The school board is about to vote on a policy that censors student journalists. We created a policy that promotes the first amendment. Join us, along with hundreds of others, in urging the school board to pass our policy, Voices Unbound.

For direct action steps on how to help Theogony, please click this link.

Over the past year, we have shared stories that matter. 

Some of these stories sent shockwaves through the community, such as the removal of administrators from the high school or the school district’s struggles to transport students between campuses. Others were less divisive — but equally important — like the mural that students painted at Bradlee Shopping Center or the remarkable 65-year teaching career of Louis Kokonis.

Our reporting has encapsulated the fundamental role of journalism: shining a light on the untold and underrepresented stories that shape lives. Now, all of that work is under threat.

After we published an update to our investigative series “Inside the High School Project,” school administrators informed Theogony that Central Office leadership told them to edit our articles they do not like.

That is called administrative prior restraint, and it is a dangerous form of censorship. Dozens of leading scholastic, journalism and legal institutions have denounced it, from the Journalism Education Association to the American Bar Association. In fact, we could not find a single organization that supports administrative prior restraint.

For at least the last 16 years (we could not find records before then), students have independently run operations without the interference of Central Office.

But now, all of that is gone. In the coming days, the school board will vote on policy revisions and a new regulation that codifies the censorship policy in detail.

Further, it disciplines students who choose to work for city newspapers. It also revokes student ownership of content — so students no longer own the poems they publish in the magazine — and it prohibits Theogony from taking photographs of large crowds without getting individual approval from each person in the frame.

This policy is straight from the playbook of authoritarian governments that fear criticism. A school district that claims to welcome equity and student voice should be nowhere near it.

As student journalists at the only public high school in Alexandria, we hold a unique perspective and opportunity to provide insights to the community. We take pride in the fact that our stories are factual and reflect the experiences of students and staff alike. 

When the school district can filter out information they do not like, that is not true accuracy — it inherently biases and corrupts the integrity of our newspaper. Central Office staff are government officials. They are not trained in media ethics. And if they truly believed in democracy, they would not try to control the press.

Like any competent news organization, we report the facts. Last year, we wrote 107 stories. Ninety-seven were generally received as positive accounts of the school or district, and the remaining 10 reported seemingly controversial school or district actions. This aligns with our collective impressions of the school district — about 90 percent is great, and about 10 percent needs improvement. In an attempt to serve as a platform for all perspectives, we welcome an op-ed from district leadership explaining their choices.

After being informed of the censorship procedure, we requested multiple times over email to meet with Superintendent Melanie Kay-Wyatt. When Kay-Wyatt replied to our emails, she did not reference our request to meet. Instead, she shared a copy of the student publications school board policy. (Our request to meet with Kay-Wyatt still stands should she change her mind.)

We have, however, met with the school board committee that drafts policy. While they have certainly listened to our perspectives, their actions do not reflect that. The policy proposed by the school district includes zero of the 12 elements we requested, and our conversations with committee members have indicated little will change.

So we ask ourselves, “Why is the school district now censoring students for the first time in decades? Why is the district specifically targeting Theogony? Why is the district not forcing other student publications, including Titan Media Alexandria and the yearbook, to comply? Why does the policy not apply to our articles highlighting the many positives of our district? Why does it only apply to what administrators deem ‘topics of interest?’”

In an age where many believe democracy in our country is under threat, Kay-Wyatt, her Central Office and now maybe the school board are assaulting one of democracy’s most important assets: a free and independent press. This cannot stand.

How You Can Help

Soon, the school board will vote to either uphold or revise the current — censorship-enabling — policy. 

This is where we need your help.

In collaboration with other student publications, we created a just and equitable school board policy that prohibits censorship. We call this policy Voices Unbound, and it is modeled on the New Voices laws.

Unlike the ACPS proposed policy, Voices Unbound affirms the role of a free press and restores full First Amendment protections to student journalists and their faculty advisers. It requires administrators to meet a reasonable burden to block content from being published. And it leaves most editorial decisions in the hands of students — who have been trained for more than a year on how to make those decisions.

Under Voices Unbound, if student-produced content is obscene, libelous, or otherwise unfit for publication, it can be blocked. But there must be justification — not just, “We don’t like this.”

Recently, leaders of student publications at ACHS — including Theogony, Labyrinth (magazine) and Cerberus (yearbook) — met with the school board governance committee for a listening session to share our perspectives and support for Voices Unbound. While we appreciated the chance to speak about the overall policy, we remain troubled that the school board has not immediately taken action — whether formal or informal — to stop the censorship procedure. 

Further, we are disturbed that after months of reassurances, committee members did not include any of our requests in the proposed policy available online.

To the school board: we urge you to adopt Voices Unbound and reject the censorship policy. The time to act is now. Will you stand on the right side of history as the board who upheld the press freedom at a turning point in the nation? Or will you be remembered as the board who silenced its own students? Alexandria will not forget.

To our readers: we thank you for your continued support, and we ask for your help. Please, visit our action steps document. Sign our petition. Email the school district using this easy, pre-addressed template. Sign up to speak at school board meetings. Do not back down. The future of student journalism in Alexandria depends on it.

Reader, we need your help. Please visit this document  for quick and easy steps you can take to support us.

Typically, editorials reflect the opinion of Theogony’s editorial board, but this editorial represents the consensus view of Theogony’s entire staff. Staff Adviser Kamilah Lawson is not involved in the writing or editing processes of editorials.