CcLober 13, 2014

naLlonal School 8oards AssoclaLlon

1680 uuke SLreeL
Alexandrla, vA 22314

naLlonal AssoclaLlon of Secondary School rlnclpals
1904 AssoclaLlon urlve
8esLon, vA 20191-1337

Amerlcan AssoclaLlon of School AdmlnlsLraLors
1613 uuke SLreeL
Alexandrla, vA 22314

naLlonal AssoclaLlon of SLaLe 8oards of LducaLlon
2121 CrysLal urlve, SulLe #330
ArllngLon, vA 22202

uear LducaLlon Leaders,

1he underslgned [ournallsm organlzaLlons share a common lnLeresL ln Lhe welfare of Leachers
and sLudenLs ln Lhe fleld of scholasLlc [ournallsm, and ln maklng cerLaln LhaL sLudenLs recelve Lhe hlghesL
quallLy [ournallsm lnsLrucLlon ln a supporLlve envlronmenL where besL eLhlcal sLandards are LaughL and
modeled.

8ecause of our concern for Lhe well-belng of sLudenL [ournallsm and Lhose who pracLlce lL, we
have been alarmed and deeply dlsappolnLed by Lhe evenLs unfoldlng over Lhe pasL school year aL Lhe
neshamlny School ulsLrlcL ln 8ucks CounLy, ennsylvanla, wlLh whlch you undoubLedly are famlllar.

1o brlefly descrlbe Lhe underlylng facLs, sLudenL edlLors of !"# %&'()*+,*'- newspaper resolved
durlng Lhe 2013-14 school year Lo refraln from publlshlng Lhe name of Lhe school's aLhleLlc mascoL,
8edsklns," whlch Lhey - along wlLh many leadlng volces ln malnsLream professlonal [ournallsm - regard
as an eLhnlc slur. 1he rlghL Lo make dlscreLlonary edlLorlal [udgmenLs of Lhls klnd ls vouchsafed for
sLudenL edlLors ln Lhe publlc schools of ennsylvanla noL only by Lhe llrsL AmendmenL, buL more
expllclLly by SecLlon 12.9 Lhe ennsylvanla Code of SLudenL 8lghLs and 8esponslblllLles, whlch sLaLes ln
perLlnenL parL: SLudenLs shall have Lhe rlghL Lo express Lhemselves unless Lhe expresslon maLerlally and
subsLanLlally lnLerferes wlLh Lhe educaLlonal process, LhreaLens serlous harm Lo Lhe school or
communlLy, encourages unlawful acLlvlLy or lnLerferes wlLh anoLher lndlvldual's rlghLs."

8efore publlcaLlon of Lhe school year's flnal edlLlon of !"# %&'()*+,*'- ln !une 2014, Lhe edlLors
recelved a leLLer-Lo-Lhe-edlLor repeaLedly uslng Lhe banned mascoL word Lo express hls deflance of Lhe
edlLors' pollcy. 8aLher Lhan accede Lo Lhelr prlnclpal's dlrecLlve Lo publlsh Lhe leLLer verbaLlm, Lhe
edlLors senL Lhe newspaper Lo press wlLh a box on Lhe edlLorlal page explalnlng Lhelr declslon Lo
wlLhhold Lhe leLLer.

rlnclpal 8ob McCee and members of Lhe neshamlny 8oard of School ulrecLors vehemenLly
opposed Lhe edlLors' declslon, and began a harassmenL campalgn agalnsL Lhese sLudenLs, Lhelr
lnsLrucLor and Lhelr publlcaLlon as lf nelLher SecLlon 12.9 nor Lhe llrsL AmendmenL exlsLed. lL began wlLh
"
Lhe lnLroducLlon of Lwo new dlsLrlcL pollcles (ubllcaLlons and Soclal Medla) purporLlng Lo greaLly
dlmlnlsh sLudenLs' rlghLs Lo freedom of expresslon ln school-afflllaLed medla. ulrecLly conLradlcLlng
SecLlon 12.9 of Lhe ennsylvanla AdmlnlsLraLlve Code, Lhe pollcy provldes (among oLher resLrlcLlons)
LhaL admlnlsLraLors may remove or alLer Lhe conLenL of sLudenL publlcaLlons for any reasonable
reason." 1hls ls a level of auLhorlLy even beyond Lhe ouLermosL llmlL Lhe Supreme CourL recognlzed ln
.'/#&)001 2+"00& 3*456*+5 78 9:"&;#*#6, Lo say noLhlng of Lhe facL LhaL ennsylvanla law repudlaLes Lhe
.'/#&)001 sLandard.

Cn !une 26, 2014, Lhe school board voLed 8-1 for Lhe new ubllcaLlons and Soclal Medla pollcles.
1hen on SepL. 16, rlnclpal McCee suspended [ournallsm advlser 1ara Puber from her poslLlon for Lwo
days wlLhouL pay, removed %&'()*+,*'- edlLor Cllllan McColdrlck from her poslLlon for a monLh and
flned" Lhe newspaper $1,200, approxlmaLlng Lhe cosL of Lhe !une 2014 edlLlon

1hese acLs - ln addlLlon Lo belng unlawful - are so berefL of any educaLlonal or eLhlcal
[usLlflcaLlon LhaL Lhey exceed Lhe boundarles of accepLable professlonal behavlor ln Lhe fleld of school
admlnlsLraLlon. As Lhe <'4"*-=50- %045 sLaLed ln a SepL. 23 edlLorlal condemnlng Lhe dlsclpllnary
sancLlons, eople may dlffer on wheLher Lhe school's sporLs monlker - llke LhaL of WashlngLon's Leam
- ls offenslve, buL Lhere should be no dlsagreemenL abouL [ournallsLs exerclslng Lhelr rlghLs. ln
neshamlny, lL ls Lhe sLudenLs who are behavlng llke grown-ups." Slnce Lhe admlnlsLraLlon and board aL
neshamlny have re[ecLed overLures Lo meeL and be educaLed abouL Lhe law, lL ls lmperaLlve LhaL people
concerned wlLh Lhe welfare of sLudenLs repudlaLe Lhls llleglLlmaLe course of conducL before more harm
ls done.

Several of your organlzaLlons co-slgned Lhe Culdellnes for lree and Safe ubllc Schools"
dlssemlnaLed ln 2012 by Lhe Amerlcan !ewlsh Congress and Lhe 8ellglous lreedom LducaLlon ro[ecL of
Lhe llrsL AmendmenL CenLer. 1hese prlnclples recognlze LhaL Lhe lmperaLlves of keeplng order and
proLecLlng vulnerable llsLeners musL be Lempered by respecL for Lhe freedom Lo exchange ldeas, sLaLlng:
Suppresslon of speech should be Lhe lasL, noL flrsL, resorL. . 1he school should noL aLLempL Lo coerce
or pressure sLudenLs Lo change Lhe core conLenL of a message LhaL ls consLlLuLlonally proLecLed."

Several of your organlzaLlons also are ouLspoken advocaLes for clvlc educaLlon Lhrough, among
oLher vehlcles, membershlp ln such organlzaLlons as Lhe Campalgn for Lhe Clvlc Mlsslon of Schools. 8lgld
and punlLlve appllcaLlon of .'/#&)001 Lo sLudenL [ournallsLlc publlcaLlons ls lrreconcllable wlLh
meanlngful clvlc educaLlon, and lL ls Llme for all organlzaLlons concerned wlLh effecLlve clvlc learnlng
opporLunlLles for young people Lo say so publlcly and unequlvocally.

!ournallsm educaLlon ls an lrreplaceable parL of a well-rounded publlc educaLlon and a clvlcally
healLhy school. 1he Leachlng of [ournallsLlc skllls, eLhlcs and values ls more essenLlal Lhan lL has ever
been, now LhaL essenLlally every sLudenL has access Lo Lhe power of dlglLal publlshlng and ls bombarded
wlLh onllne lnformaLlon of varylng rellablllLy. 1o be effecLlve clLlzens, producLlve workers and educaLed
consumers of Lhe lnLerneL, all sLudenLs musL graduaLe wlLh Lhe ablllLy Lo [ournallsLlcally assess and
explaln lnformaLlon. lL ls noL posslble Lo effecLlvely Leach [ournallsm, and Lo recrulL and reLaln sLudenLs
Lo perform Lhelr essenLlal communlLy servlce role as news-gaLherers, ln Lhe envlronmenL of open
conLempL for fundamenLal Amerlcan freedoms LhaL exlsLs Loday ln neshamlny.

We call upon each of your organlzaLlons Lo [oln ours ln dlsavowlng Lhe acLlons of Lhe neshamlny
School ulsLrlcL, so LhaL Lhe message ls clear LhaL Lhere ls no place ln publlc educaLlon for pracLlces LhaL
lnLenLlonally lnfllcL harm on Leachers and sLudenLs for refuslng as a maLLer of consclence Lo assoclaLe
#
Lhemselves wlLh raclal eplLheLs. Sllence ln Lhe face of Lhls school dlsLrlcL's dlsregard for baslc human
decency glves quarLer Lo lnsLlLuLlonallzed bullylng. Sllence ls noL an opLlon for organlzaLlons LhaL regard
Lhemselves as naLlonal sLandard-seLLers for opLlmal school leadershlp pracLlces. 1hls ls a deflnlng
momenL aL whlch all of us are called upon Lo demonsLraLe LhaL our publlcly sLaLed commlLmenL Lo Lhe
well-belng of young people ls more Lhan [usL words on a page.

We also ask your organlzaLlonal leaders Lo slL down wlLh ours (and oLhers) as soon as ls
pracLlcally posslble Lo use Lhls deflnlng momenL LhaL has so unlLed publlc oplnlon naLlonwlde as Lhe
lmpeLus for a summlL" wlLh Lhe goal of formulaLlng a seL of sLandards for educaLlonally responslble
governance of [ournallsm educaLlon, and for Lhe eLhlcal LreaLmenL of sLudenL volces ln general. 1he
prlnclples of Lhe llrsL AmendmenL CenLer 's 2012 Culdellnes represenL a sLarLlng polnL from whlch
progress can be made Loward curblng some of Lhe worsL excesses emboldened by .'/#&)001.

We Lhank you for your commlLmenL Lo sLrong and effecLlve publlc educaLlon, and we look
forward Lo meeLlng Loward formulaLlng a seL of sLandards and pracLlces wlLh Lhe ob[ecLlve of maklng
sure LhaL no sLudenL musL ever learn, and no Leacher musL ever work, ln an envlronmenL of hosLlllLy
Loward Lhe exchange of challenglng vlews on soclal and pollLlcal lssues.

lrank LoMonLe, LxecuLlve ulrecLor
SLudenL ress Law CenLer

uana neuLs, resldenL
SocleLy of rofesslonal !ournallsLs

1eresa Schmeddlng, resldenL
Amerlcan Copy LdlLors SocleLy

Mlke Cavender, LxecuLlve ulrecLor
8adlo 1elevlslon ulglLal news AssoclaLlon

vanessa ShelLon, h.u., LxecuLlve ulrecLor
Culll and Scroll lnLernaLlonal
Ponorary SocleLy for Plgh School !ournallsLs

Mark PorvlL, LxecuLlve ulrecLor
lnvesLlgaLlve 8eporLers and LdlLors

Mark Coodman, knlghL Chalr
1he CenLer for ScholasLlc !ournallsm, kenL SLaLe unlverslLy

Ceorge 8odarky, resldenL
ubllc 8adlo news ulrecLors lnc.

Larry ColdbeLLer, resldenL
naLlonal WrlLers unlon

Alan Mlller, resldenL
AssoclaLed ress Medla LdlLors AssoclaLlon
$

Mary PudeLz, resldenL
naLlve Amerlcan !ournallsLs AssoclaLlon

Carol lerce, LxecuLlve ulrecLor
1he naLlonal lederaLlon of ress Women

Mark newLon, resldenL
1he !ournallsm LducaLlon AssoclaLlon

Mark Schlack, resldenL
Amerlcan SocleLy of 8uslness ress LdlLors

1lffany Shackelford, LxecuLlve ulrecLor
AssoclaLlon of AlLernaLlve news Medla

ulana MlLsu klos, LxecuLlve ulrecLor
naLlonal ScholasLlc ress AssoclaLlon

8ruce 8rown, LxecuLlve ulrecLor
8eporLers CommlLLee for lreedom of Lhe ress

8achele kanlgel, resldenL
College Medla AssoclaLlon

uarryl 8. MaLLhews, Sr., LxecuLlve ulrecLor
naLlonal AssoclaLlon of 8lack !ournallsLs

Arne 8obblns, LxecuLlve ulrecLor
Amerlcan SocleLy of newspaper LdlLors