Montgomery County, MD, Censorship Tracker

Last updated July 13, 2026

More than 160 student journalists and advisers from all 25 public high schools in Montgomery County, Maryland, have raised the alarm that a new memo requiring administrative prior review will lead to censorship and violates the state’s New Voices law.

The Student Press Law Center has worked with the students throughout, and we join them in calling for the memo to be rescinded.

On This Page

This page serves as a hub to collect the background and latest developments, and it will be updated as new information becomes available.

Latest

(6/25/2026) Students share their concerns at board meeting: Multiple students, along with supporters from the Student Press Law Center and elsewhere, spoke during the public comment portion of the June 25 meeting of the board of education. After prompting from board members, Superintendent Thomas Taylor said the district would not censor any content outside of the state law. More: Video

(6/16/2026) Superintendent responds to students’ online petition: Superintendent Thomas Taylor responded to the online petition, insisting that “no one wants to censor the kids.” However, he claims that the New Voices law requires the district to review student media content for speech that isn’t protected by the law, and the district has an obligation to do so “to spare the taxpayers by insulating the school system from lawsuits when we know better.”

(6/12/2026) Coalition of 150+ students sends open letter to district criticizing prior review policy: Students representing all 25 public high schools in the county sent an open letter demanding the district comply with the state’s New Voices legislation. The students criticize the policy as vague and “functioning as unlawful prior restraint” that will suppress essential reporting and undermine civic education. They also point out that the memo’s categories of required censorship go beyond what is allowed under state law. At the same time they sent their letter, they launched an online petition called “Stop MCPS from Censoring Student Journalists.”

(3/19/2026) District sends guidance memo requiring prior review: The memo, from Chief of Schools Peter Moran, 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.”

(6/26/2016) Maryland becomes 11th state to protect student press freedom: Then-Gov. Larry Hogan signed into law a bipartisan bill designed to protect the free-speech rights of high school and college journalists. The legislation grants high school and college student journalists editorial control of school-sponsored media. It also protects them from prior restraint by school officials and student media advisers from retaliatory punishment. The bill was sponsored by then-State Sen. Jamie Raskin, who now represents the district in Congress.

Background

More than 150 student journalists from all 25 public high schools in Montgomery County, Maryland, sent an open letter June 12, 2026, 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.

With the backing of the Student Press Law Center, 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. 

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.

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 then-sophomore Ian Chen, with the support of his adviser and other students at Richard Montgomery High School’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. 

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.”

SPLC’s Take

The Student Press Law Center joined the students in condemning the memo and calling for the district to return to its previous policy on student publications. 

The Maryland New Voices law gives student editors primary responsibility for deciding the content of school-sponsored student media, and it permits prior restraint only in narrow circumstances. The memo’s overbroad guidance could lead administrators to censor legitimate, protected journalism out of an abundance of caution to comply

Staff attorney Jonathan Gaston-Falk 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.” 

Student Coverage and Commentary

Many of the 20 student news organizations in the district posted the coalition letter on their websites. Additional student commentary or later coverage will be posted here:

Key Documents

Legal protections

District materials

Student materials

Statements of Support

Select News Coverage

About the June 25, 2026, school board meeting:

About the students’ June 12, 2026, open letter: