Following West Virginia’s passage of a New Voices law earlier this year, the Student Press Law Center has tracked local school districts to ensure they pass student media policies consistent with the law’s protection for student journalism.
Beyond being a requirement in the law, these district policies are an important way to ensure school administrators know about and respect student journalists’ rights.
On Dec. 7, SPLC submitted comments on one such proposed policy for Webster County Schools in Webster Springs, West Virginia. Our letter encourages the district to clarify key points about how the West Virginia law protects students from censorship and advisers from retaliation, as well as to add protections in the law not currently mentioned in the draft policy.
View the Letter
The Student Press Law Center (splc.org, @splc) is an independent, nonpartisan 501(c)(3) nonprofit working at the intersection of education, journalism and the law to promote, support and defend the rights of student journalists and their advisers at the high school and college levels. Based in Washington, D.C., the Student Press Law Center provides information, training and legal assistance at no charge to student journalists and the educators who work with them.