Hazelwood School District vs. Kuhlmeier et al. was a case in which educators exercised editorial control over the contents of a school newspaper that was produced as part of the school’s journalism curriculum. The journalism class wrote and edited the paper. It took place in St. Louis County, Missouri in 1983. The case is relative to the students claiming that the school violated their First Amendment Rights by deleting two pages of article that was written for the school newspaper (The Spectrum). The articles related to three Hazelwood East students' experiences with pregnancy; the other discussed the impact of divorce on students at the school.

As regular practice during that year, the paper got forwarded to the principal (by the journalism teacher) before publication. The principal objected to the articles, mainly because although names were fictitious, the pregnant students could be identified. Additionally, he felt that the subjects were not appropriate to some of the younger students. He also had issues with one of the divorce stories, as the story he felt, was slanted because

The students took the case to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri. They were seeking a declaration that their First Amendment rights had been violated, injunctive relief, and monetary damages. After a bench trial, the District Court determined that there was no First Amendment violation. The students took it to the Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, who reversed the outcome. The court held that school officials had violated respondents' First Amendment rights by deleting the two pages of the newspaper because it was a public forum, because the newspaper was "intended to be and operated as a conduit for student viewpoint." The court decided that there was no proof that there would have been a disruption in class work or any substantial disorder in the school.

Educators would benefit by understanding that school facilities may be considered as public forums when they are opened to student organizations of which applies to this case. If the facilities had been reserved for other intended purposes, "communicative or otherwise," then no public forum has been created, and school officials may impose reaso

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