While freedom of speech is a defining characteristic of the United States, the First Amendment right is often regulated within certain environments. For years, schools have attempted to monitor and regulate student communication both within the educational environment and in student use of social media and other online communication tools.

Censorship and Student Communication in Online and Offline Settings is a comprehensive reference source that addresses the issues surrounding student’s right to free speech in on and off-campus settings. Featuring relevant coverage on the implications of digital media as well as constitutional and legal considerations, this publication is an essential resource for school administrators, educators, students, and policymakers interested in uncovering the reasons behind student censorship and the challenges associated with the regulation of students’ free speech.

Coverage:

The many academic areas covered in this publication include, but are not limited to:

Acceptable Use Policies
Anti-Bullying Concerns
Child Pornography Speech
Defamatory Speech
Fighting Words Jurisprudence
Illegal Drug Use
Infringement of Rights
Material and Substantial Disruption
Obscene Speech
School-Sponsored Speech

Reviews & Statements

Authors Oluwole and Green present students, academics, and researchers with an examination of the student’s right to free speech in a variety of on-campus and off-campus settings. The authors have organized the sixteen chapters that make up the main body of their text in five parts devoted to context, unprotected speech, student free speech and the U.S. Supreme Court, lower courts and off-campus speech, and the authors’ reflections.

– ProtoView Book Abstracts (formerly Book News, Inc.)

A comprehensive text for scholars in school law who are studying First Amendment speech issues. Combines a historical basis of the seminal cases in student speech rights with up to date topics such as cyber speech. Organized into comprehensive units of student speech. Each chapter begins with the sequence of seminal cases that formed and framed the law regarding speech. Chapters are complete with an array of speech cases and defines those cases. Sequentially, the chapters proceed to the current era. A great way to study each aspect of student speech within a logical framework. Comprehensive text for students who are studying student speech rights. It is reader-friendly through the organization and content and maintains reader interest. The "stories" at the end of the text are particularly meaningful for teaching exercises. All aspects of student speech are addressed and the content leaves no aspect of student speech unaddressed. This text would be useful to graduate students who are learning the law and seek in depth analysis in First Amendment speech issues.

– Dr. Janet L. Fike, Ed.D., Esq. (Morris-Union Jointure Commision, USA)

The book is well organized and has well-researched content. A strength of this book is that it not only has a thorough review of student speech jurisprudence, but it also describes each element’s relevance to off-campus speech. The narrative builds through the sections (and individual chapters) to support the authors’ conclusion that student off campus speech should not be regulated unless it represents a true threat. Moreover, in addition to the in depth discussion of the guiding legal principles, the book contains two chapters that describe actual student legal disputes on speech issues. This provides readers with both an overall understanding of the relevant law and a specific understanding of how this plays out in schools.
Highly Recommended. Oluwole and Green’s book, Censorship and Communication in Online and Offline Settings, brings a great deal of clarity to an unsettled area of education jurisprudence. The work provides a thorough review of the current status of the law on student speech in general and online speech in particular. What is unique about this book is that in addition to an in depth discussion of the guiding legal principles, which provides a strong understanding of the law for anyone who reads it, it also contains two chapters that describe many actual legal disputes on student speech issues. This means that it provides both foundational and practical knowledge on the topic. The authors also suggest a new direction for school districts to consider in regulating student speech that moves away from a reliance on censorship of student online speech and better embraces the underlying Free Speech principles.
Anyone wanting an in-depth understanding of issues related to student free speech rights in educational settings (both on and off campus). This includes professors, attorneys, and K-12 educational administrators.

– Regina R. Umpstead, Central Michigan University (USA)

Censorship and Student Communication in Online and Offline Settings is that rare book that carefully furnishes the reader with all issues associated with student communication in the social media age. The reader is treated with a comprehensive array of all legal developments in the area of student speech, from Tinker v. Des Moines to current attempts to curb bullying. This is a highly-recommended book because it provides educational practitioners and policy-makers with all the information necessary to shape sound pedagogical and legal policy regarding student speech issues. [The publication is aimed toward] educational administrators; board members; teachers; and higher education programs in educational leadership and student rights.

– Philip E. Stern, Esq., Montclair State University (USA)

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Editor/Author Biographies

Joseph O. Oluwole, J.D., Ph.D., is a professor of education law at Montclair State University. His scholarly interests include the constitutional and statutory rights and responsibilities of students, teachers, and public school districts. In addition to being a scholar, he is an attorney-at-law and has served as an Assistant Attorney General for the State of Ohio. Dr. Oluwole has published several articles analyzing laws and policies affecting education and presented at various venues nationally including the University Council for Educational Administration, the Education Law Association, University of Iowa College of Law, Stanford Law School, and the American Education Research Association. He has been recognized in Marquis’ Who’s Who in America, Marquis’ Who’s Who in American Law, and Cambridge’s Who’s Who Registry among Executives and Professionals. He was the 2006 recipient of the Emerging Scholar Award from the American Educational Research Association, Law and Education Special Interest Group.

Preston C. Green III, J.D., Ed.D., is the John and Carla Klein Professor of Urban Education and professor of Educational Leadership and Law at the University of Connecticut. Previously, he was the Harry Lawrence Batschelet II Chair Professor of Educational Administration and Professor of Education and Law at The Pennsylvania State University. He is a foremost national expert on education law whose extensive published works include the following books: Charter Schools and the Law: Establishing New Legal Relationships; The Legal and Policy Implications of Value-Added Teacher Assessment Policies; SextEd: Obscenity versus Free Speech in our Schools; and Financing Education Systems. He is the leading authority on charter school law. His expertise has been featured in newspapers and radio. He consistently presents at national forums and provides expert support for cases. Dr. Green holds a juris doctorate from Columbia Law School and an Educational Administration doctorate from Columbia University, Teachers College.

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