School district sued for shutting down school newspaper over LGBTQ content

The Nebraska High School Press Association along with a former high school journalist have sued Grand Island Northwest Public Schools. The lawsuit came after the district shut down the school newspaper, the Viking Saga, after it published an issue with LGBTQ history and editorials. The federal lawsuit alleges that the district violated the First Amendment when it closed the newspaper, which was later reinstated but only in digital form.

The June version of the Viking Saga included an article on Pride Month and an editorial opposing a Florida law. The lawsuit also alleges that transgender students could only use their assigned birthnames and not list their pronouns.

School newspaper cases have made it to the supreme court before. Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier, one of the most recent cases on student expression held that student newspapers do have some level of first amendment protection, but a lower level than an established public forum like a regular newspaper.

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