The policy sets a 10-day prior review period and an appeals system placing all final editorial decisions in the hands of the principal. It defines all school-based publications as government speech and dictates that the school's mascot name shall not be "construed" as racist. It also bars the school yearbook, named for the mascot, from ever changing its name and claims all copyrights to anything written and/or created for a school-based publication. 

In my first year on the paper, as far as I can remember, only one article was held by prior review. In my second year, the same. But when it came time for me to take up my position as Editor-in-Chief the newspaper alone more than a half-dozen articles were kept from print, while many others had bits and pieces removed. No articles have been kept from print this year, although after printing an unsigned editorial regarding Neshaminy's newest elementary school, the editorial board was privy to a lengthy lecture from the Superintendent of the District regarding journalistic integrity, despite having provided multiple sources by which the information references was verified. 

Below are the subjects of the pieces/ parts of pieces that the Playwickian has been forbidden from printing during my time on the staff and how these were handled. Please note that the Literary Magazine, Howler, also experienced forced restraint on printing a political satire. 

• Personal summary by a transgender student and newspaper member on what it is like to be treated as a transgender student at a public high school

  • Advisor was informed that the article was being held in prior review, unclear as to weather or not they were given reasoning

  • Principal called home of writer, who was in the age of majority at the time

    • Told parents of writer that they would be unable to get jobs later in life if this article were to be printed, according to student

  • Article was never printed

• All writers submitted their self-written biographies for prior review. A female senior on staff mentioned that she was bisexual in the biography, as support to why she regularly wrote in adamant support of LGBTQ+ rights.

  • Advisor was informed that the article was being held in prior review due to the mention of sexuality (despite the fact that other students had openly discussed personal experiences with their sexuality in the paper before)

  • Principal called the home of the student, told her parents about her sexuality

  • Article was not removed from print folder on time and was accidently published on website for a few minutes

    • Following this, restrictions on publication widened

• I wrote an update on our basketball team's ongoing season. 

  • Advisor was informed that only the nutgraph of the article would be forbidden from print because of 'policy 600'

  • Article was published, sin nutgraph

• A staff writer compiled a series of quotes to be used in a graphic regarding students' new year's resolutions

  • Several quotes, wholly along the lines of students wanting to do better in school next year, where held under the premise that administration believed that we could not publish anything regarding student grades

  • Article was published without these parts

• I wrote an article regarding the supposed armed robbery of one Neshaminy student by two others. It was wholly based on public court records, public social media posts, and interviews with the students (who were aware of the interview, and of course were not asked about the crime specifically). 

  • Advisor was informed that the article would not be allowed to print

  • Principal called my father, threatening (?) that I may be in physical danger should the piece go to print 

  • Principal called myself, father, advisor, and vice principal to meeting in conference room

    • Reminded me again that the article would not print

    • Lectured about how student journalists are not real journalists (?)

  • Article never went to print

  • I contacted Frank LeMonte at the Student Press Law Center to search for legal support

    • He put me in contact with a law firm which had agreed to take my case

    • Legal process is still ongoing

• I wrote an article about school password changes. A student's account of events was confirmed by a teacher and the student's parents, in addition to public events at the school and accounts by several other students.

  • Advisor was informed that the article would not be allowed to print because they saw it as wholly inaccurate and we could not discuss student discipline

    • We had explicit permission from the student's parents to publish the piece and all information had been verified

  • Article was never published

• I wrote an article regarding the rise of STD rates among teens, consisting wholly of online statistics and quotes about how to avoid STD transmission from non-minors

  • Advisor was informed that the article violated policy 600 and therefore would not be published

  • Article was never published

• Pennsylvania State Prisoner, James D. Inge, who is serving life for his crimes wrote a letter to the editor

  • Was not allowed to be printed until the following fall because of prior review period