Society of Professional Journalists Backs Student Journalists' Proposal

ALEXANDRIA, VA — The Society of Professional Journalists is backing Theogony student journalists in their proposal for oversight of student journalists.

The issue of administrator oversight came up with a proposed policy for Alexandria City School Board consideration. The proposed policy called for an administrator to review "material that may be controversial" before being approved for publishing. If the administrator and staff editor cannot reach an agreement, the final decision would lie with the school's principal.

In addition, the principal would have to approve any requests for student articles to be published in non-ACPS publications.

In May, the school board opted to table the item. That followed Theogony, the student newspaper at Alexandria City High School, vocally opposing the new regulations on student publishing and starting a petition against it.

School board members indicated they would continue to work on the proposal in committee.

Theogony instead called for the school board to adopt the publication's recommended Voices Unbound Policy, which would have no administrator review of student material before publishing. An exception would be provided in cases where the material could contain libel or slander, cause an "unwarranted invasion of privacy," contain obscenity, violate federal or state law, or incite students to create an unlawful act, violate school district policy or disrupt the "orderly operation of the school."

The Society of Professional Journalists is backing the Voices Unbound proposal, according to a letter directed to Alexandria City School Board members.

The letter reads in part:

Good journalism does not bend to the comfort of those in power; it holds power accountable.
Theogony’s young reporters are doing exactly that — courageously investigating and
documenting the life of their school community, including the decisions of this very board. That is not a problem to be solved through control. It is a civic success to be protected.

When student journalists are allowed to report freely — without fear of administrative
censorship or retaliation — they learn what journalism is meant to be: fair, ethical, challenging, and, yes, sometimes uncomfortable for the powerful. This is how a functioning democracy and a healthy public school culture are both built: on trust in truth, not fear of it.

Voices Unbound offers a sound, clear policy framework that respects First Amendment rights
while setting practical guardrails: no libel, no obscenity, no invasions of privacy. Everything else is news — and belongs to these student journalists.

SPJ strongly urges the Alexandria City School Board to adopt Voices Unbound in full. Doing so
would not just resolve the current conflict; it would be a model for school districts nationwide
on how to cultivate responsible, independent, student-led media.

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