School board approves first reading of revised student publications policy

The Mt. Pleasant Community School District is revising it's policy on student publications.

The school board approved the first reading of a new policy, 503.3 Student Publications, during a board meeting on Monday, May 13. The original policy, which was first adopted in 1973, simply states that student publications must be approved by the building principal or a designated staff member before being published and distributed.

The new policy expands the discussion about free speech, what student expression looks like, and protocol for publishing articles in the student newspaper, The Maroon Echoes, said district superintendent John Henriksen.

The policy is being updated to align with Iowa Code requirements for student publications.

'Through some recent conversations, we found our current policy does not meet the expectations of state code,” Henriksen said.

Henriksen reviewed the policy after a student at Mt. Pleasant High School, who writes for the Maroon Echoes, approached him with a question for a story. The article, which addressed the removal of a poster for the middle school's student club, The Gay Striaght Alliance, by a teacher at Mt. Pleasant Middle School, was not published because it was not approved by Henriksen and Jessi Rich, the faculty adviser to the Maroon Echoes.

The revised policy reads that students may produce content or official school publications under the supervision of a faculty adviser and the principal. School publications include anything produced in a journalism class, for the student newspaper, the yearbook or other writing classes and distributed to the student body.

The policy also states that any expressions made by students in the exercise of free speech, including student expression in official school publications, is not an expression of the district, and the district, the school board or district employees are not liable in any civil or criminal action for any student expression made or published by students.

The board also approved the first reading of Student Publications Code and Guidelines, which is regulation that goes along with the Student Publications policy.

The guideline states that students will not express, publish or distribute in an official school publication material which is obscene, libelous, slanderous or encourages students to violate school rules or interfere or disrupt educational programs.

Faculty advisers are to supervise student writers to maintain professional standards of English and journalism and to comply with the law including restrictions against unlawful speech, the guideline states.

The guideline also further outlines the responsibilities of students, the liability of students, and appeal procedures for students who believe they have been unreasonably restricted in their exercise of expression or aggrieved by a student-produced publication.

Rich said the new policy does not affect the way they have been operating the Maroon Echoes newsroom.

'I think it will be business as usual for us,” Rich said in an email. 'We are a school paper that contains school events and activities (and) a bit of student creative writing with very little opinion. These students may be aspiring journalists in the future. They work on planning articles, interviewing involved personnel, covering the events and taking a few pictures.”

'I think it's a great opportunity for kids who have that interest,” Henriksen said about the Maroon Echoes. 'A free and independent press is a cornerstone of our republic.”

The student publications policy requires one more reading of the school board before it can be adopted. The next Mt. Pleasant school board meeting is Monday, June 10, at 6 p.m.