A high school suspends its student newspaper editor and advisor for refusing to use the word “redskin” in the paper http://t.co/W1QSneLQty

— Nicholas Kristof (@NickKristof) September 18, 2014

When I talked to SPLC attorney Adam Goldstein in July, he told me the school’s case is bogus:

The school board’s policy that prevents editors from removing “redskins” in submissions to the newspaper could open up the district to legal action because it imposes an unconstitutional restriction on the students editors’ free speech, Adam Goldstein, an attorney for the Student Press Law Center, told Poynter. This rule is particularly egregious, Goldstein said, because it purports to force students to adopt a certain kind of speech. Because of this, Goldstein does not think it can survive legal challenge.

“It may be possible to get dumber people on a school board, but I don’t how you go about it,” Goldstein said.