Teen Fired for Interviewing Gay Students

Ann Long, editor in chief of Troy High School's Oracle newspaper in beautiful Fullerton, California, is being asked to step down for interviewing three students about coming out of the closet. The school district's justification is interesting:

Patricia Howell, deputy superintendent for the Fullerton Joint Union High School District […] said Long, 18, was being punished for violating the ethical standards of the journalism class and a state education code that prohibits asking students about their sexuality without parental permission.

"We're not saying there is anything morally wrong with the article," she said. "Freedom of speech is not at issue. Confidentiality and privacy rights are the issue."

She said Long had violated the section of the California education code that requires written parental permission before asking students questions about their or their parents' "personal beliefs or practices in sex, family life, morality, and religion," as the code states.

I guess 75% of my high-school conversation was illegal, then…. Whole L.A. Times story here.