What is the issue in the Supreme Court Case: Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier?

Below are the facts:

Students in a journalism class at Hazelwood East High School in St. Louis County, Missouri collaborated on producing a student newspaper known as The Spectrum. The principal of the school, Robert Reynolds, objected to two stories that were planned for the May 13,1983 issue of the newspaper when they were submitted to him by Howard Emerson, the instructor, according to usual policy. His concerns related to the privacy of students interviewed in the stories, which addressed teen pregnancy and divorce. He felt that interviewing three students who had been pregnant was inadvisable because they could be recognized by other students who knew them, and he also felt that a story criticizing a student's father for his relationship with the student's mother should not be published without giving the parents a right to respond or consent.

As a result, Reynolds simply published a version of the newspaper that omitted the two pages on which the stories were printed. (Five other articles were eliminated in the process). However, he made this decision following discussions with his supervisors on the school board and did not tell the students before publication or give them an opportunity to address the issue. Three students, one editor and two reporters, brought a claim. The editor pointed out that the newspaper had covered similar topics before without negative consequences.

The students were unsuccessful in federal district court. The District court ruled that no First Amendment violation occurred. The students appealed to the Court of Appeals for the 8^thCircuit, which reversed that decision, finding that the paper was a "public forum" that extended beyond the walls of the school and that censorship of a student newspaper was inappropriate without proof that it would substantially interfere with school discipline or the rights of other students.