Lopez

The principal issue presented by this appeal is whether a school district is precluded by section 48907 of the Education Code 1 and article I, section 2 of the California Constitution, from requiring, on the ground of educational suitability, that a film arts class instructor have his students delete the profanity 2 in a student-produced film. We hold that school authorities may restrain such expression because it violates the “professional standards of English and journalism” provision of section 48907.

Facts

Lillian Lopez, Oscar Maldonado, Adriann McGrew and Sarah Valenzuela (plaintiffs or students) were students at Valley High School, a continuation school in the Tulare Joint Union High School District. During the 1991-1992 academic year, the students wrote and produced a film entitled “Melancholianne” in connection with a film arts class. The film, intended to address the problems of teenage pregnancy, essentially depicts a day in the life of the teenage parents, Christianne and Padrón, and their baby, Melancholianne.

Christianne lives in a seedy, unkempt motel room with the six-month-old baby. Padrón has just been released from prison after serving time for…

While I concur in the result, I respectfully disagree with the reasoning of the majority. My conclusion is that the specific statutory proscription of Education Code section 48907 1 against prior restraint applies to student journalistic endeavors and not to a movie prepared by students as part of or in conjunction with school curriculum.

The decision by the board of trustees (Board) found:

The briefs of the parties are plainly distinct in their positions. Appellants contend that section 48907 gives them the right to show “Melancholianne” whether or not the film is an official publication. Respondents contend that section 48907 does not give students the right to distribute “Melancholianne” regardless of whether it is an official school publication.

I conclude section 48907 applies to the general speech rights of students but the film is not an “official school publication.” 2 Therefore, the restriction against prior restraint of “official school publications” does not apply. For this reason I do not concur that the analysis of the majority based on journalistic standards applies since that analysis assumes this is an “official school publication.” However, I do not find that…

The principal issue presented by this appeal is whether a school district is precluded by section 48907 of the Education Code [1] and article I, section 2 of the California Constitution, from requiring, on the ground of educational suitability, that a film arts class instructor have his students delete the profanity [2] in a student-produced film. We hold that school authorities may restrain such expression because it violates the "professional standards of English and journalism" provision of section 48907.

Lillian Lopez, Oscar Maldonado, Adriann McGrew and Sarah Valenzuela (plaintiffs or students) were students at Valley High School, a continuation school in the Tulare Joint Union High School District. During the 1991-1992 academic year, the students wrote and produced a film entitled "Melancholianne" in connection with a film arts class. The film, intended to address the problems of teenage pregnancy, essentially depicts a day in the life of the teenage parents, Christianne and Padron, and their baby, Melancholianne.

Christianne lives in a seedy, unkempt motel room with the six-month-old baby. Padron has just been released from prison after serving time…