Education Beat
Education Beat
EdSource
California high school student journalists face censorship, investigations
1 seconds Posted May 7, 2026 at 1:00 pm.
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The high school student newspaper, the Redwood Bark, has served Redwood High School in Larkspur, a town a few miles north of the Golden Gate Bridge, since 1958. The reporters there frequently win national awards for their journalism. But this year, students began facing pushback and censorship from the administration for some of their stories.
A 1977 landmark California law gives student journalists the autonomy to publish news without interference from principals and other school leaders. But these rights are often violated.
Guests:
Skye Hammond, reporter and editor, the Redwood Bark
Thomas Peele, investigative reporter, EdSource
Read more from EdSource: 
Student journalists' free press rights tested at Marin County high school
Cases of student press censorship attempts on the rise in California schools
Education Beat is a weekly podcast hosted by EdSource’s Zaidee Stavely and produced by Coby McDonald.
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