Today, March 25, the Student Press Law Center is publishing a new toolkit providing technical assistance and support to student journalists and advisers as they work through the COVID-19 crisis and as they concurrently work to ward off any opportunistic interference/obstruction/censorship of their work as student journalists. The toolkit includes:

• a downloadable Essential Services Letter on SPLC letterhead which can be used by student journalists in the event that your school administration interferes with (or even suspends) your important work,
• a strong public statement by SPLC about the critical role of student journalists at this time;
• FAQs on legal issues surrounding reporting on coronavirus/COVID-19;
• FAQs to help report on the virus and manage a remote newsroom;
• Resources to help programs/papers under threat;
• Resources to help teach legal issues in journalism remotely (including SPLC’s Virtual Speakers Bureau)
• Original reporting about challenges to access to information in the wake of the pandemic
• A compilation of impressive stories by student journalists about the crisis which we keep adding to every day.

Please feel free to share these resources wide and far and if you have additional ideas about how they can help student journalists and advisers during this tough time, please let them know.

Hadar Harris, Executive Director, Student Press Law Center, www.splc.org