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Students, board weigh journalism class and school newspaper rules
Summary
Board members, students and parents discussed a proposed journalism course and the district's student-publication policy after student journalists said the current rules limit their work. The administration said it will finish a course framework by April and recommended the board revisit NEOLA policy for student media.
The Mentor Exempted Village Board of Education and community members discussed plans to create a journalism course at Mentor High School and whether the district's student-publication policy should be amended to give student journalists greater editorial freedom.
Students and school newspaper advisers urged the board not to fold the student-run “Cardinal Nation” newspaper entirely into a for-credit class, saying many current contributors take heavy schedules and could not fit a daily or semester class into their timetables. Several students told the board that converting the club into only a daytime class would prevent many from participating and asked the district to preserve an extracurricular track alongside a curricular course.
Board members and administrators acknowledged the concern and said a dual approach is likely. Superintendent Bill Heath said the district has identified an English teacher willing to develop and teach a journalism course and that a course framework should be ready for board review in April. He said the long-term plan could include journalism 1 as a scheduled course and journalism 2–4 as independent-study options that still allow students to contribute to the school newspaper.
The discussion also focused on Policy 5722 (student publications), which currently follows a model that allows prior administrative review and treats certain school-sponsored publications as nonpublic fora. Board Member Lauren Marchaza suggested the board consider revising that policy toward the Tinker standard — which protects student expression unless it substantially interferes with school operation — and to clarify adviser and administrative roles for social media posting, libel and parental concerns.
Several board members said the district must protect students from online harassment and avoid exposing minors to social media without safeguards. Some noted the district has been technically out of compliance with parts of the existing policy when advisers posted content to platforms outside district-managed channels; those practices will be addressed while the policy is updated.
Heath said the administration will work with the English department and the teacher who volunteered to teach the course to finalize course materials. He said staff will also present options for updating Policy 5722 and proposed administrative guidelines that explain advisor review, publication timelines, and social-media practices.
What’s next: Staff will present a journalism course framework for initial board review in April and return with recommended policy language and administrative guidelines to govern student publications and a plan to allow both curricular and extracurricular participation.
