Student Speech Policy Readability in Public Schools

This book explores the issue of student speech in public schools from a student usability perspective. Public school students rely on student handbooks to give them clear guidance regarding their rights and responsibilities within their academic environments. The clarity of these documents becomes essential for students to understand their constitutional rights to free speech and expression in their schools. What do student handbooks say about free speech, if anything at all? How are these rights defined, and how is the language interpreted? Salkin and Shenkel explore these questions by analyzing a sample of public high school student handbooks from across the country. Drawing from the results, the project proposes real-world suggestions for schools seeking to create student expression handbook language that is easily accessible to the audience it seeks to serve.
Erica Salkin is Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication Studies at Whitworth University, USA. Her research interests include media law, student speech rights, and scholastic journalism.
Logan Shenkel holds a Bachelor's degree in Communications from Whitworth University, USA.