Nebraska school officials close newspaper after LGBTQ issue

The city of Grand Island is located in the state of Nebraska. Press freedom advocates are calling the move to shut down the student newspaper at the school an act of censorship, after it included articles and editorials on the issues of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and queer community.

The staff of Northwest Public Schools was told of the paper's elimination on May 19th. The June edition of the newspaper had an article about Pride Month and the history of homophobia. The editorial opposed the Florida law that banned some lessons on sexual orientation and gender identity.

The decision to eliminate the student paper was not made by officials in the district. An email from a school employee to the Independent said that the student paper's printing services were canceled because of the school board's unhappiness with the editorial content.

The paper was reprimanded for publishing students' preferred pronouns and names. Students were told by district officials that they couldn't use their birth names.

The student paper was told that preferred names were banned by the school board. In the June issue of Saga, Marcus Pennell's byline was changed against his wishes, because he was a trans student.

Pennell said that it was the first time that the school had said no. That was a huge deal for me.

The questions of when and why the student paper was eliminated were referred to the district's superintendent, who refused to answer them.

Dan Leiser, the board president, said that most people were upset with the content of the Saga.

If the district taxpayer had read the last issue of the Saga, they would have exclaimed, "Holy cow," according to the board vice president. What's happening at our school?

Sara Rips is an attorney for the Nebraska chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union.

The US Constitution protects press freedom, according to the Nebraska Press Association attorney.

The administration's decision to eliminate the student newspaper violates students' right to free speech unless the school can show a legitimate educational reason for removing the option to participate in a class that publishes award-winning material. It is difficult to think of a legitimate reason.