MICHIGAN -- The Plymouth-Canton Community Schools Board of Education
postponed its second reading of an updated publications policy that places
limits on student free expression, in order to review it further in
committee.
If enacted, this policy would change the entire journalism program, said
Mary Lou Nagy, adviser to the student newspaper The P-CEP Perspective.
She said students have already considered leaving the paper, for fear they
won't be allowed to cover certain topics.
The policy under review is an update released by the Northeast Ohio
Learning Association (NEOLA), a consulting company that sells almost 400
pre-written policies, with topics ranging from safety patrol to student
fundraising, to school boards in seven states. NEOLA is the Plymouth-Canton
district's policy consultant.
The update details four policy options -- none of which are open public
forums --varying in degrees of restriction. Option 1 employs the most
administrative oversight and Option 4 grants the students the most
responsibility.
Option 1 -- which labels student publications or productions as nonpublic
forums, where they are subject to routine administrative prior review and
restraint -- was passed in the first reading of the policy by the
Plymouth-Canton Community Schools Board of Education.
Nagy said the newspaper's current practice as an open forum is very
hands-off. She works with the students directly on content, but there is no
administrative oversight.
Other clauses within the proposed NEOLA policy include limitations on
political speech.
"At first, they were going to prohibit political speech, and then
they pulled back on that to allow [coverage of] outside elections, like national
elections and so on, but not for school," said Nagy.
If passed, advertising will also be restricted, and administrators will
review ads to determine if they are appropriate for high school students, Nagy
said.
"It's difficult, because that's the only place where we
get our money from," she said. "We are not funded in any other
way."
Nagy said she is worried that administrators will not have time to review
newspaper pages by deadline, because they also have to read content from the
yearbook, the radio station and the morning announcements.
If the P-CEP Persepective does not make its deadlines, it could
cause problems with advertisers and the printer.
"It's just uncharted territory," she said.
The district's Director of Student Services, Bob Hayes, did not
return multiple calls for comment by press time.
By Stefanie Dazio, SPLC staff writer
