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"Even in New York, the media capital, only 1 in 8 public high schools have a student newspaper, The New York Times reported in May, and many publish only a few times a year. Nationally, about two-thirds of public high schools have newspapers, according to a 2011 media study by the Center for Scholastic Journalism at Kent State University. But whether on paper or online, student newspapers tend to be absent from lower-income schools and lower-income students. That's sad because, as Robert Fulghum titled his best-seller, "All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten," I often feel as though I learned all I really needed to know about journalism in high school. Newspapers of all sorts have been battered for decades by television and widespread illiteracy. With the explosion of Internet traffic, too few youngsters are learning good news literacy. As Mrs. Kindell taught, you need to be a good reporter before you start giving your opinion. Today's world of blogging and tweeting encourages the opposite. Too bad we don't have more Mrs. Kindells to go around."

Already, 21 states allow early graduation, according to the Education Commission of the States. And among the other 29, it's not entirely clear whether state law actually prohibits it. Thirty-five states allow students to finish high school based on mastering proficiency standards in state tests rather than satisfying course credit requirements or years spent in school. By the fall of 2011, a small group of high schools in eight states will take part in a new initiative, announced last week, that will allow high school sophomores who pass a series of "board exams" to graduate two years early and move directly to a two- or four-year college.

"Parents at a high school in California have complained that articles in Mountain View High School's The Oracle were inappropriate and obscene. One of the articles in question was an inforgraphic titled "What they teach you in health, and what you really need to know" that dispelled myths about sexual activity and gave information about safe sex. The topic came up at a school board meeting earlier this week, where once again parents expressed concern over the newspaper's content and asked the school district to assume greater control over the content in the paper."

Click on the link and the infographic. Do you think this is inappropriate content for a high school newspaper? Should the school board assume greater control (prior review) over the content of the paper? Click on the comment link above to reply.

What happened at the Supreme Court 20 years ago tomorrow has been long forgotten by most Americans -- if they ever heard about it at all. Unlike the better-known decisions of the last century, the ruling handed down on Jan. 13, 1988, had nothing to do with race or abortion rights. It didn't become fodder for presidential candidates and hasn't galvanized voters on either the left or right. Yet over the past two decades, the court's ruling in Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier, which concerned high school newspapers, has had far-reaching consequences. Not only has it changed the way journalism is taught at many schools, it has made it more difficult for high school students to learn the important lessons about democracy that come from publishing -- or simply reading -- serious newspapers.

Students from Brad Peach's ninth grade World Geography class in McKinney, Texas, gathered in their high school classroom on a Sunday night. On a screen in front of them, teenagers in Siberia dished to their Texan peers about life in eastern Russia.

Parents of students at a suburban Chicago high school are concerned about the possible health risks presented by a new policy penalizing students for taking more than three trips to the bathroom per semester.

Tony Scimeca took his son Gavin's hands and clapped them together, pointing toward the teenage goalie who had just scooped up the ball. "We have to cheer for Sean," Tony Scimeca told his son during a soccer game earlier this fall. "We say, 'Yay,' Gavin. Sean made a save for us!" Sean McCann's saves first benefit the Park Ridge High School boys' soccer team, which plays today at Becton High in a first-round playoff game. But McCann's success means more to Gavin than anyone else - his teammates, his coaches and the parents in the stands. Each save McCann makes comes a step closer to saving Gavin's life.

"ublic support for gay marriage has hit a new high as Americans increasingly see homosexuality not as a choice but as a way some people are, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll."

"Two high school football players in the US state of Ohio have been found guilty of raping a 16-year-old girl. The case came to light via text messages, online videos and social media posts made the morning after, attracting nationwide attention. The two were sentenced to at least a year in juvenile detention and the judge said both might stay in detention until they reach 21. The case was thrust into the national spotlight after attention by bloggers and the hacker activist group Anonymous. Some claimed that the community - including local police - had sought to cover up the crime to protect the accused, who were members of a celebrated high school football team."

This guide is designed to give teachers the tools and ideas they need to engage students using social media and existing curricula. The guide was inspired by the recent Knight Foundation study "Future of the First Amendment 2011" written by Dr. Kenneth Dautrich. The Knight study - based on a survey of 12,090 high school students and 900 high school teachers -- indicates that students who are most active in social media also have the best sense of First Amendment principles. That suggests that Twitter, Facebook and other social media can play an important supplemental role in the classroom.

"Last fall, the editors of Neshaminy High School's student newspaper, The Playwickian, said they would no longer use the word 'redskin' in their publication. Redskin is Neshaminy's longtime nickname and the name of its mascot. The school administration's overturning of the ban on the word has raised concerns about the rights of student newspapers and censorship. The students recently announced that the ban of the word will resume and litigation in the case is pending. Joining us to discuss this case and others like it are GILLIAN MCGOLDRICK, Editor-in-Chief of The Playwickian, Neshaminy High School's student paper, and FRANK LOMONTE, the Executive Director of the Student Press Law Center. Then we'll check in with GREG LUKIANOFF, the president of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), on free speech on college campuses."

"The Knights are part of a technology revolution that is transforming high school football nationwide and creating opportunities for companies that supply equipment and services. Many sources finance the sport, including school boards, parents and booster clubs. That all adds up."

"This year, for the first time, American high school students show a greater overall appreciation for the First Amendment than do adults. More students than ever before say they are thinking about the First Amendment. Nine in 10 say people should be able to express unpopular opinions. Six in 10 say the press should not be censored by the government. What happened? One explanation: the digital age. In 2011, Connecticut researcher Ken Dautrich found "a clear, positive relationship" between social media use and support for free expression. He now finds the same link between digital media use and First Amendment support."

"A former Florida high school student will now be able to move forward with a lawsuit against her principal after a federal magistrate ruled Feb. 12 that her Facebook post complaining about a teacher is constitutionally protected under the First Amendment. Katherine Evans, a former student of Pembroke Pines Charter High School in Pembroke Pines, Fla., was suspended by her principal months after she made a Facebook page in 2007 about her Advanced Placement English teacher Sarah Phelps. On the page, Evans wrote: "Ms. Sarah Phelps is the worst teacher I've ever met. To those students who have had the displeasure of having Ms. Sarah Phelps, or simply knowing her and her insane antics: Here is the place to express your feelings of hatred.""

A Mississippi high school faces a lawsuit over its decision to cancel its prom rather than allow a lesbian high school student to attend with her girlfriend.

INDIANA - A high school violated the First Amendment when it punished members of its volleyball team for posting pictures of penis-shaped lollipops on the Internet, a federal judge ruled Wednesday. The decision came two years after two 10th-grade girls at Churubusco High School in Northeast Indiana were suspended from the volleyball team and other extracurricular activities. The students were punished after they posted photos of themselves with "phallic-shaped rainbow colored lollipops." The photos were taken at a slumber party and, according to court documents, showed the girls simulating sex acts. The judge's decision found that both the behavior shown in the photos and the images themselves are protected by the First Amendment. The judge also struck down part of the school's conduct code that allows students to be punished for acting "in a manner in school or out of school that brings discredit or dishonor upon yourself or your school."

Voice of Yankees Draws High Ratings and Many Critics There is no more polarizing figure in New York sports broadcasting than the idiosyncratic and eccentric Sterling. His home run calls - "An A-bomb from A-Rod" or "Robbie Cano, don't you know" - are cultural references that will permanently mark this latest era of Yankees success. He is unquestionably popular among the cosmic community of Yankees fans, his presence entering or exiting Yankee Stadium causing the same commotion as most players'. The ratings for Yankees radio broadcasts are strong. The team's management and players routinely and unwaveringly praise him.

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The infamous school year stress has already begun by the first day of school. On day one of our 180 day school year, book projects are due, and tests are waiting to be taken. Let the all-nighters and the pressure to not fail begin. Is this any comparison to the serenity of being on a beach? . . . Nowhere close.

In his 18 years at Pinckney Community High School, Jim Darga, the principal, said, the homecoming queen had always been crowned at halftime of the school's football game. Never before, though, had she had to be summoned from the team's locker room. If being named homecoming queen is a lifetime memory for a high school student, so, too, is kicking a winning field goal. For Amat, 18, they happened within an hour of each other.