ROCKVILLE, Md. — Student journalists across Maryland’s largest school district have raised concerns that a district memorandum requiring administrative review of printed student publications could lead to censorship and conflict with state protections for student press freedom, according to letters sent this week to school officials and public statements from students and advocacy groups.
The dispute centers on a March 19 memorandum issued by Peter Moran, chief of schools for Montgomery County Public Schools, directing principals that school administrators must review final drafts of printed student publications before publication or distribution, according to a copy of the memo reviewed by news organizations.
Student editors from newspapers across the district sent a letter on Friday to the Montgomery County Board of Education and Superintendent Thomas Taylor urging officials to withdraw the directive. The letter was signed by student journalists representing numerous high schools, with additional support from journalism advisers and press-freedom organizations, according to the students.
“Student journalists are often the only reporters covering what happens inside a school building,” the students wrote in the letter. “When our reporting is suppressed, the unbiased truth does not get told.”
Students and advocates argue that the memo may conflict with Maryland’s New Voices law, enacted in 2016, which provides protections for student journalists and limits school officials’ ability to exercise editorial control over student media. The Student Press Law Center said the law grants student editors primary responsibility for content, except in narrowly defined circumstances.
Jonathan Gaston-Falk, an attorney with the Student Press Law Center, told The Washington Post that he believed the directive was “legally problematic” because it imposed a blanket administrative review process on student publications.
Student editors said they fear the policy could discourage reporting on sensitive issues affecting school communities. Some cited past coverage involving allegations of discrimination, student safety concerns and administrative decisions as examples of stories they worry could face greater scrutiny under the directive.
More than 30 journalism advisers also submitted a separate letter supporting the students’ position, according to reports. National journalism organizations, including the Student Press Law Center, the Journalism Education Association and the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, expressed support for the students’ concerns.
District officials had not publicly announced any reversal of the memo as of Saturday. Student journalists said they had sought clarification from administrators for several weeks and were awaiting a formal response from school leadership. Details regarding any potential policy changes remain unclear.
