‘No publication’ guidelines

Ethical guidelines
Know your rights and responsibilities in terms of capturing images on school property and at school events. “Do not publish” contracts apply to schools, not student media.

At the very least, get a copy of the list of students whose parents request photos not to be used and try to avoid taking their pictures. An alternative would be to communicate with parents about what such a ban means to student media.

Staff manual process
Student journalists should create a list of discussion points to share with parents who indicate their students are on a school’s no publication list.

Suggestions
• Students appearing in public activities and public places have little expectation of privacy
• Students whose images are available to commercial media should also be available to student media
• Students who are omitted from student media without justifiable reason could lose an important record of their lives

NOTE: FERPA does not apply in this situation although schools might argue it does, which could create a censorship situation. At that point it becomes a censorship issue. Try to persuade the school it is not doing the right thing.

NOTE: If your publication is prior reviewed, it is possible FERPA could apply because students do not make the final decisions.