Why We Must Support Voice in Student Publications

My View

One of my strongest beliefs as superintendent was to ensure our students were respected and listened to, that their ideas, opinions and interests were valued just as much as any other stakeholder in the school community.

One way of accomplishing this was to support our student journalism programs and take steps to remove barriers that could potentially restrict student free speech. Recently, a group of faculty advisers and student editors from the district’s five high schools approached me with their concerns about our school board policy on school-sponsored publications. In particular, they pointed to the right of the building principal under existing policy to restrict the publication of a story without offering a clear understanding of why this action was taken.

I understood their concern and recognized that the policy had been in place for many years. I was aware that the principals and school board might have been hesitant to support any change to a policy that might grant students greater journalistic autonomy and voice.