More than 150 student journalists from all 25 public high schools in Montgomery County, Maryland, sent an open letter today demanding their district comply with the state’s New Voices legislation after the release of an alarming memo that requires principals to read and approve every story before publication.
The students criticize the new blanket prior review policy as vague and “functioning as unlawful prior restraint” that will suppress essential reporting and undermine civic education.
The Student Press Law Center has joined the students in condemning the memo and calling for the district to return to its previous policy on student publications.
“It’s just absurd. That was my first reaction,” says Ian Chen, the letter’s primary author and a sophomore at Richard Montgomery High School. “Reading the memo, [it] immediately stuck out to me as like, there’s no way this is legal.”
Released on March 19 by Peter Moran, chief of schools for the district, the guidance memo requires a school administrator to review all aspects of “student publications,” encompassing all “print material” as well as “school-related clothing or spiritwear.” It also requires administrators to censor broad categories of content, including “embarrassing or private moments” and “sarcasm or teasing.”
In their letter, the student journalists point out that these censorship categories go beyond what is allowed under state law.
Maryland’s New Voices law protects student journalists from administrative overreach and prior restraint. It provides only four situations in which students can be censored, each based on clearly defined areas of law, including libel and invasion of privacy.
The board-approved district policy aligns with that law. The new guidance memo, however, contains no legislative justification for the proposed censorship, nor any mention of the 2016 New Voices law. The only citation is to a textbook published before the law was enacted.
Jonathan Gaston-Falk, staff attorney at the Student Press Law Center, has been working with students every step of the way.
“The diligent and enterprising MCPS journalism programs are right to demand clarity,” Gaston-Falk said. “A vague memo that confuses administrators, chills reporting, and muddies rights protected by established Maryland law cannot stand. These student journalists are not seeking special treatment: They are defending the legal freedoms that make honest school reporting possible, and they deserve the district’s full respect.”
The students’ letter notes that journalism teachers — eight of whom also joined the letter — flagged their concerns with district officials immediately after the memo’s release, but they’ve waited for months now for any resolution.
That’s why Chen, with the support of his adviser and other students at Richard Montgomery’s The Tide, began coordinating with student journalists across the district to draft the open letter and draw attention to the threats posed by the memo.
“I hope that MCPS will reaffirm its commitment to a free student press by carefully considering our requests and ultimately returning to the board-negotiated policy,” Chen said.
Seva Gandhi and Annabel Taylor, juniors at Walt Whitman High School and co-editors of The Black and White, were among the letter’s signers.
“It was shocking because it overrides years of precedent in terms of student press rights and, you know, all the things that we’ve learned about in school,” Taylor said, describing initial student reactions to the memo.
“We have had a number of stories that maybe portray administrators in an embarrassing or humiliating light, but that is at the core of our role as student journalists, as whistleblowers for our school. We are here to hold our school accountable,” Gandhi said. “We had a story in 2022 that, now, under this memo, if someone tried to write it, would likely be taken down. Those are the kinds of stories that will never see the light of day.”
The students are seeking a complete reversal of the terms outlined in the memo.
“We don’t want a ton of leeway for negotiation,” says Gandhi, “we want to return to Maryland law.”
According to Chen, the 25 schools represented in the letter are only one part of the larger power held by the student press.
“I think a lot of the time you think you’re in high school, you can’t really do that much. But that’s not true. Student journalists, they have a lot more power than most people think they do. And I hope people, anyone reading about my experience, I hope they can take away that they have the power to call for change,” Chen said.
Chen describes the letter as “project number one,” and he plans to continue developing a network for student journalists in Montgomery County to fight for press freedom. “We have power to organize, we have power to call out [and] keep institutions accountable.”
About the Student Press Law Center: The Student Press Law Center is the nation’s only legal organization devoted exclusively to defending and advancing the free press rights of student journalists. Since 1974, we have helped students and their educators navigate the law, strengthen their reporting and stand up for press freedom. Our legal support, education and advocacy empower student journalists to report freely and courageously. Stay updated by subscribing at splc.org/newsletter.