AI-generated summary, reviewed by Better Utah staff.

New protections for student journalists in Utah give students who work on school newspapers, broadcasts, and other school-sponsored media the right to control the content of their work — including news, opinion, and advertising — free from school censorship, except in narrow cases involving libel, obscenity, illegal content, or material that would cause clear and substantial disruption to school operations. Schools are prohibited from blocking student content in advance unless one of those exceptions applies, must give students an appeal process if they do, and cannot discipline students for exercising these rights; teacher advisers who support student journalists are also protected from being fired or reassigned for doing so. School districts must adopt written policies reflecting these standards and make them available to students and parents, and schools are shielded from legal liability for student-produced content unless a school official directly altered or interfered with it.