To The Seattle Times Editorial Board:

The editorial, “Young journalists, meet your editors” (Feb.1) is factually wrong. House bill 1307 would not “strip high-school and college educators of the ability to make editorial decisions” --since educators don’t have that right under current law. This bill clarifies existing law, allowing student editors to make content decisions without arbitrary administrative censorship. The administrative oversight defined by this bill is rooted in specifics, not generalities.
The Washington Journalism Education Association (WJEA) and its national counterpart, the Journalism Education Association (JEA) provide training to student media advisers in journalism standards and media law. In Washington State, advisers gather annually for a three-day intensive summer training workshop at Central Washington University.

These devoted teachers are advisers. Yes, advisers. Not publishers. Not editors. And more important, not censors.

This new legislation is supported by many enlightened administrators. Each year WJEA honors an Administrator of the Year, who expects the very best from his/her students and does not degrade them by insisting that they march to the main office with their work before it goes public.

We at WJEA urge critics to take a closer look at this bill and the clarity it provides for administrators, advisers, and especially for students.
Kathy Schrier, M.A. Ed
President
Washington Journalism Education Association