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Right To Write - Free Expression Rights Of Pennsylvania's Creative Students After Columbine, Barbara Brunner
Right To Write - Free Expression Rights Of Pennsylvania's Creative Students After Columbine, Barbara Brunner
Journal Articles
This comment analyzes the current state of students' free speech rights in the context of creative writing assignments and examines potential First Amendment applications to the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA), a statewide, mandatory, standards-based exam administered to Pennsylvania public school students. The PSSA, which currently contains a writing assessment for students in sixth, ninth, and eleventh grades requiring students to write essays in response to prompts, is scored anonymously by private entities under contract with the Pennsylvania Department of Education. Those private subcontractors have "red-flagging" procedures in place to identify essays containing imagery or themes that indicate imminent …