Student journalists who cover Montgomery County Public Schools are asking district officials to respect their right to chronicle their campus communities as they see fit.
In an open letter to district leadership, high school reporters decried a memo that instructed administrators to review the final drafts of student publications.
This move, the student reporters warn, gives principals power over stories about their own actions, establishes no appeal process and undermines student journalism.
“When our reporting is suppressed, the unbiased truth does not get told,” reads the letter, signed by students across the district.
High school publications published the letter Friday on their websites, alongside recaps of volleyball games and news about cellphone restrictions.
District spokeswoman Liliana López said in a statement that the letter includes “misconceptions.”
“Nothing in the memorandum interferes with student journalism or imposes prior restraint. We remain so proud of our student journalists,” she said.
At issue is guidance circulated by MCPS this spring.
“While student editors and student publication advisors engage in the initial rounds of editing, a school administrator must review the final draft of any printed items (publications, clothing etc.) prior to printing or publication,” it reads.
Content can’t contain or promote “bullying, harassment, or ridicule of individuals or groups,” the guidance reads. Officials are told to watch for “sarcasm or teasing that could be interpreted as bullying.”
The student reporters say that this is vague and risks creating an “inconsistent patchwork of enforcement, where student journalists’ rights depend on which principal happens to review their work.”
“A student using his opinion column to harass and spread unfounded gossip about the class president is very different from a student writing a sharp critique of a speech given by a Board of Education member — yet both could be considered ‘ridicule of individuals or groups,’” the letter reads.
Maryland law protects the freedom of the press in school-sponsored media. District leadership cannot censor articles before they are published, except under specific circumstances, such as if the material is libelous, an unwarranted invasion of privacy or in violation of laws.
López defended the district’s adherence to the law. But, she said, some student publications have previously printed content that has contributed to “substantial disruption to school operations and community hurt.”
Sherwood High School’s newspaper covered such a controversy last year, in which a student included “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” as his senior quote in the yearbook.
“Administration quickly responded by offering the option of stickers for students who wanted to cover the quote in their own yearbook,” The Warrior Online reported. “The senior who submitted it apologized to the entire senior class after fearing it would interfere with his chance to walk the stage at graduation. The aftermath further escalated as he and his family were harassed by members of the community.”
López said “careful prior review” could have prevented issues.
“Better accountability is our responsibility,” she said.
Free-speech organizations are amplifying the concerns of MCPS student journalists.
“This new policy is egregious. With administrators editing stories, these critically-important student newspapers are nothing more than public relations tools for MCPS,” James Libresco, a board member of the Student Press Law Center, said in a statement.
“History has shown that when administrators review articles, they will inevitably edit to paint themselves and their bosses in a better light.”
This story has been updated to include a response from Montgomery County Public Schools.
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