-sponsored publications if their decision is "reasonably related to a legitimate pedagogical purpose." This means school officials must show that they have a reasonable educational reason for censoring the material. The high court gave several examples of material that could be censored based on a reasonable educational purpose, including material that is "ungrammatical, poorly written, inadequately researched, biased or prejudiced, vulgar or profane, or unsuitable for immature ... more