Petaluma district bars journalists from school ‘walk-in’ demonstrations at two campuses

Argus-Courier journalists were prevented by school officials from covering student-led demonstrations on the Petaluma and Casa Grande high school campuses Wednesday as part of a countywide wave of walkouts tied to last week’s stabbing death of a high school student in Santa Rosa.

Two reporters at Petaluma High were escorted off campus by the school’s principal after they had already signed in to cover the student-led event at that school.

The unexpected move restricted the broad access journalists are given in California law to report news on public campuses — and limited Petaluma-based coverage of what was an extraordinary day of student protest in Sonoma County.

Petaluma City Schools Superintendent Matthew Harris, who instituted the ban at both campuses, told the Argus-Courier in a series of texts and phone calls Wednesday it was the district’s stance that the presence of journalists would constitute a “disruption” to a “school event.”

Wednesday’s “walk-ins,” which resembled student-led protests around Sonoma County, were organized primarily by local high school students to call attention to recent incidents of school violence and shortfalls in school safety.

In other districts in the county, journalists were allowed onto campuses to cover Wednesday’s events without dispute.

Not so in Petaluma, where Petaluma High School Principal Giovanni Napoli removed two Argus-Courier reporters from the campus even after they’d signed in at the front desk and received their visitor badges.

Meanwhile, Casa Grande Principal Dan Ostermann called an Argus-Courier editor to say that journalists would not be allowed onto campus prior to Wednesday’s event. Both principals cited district policy as their reason.

Although Harris first described the Petaluma walk-ins as part of a “countywide, student-led event” — adding that he was “proud to see our students raising their voices and speaking their truth” — he later modified that description to say that the events were a joint effort between students and staff, effectively redefining them as “school events.”

“Our staff were an integral part of the activity today,” he said in noon phone call with editors of the Argus-Courier and sister publication The Press Democrat.

“It was a closed school activity,” he said. “It wasn’t open to the public.”

California’s education code gives school administrators the authority to request campus visitors leave if their continued presence is judged disruptive or interferes with classes or other school activities.

Harris did not share how he’d reached that conclusion without having allowed journalists any access in the first place.

Anita Brown, an attorney who provides legal counsel for the school district, also was on the call.

“I’m not going to argue about this,” she said. “This is a school assembly. It’s no different than an assembly.”

School assemblies, like other academic and athletic activities, are among the campus events that routinely earn local news coverage.

Section 627.2 of the California Penal Code requires “outsiders” to register with campus officials when entering public school grounds but exempts journalists when they are on hand to cover news.

“School districts and school superintendents and principals cannot categorically bar the press from events on campuses,” said David Loy, legal director at the First Amendment Coalition based in San Rafael.

Loy noted that state law does not allow journalists to loiter on campuses without a clear reason for being there. However, he said, “If you’re there to cover the protest that’s already happening … I can’t see the justification for barring reporters.”

Although local journalists were barred from Petaluma campuses Wednesday, they were able to speak with students when they stepped off of campus.

Karli Ellis, a Casa Grande senior, said students left class a little before noon Wednesday to gather for a moment of silence, and to hear speeches from several students as well as from a few teachers and administrators.

“The basic message was that, if we don’t change anything, then things are just going to stay stagnant and, if anything, get worse,” Ellis said.

Some teachers, she said, were doing what they could to make classrooms safer, but she expressed anxiety regarding the overall security of her campus.

“One of my teachers recently started locking his doors immediately after class starts, so that does help,” Ellis said. Other teachers also lock doors or cover windows, she said — but “even then, we have windows with blinds that don’t really work, or even some (that) don’t have any blinds.”

She added, “I do feel safe in the sense that Petaluma generally is a safe area, but just with what’s been going on, it’s a little iffy some days. You still never know.”

At Petaluma High School, junior Erica Perez was among the student planners of the event. She explained that “Overall, our goal was to bring awareness to violence on school campuses, and I think we accomplished our goal.”

She added, “We didn’t have enough time to plan it the way we would have liked. Because we didn’t have enough time, it was shorter than we wanted.”

Junior Silas Pologeorgis said the walk-in was “Definitely worthwhile. … It was beneficial to the students and the school.” Junior Dante Vachini agreed: “I thought (the walk-in) made people aware of the cause, which is to try to stop violence and make us feel safe at school.”

Richard Green, executive editor of The Press Democrat and chief content officer of Sonoma Media Investments, parent company of the Petaluma Argus-Courier, encouraged Harris, Ostermann and Brown to read California law more closely.

“Since the March 1 tragedy at Montgomery High School, our entire Sonoma County community — students, teachers, families, administrators and residents — has been hurting, and we’ve been very thoughtful how we’ve covered both the incident and its dramatic aftermath,” Green said.

“California law is very clear about the role journalists play in this state and the access we’re to have in covering events like this walkout. Barring us from campus is not an option.”

Now is the time for greater transparency by all school leaders across the county, Green added.

“In listening to the voices of dozens and dozens of local students this past week, it’s clear a wave of anger, frustration, fear and distrust is sweeping through our schools,” he said. “What happens on these campuses and how administrators respond will be of great interest and news value to everyone involved — including the taxpayers who pay for our school systems. Government performs better when media access is granted.”

Argus-Courier journalists Amelia Parreira and John Jackson contributed to this story.