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Two California student journalists and a student media adviser have sued their district and administration, accusing them of “bullying, threatening and coerc[ing]” the student newspaper staff to “save face” and then retaliating by cutting a journalism class and removing the adviser.
Hanna Olson, co-editor-in-chief of the Mountain View High School student newspaper The Oracle, former reporter Hayes Duenow and former adviser Carla Gomez allege the actions were related to an investigative article last spring about incidents of student-on-student sexual harassment at the school.
The lawsuit was filed today in Santa Clara County Superior Court on Student Press Freedom Day, a national movement to bring awareness to the censorship of student journalists and to advocate for their free press rights.
In their lawsuit’s complaint, the plaintiffs accuse Principal Kip Glazer of repeatedly using “her authority and position to exert enormous and unlawful pressure” on the student journalists “to significantly water down their in-depth investigative piece.” Over multiple meetings about the draft article, Glazer told them that, instead, they should write about the school in a “positive light.”
The complaint details several substantive changes the student journalists made to the article before publication because they felt intimidated by Glazer’s ”unlawful censorial pressure.”
Then, soon after publication in spring 2023, Glazer told The Oracle staff that she was cutting the introduction to journalism class and removing Gomez as adviser in favor of a teacher with a Career & Technical Education certificate. The complaint alleges these actions were retaliation for the article and that the CTE explanation was “pretextual,” as the journalism program is not designated as a CTE program for the 2023-2024 school year.
Olson, Duenow and Gomez contend these actions violate California Education Code § 48907 and state labor laws.
California’s § 48907 protects student journalists from administrative censorship — with limited exceptions — and student media advisers from retaliation for refusing to censor their students in violation of the law. California was the first state to pass such a law, which is now in 17 states and commonly referred to as New Voices legislation.
Gomez asks the court to order the school to reinstate the journalism class and Gomez as adviser. Olson and Duenow seek a court order prohibiting the school from censoring or coercing The Oracle in the future, including allowing the current or future student editors to publish an uncensored version of the article if they choose.
They each explained why it was important for them to stand up to the censorship and retaliation:
- Hanna Olson: “This case matters to me because I want to ensure the long term stability and prosperity of my school’s journalism program, and I want student journalists at my school to be empowered to stand by their rights to publish stories that need to be told.”
- Hayes Duenow: “This case matters to me because it is important to me that all student journalists have a platform to vocalize their thoughts and opinions and spread information freely without feeling pressure from those in charge to change our stories to meet their priorities.”
- Carla Gomez: “This case matters to me because student journalists deserve to exercise their First Amendment rights without reprisal, censorship or threats.”
They are represented by attorneys Jean-Paul Jassy, Kevin L. Vick, Jeffrey A. Payne and Jordyn Ostroff at the law firm Jassy Vick Carolan LLP who previously sent the district a letter demanding it reverse the retaliatory steps against The Oracle. Student Press Law Center attorneys have worked with the students since last spring and connected them with Jassy, who is part of SPLC’s nationwide volunteer Attorney Referral Network.
“These student journalists worked in the finest traditions of a free press, the lifeblood of our democracy,” Jassy said. “Their brave adviser stood by her students, and she was unjustly punished. We’re proud to fight for them and their work.”
“Rather than bullying and intimidating student journalists, Mountain View High School administrators should be listening to, empowering and supporting them,” SPLC Executive Director Gary Green said. “We hope Mountain View parents and the community will join us in calling on the district to correct these actions by reinstating adviser Carla Gomez and the journalism class. The students’ in-depth reporting on a serious issue at Mountain View is precisely what the California legislature intended to protect with the New Voices law.”
View the lawsuit’s complaint here.
The Student Press Law Center (splc.org) is a nonpartisan nonprofit working at the intersection of education, journalism and the law to promote, support and defend the free press rights of student journalists and their advisers. SPLC provides information, training and legal assistance at no charge to high school and college student journalists and the educators who work with them.