Nebraska high school newspaper shuttered over LGBTQ content

A former high school journalist and the Nebraska High School Press Association sued Friday over a school district shutdown of the school newspaper after it published an LGBTQ-focused edition.

The lawsuit alleges Grand Island Northwest Public Schools and its superintendent have violated the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment in May when it closed the Viking Saga newspaper at Grand Island Northwest High School, which has about 700 students. The newspaper was back in digital form and the district agreed to bring it back.

It's hard to find words for what it felt like to see people who were supposed to be supporting our education instead of silence us for covering issues impacting our lives, said Marcus Pennell, a former student who is suing the district. An email message left with the school district superintendent, Jeffrey Edwards, was not immediately returned. Edwards called the shutdown an administrative decision. Three days after the publication of its June edition, Saga newspaper staff were informed of the newspaper's removal, which included an article titled Pride and prejudice: LGBTQIA about the origins of Pride Month and the history of homophobia. It also included an editorial opposing a Florida law called Don t Say Gay, dubbed by critics as Don t Say Gay, which bans some lessons on sexual orientation and gender identity.

A May 22 email from a school employee cancelling the paper's printing services said it was because the school board and superintendent are unhappy with the last issue's editorial content. Some school board members publicly stated their opposition to the Saga's LGBTQ content.

The lawsuit also states that Pennell, who is transgender, was told in March 2022 that he and others could use only names assigned to them at birth in their bylines and could not list their pronouns.

The lawsuit seeks to state that the district has violated the law and unspecified damages. Grand Island is a town of about 52,300 residents about 150 miles 241 kilometers west of Omaha.