It takes a village…and constant vigilance

Television station KOMO recently reported the May 24 Puyallup, Washington, school board meeting where student journalists are trying to reverse the board’s prior review policies.

Like the other links posted here in the last couple of days, this one can add to the First Amendment discussion, not only about the issues reported but about the comments and the perspectives that drive them. The comments deserve special attention.

If we are to really develop a community of support for First Amendment issues in education we have to create a climate more accepting of the importance of free and responsible expression. That climate does not stop at the end of the school year and magically begin again in the fall.

On another point, the reporter here missed a good chance for a question the village ought to think about: if Don Austin, the school’s attorney, really thinks legislation might be a solution to a theoretical liability issue, why has he spoken publicly against past efforts at state legislation protecting student expression – and hence schools?