All that news that's fit to censor. That might be the new policy at Alexandria City Public Schools, where members of the Alexandria School Board are considering a proposal that would allow the principal of Alexandria City High School to spike stories submitted by student journalists. The controversial prior-restraint scheme emerged after the high-school newspaper Theogony published stories critical of the "high school project," an ambitious attempt to shuttle students across multiple campuses.

"The school system does not like that we've shed a light on some of the issues they are facing and that we've forced them to respond," said James Libresco, co-editor of Theogony, in an interview. "They would rather operate in silence, which is why they are bringing forth this new regulation and policy."

Instead of accepting editorial control from the principal, students are fighting back. In a counter-proposal they call "Voices Unbound," student journalists at Theogony are encouraging School Board members to protect the First Amendment rights of students rather than revoke them. At the heart of their proposal is language identifying the faculty advisor as the person who has the final say over publication rather than the principal.

"Our advisor has been trained in media and media ethics, which is something that our principal does not have," said Casey Donahue. "We feel that the advisor provides us with guidance that a principal would not be able to give."

THE PRIOR RESTRAINT policy presented by school bosses outlines an approach that would let administrators pull the plug on investigative journalism anytime they feel threatened. The draft policy proposal creates a process for censoring "material the staff believes may be in violation of the ACPS Journalistic Principles or ACPS policy or regulation." During a Governance Committee meeting last week, School Board member Tim Beaty expressed a preference for the principal or a school administrator having the final say.

"What we are talking about here is where the buck stops, who makes the final decision on something that's in doubt," said Beaty. "I think the buck should stop with the principal."

School Board member Abdulahi Abdalla disagrees with that approach. During the Governance Committee meeting when the censorship policy was on the docket, he said he could not support the draft policy proposal submitted by administration staffers. Instead, he said, he believed the faculty advisor is the adult who has the training and the experience to make decisions about what gets published and what does not.

"The principal can shut it down at the end of the day, and I don't like that," said Abdalla. "I don't think the principal should have any say of editorial changes."

THE DEBATE OVER the school system's regulation of the high-school publication comes at a time when the school system is on a kind of communications lockdown, denying interviews and relying on written statements from the School Board chairwoman. All nine School Board members either declined to be interviewed for this story or ignored requests for comment. School Board Chairwoman Michelle Rief declined multiple requests to be interviewed for this story. 

"We support our students and the community in advocating for student voices," wrote Rief in part of a written statement. "It is important to emphasize that neither the current nor the proposed policy includes language that censors students."

Advocates for press freedom worry about giving school administrators the power to censor student journalism, and they say faculty advisors are in a better position to make decisions about publication than administrators. They warn that if the principal is the editor of Theogony, it's not a student newspaper but a division newsletter. Ultimately, they say, the policy drafted by staff should be rejected.

"I would ask that they remind themselves why they got into this business in the first place," said Mike Hiestand, legal counsel for the Student Press Law Center. "If you're really just concerned about district PR, then vote for this policy. But if you're looking to make sure that we are teaching the next generation about the importance of a free press, then you need to vote this policy down."

ONE OF THE ISSUES that has become part of the policy discussion involves students publishing in publications that are not controlled by the school system, including legacy newspapers as well as new media startups. One of the draft proposals circulated among School Board members online includes language that would punish students "who perform research for an ACPS publication and then use the results of that research to write, collaborate on, or in any other way contribute to the material published in a non-ACPS publication may lose journalistic privileges."

Experts say they've never seen anything like it.

"It's retaliation for protected speech," said Ian Kalish, an attorney at the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and a lecturer at the University of Virginia School of Law. "Depriving those students of the ability to do their journalism would raise significant First Amendment concerns."

The retaliation clause was ditched from the latest version of the document posted to the school division's website. But School Board members could choose to bring this language back any time they want. And the fact that administration staff were willing to include this retaliation language in the first place is an indication of the mood at central administration headquarters.

"I don't think it's a big win for us because it never should have been included in the first place," said Libresco. "But it shows that public pressure from the community is starting to have an impact."

STUDENT JOURNALISTS at Theogony have been steadily building public support in favor of their First Amendment rights. From the Student Press Law Center and the National Scholastic Press Association to the Journalism Education Association and the Alexandria City High School Student Government Association, the student-led "Voices Unbound" counter-proposal has picked up an impressive list of supporters. One of the chief voices advocating in favor of First Amendment rights for students is Alexandria Mayor Alyia Gaskins.

"Through Theogony, we have seen the power of what happens when our students have the ability to ask critical questions," said Gaskins in an interview. "They have pushed us to think differently, and they have challenged us on different issues. And I think that any policy that's put forward should be one that continues to promote that type of expression."

One of the many groups supporting students in this clash with administrators is the Virginia Capitol Correspondents Association, a group of journalists who cover the governor and the General Assembly. Charlotte Woods, a reporter for the Virginia Mercury who is the president of the association, says student journalists need guidance, particularly at a time when they are in the earliest chapters of their future careers. But, she adds, the administration they are reporting on should not be able to use their position of authority to whitewash their own press.

"Imagine if the governor or Senate and House leadership tried to tell us which stories about them or their work we could not write," said Woods. "Our support for student journalists is not just supporting the future pipeline of this profession, it's supporting the principles of the profession we chose."