ORLANDO, Fla. — After complaints over a Lyman High School yearbook’s LGBTQ+ spread prompted the Seminole County Public School district to offer a modified yearbook or a refund to parents, school district records requested by Spectrum News show no parents requested a modified yearbook. And those records show the school district only received and delivered two requests for a refund.
The spread in question featured several students, as well as a section defining specific sexual orientations. It was the second year in a row there was controversy surrounding an LGBTQ+ related spread in the Lyman High School yearbook.
Students at Lyman High School received guidance from the Student Press Law Center, which says the content in question is protected under the First Amendment. SPLC says students always have the right to question and challenge school administrators’ decisions.
They guide student journalists across the country by recommending what steps to take, and SPLC’s attorneys can step in with legal challenges when necessary.
“Out of that issue last year came a toolkit that we could draft in collaboration with those students of how to approach a board of education,” said Jonathan Gaston-Falk, Staff Attorney for SPLC.
“It’s a scary process, you have some scary people sometimes yelling in your face, how to approach that board of education as students,” he said.
Lyman High School students also got some guidance from staff at Watermark, an LGBTQ+ publication that did a story on the controversy and what the students experienced.
Watermark’s focus is telling the stories of LGBTQ+ people from their perspective.
“Yes, we’re reporting the news, but we’re also trying to change hearts and minds and let them know it’s okay that there’s a gay newspaper out there, or it’s okay if your neighbor is trans, it doesn’t affect you in your day-to-day life,” said Jeremy Williams, Watermark’s Editor-In-Chief.
Williams remembers his reaction when students working on Lyman High School’s yearbook first faced backlash.
“It was mind blowing to me that a school takes this, that’s supposed to be a time capsule of your time in high school, and try to erase aspects of your time there at that school,” said Williams.
Watermark covered the story, and Williams reached out to student journalists involved with support.
“The students that I talked to who were going through that, I was so impressed with just their taking the stance that they did, and saying ‘No, this isn’t fair, this isn’t right, we have queer kids in our school. We’re not going to pretend that we don’t,’” said Williams.
Williams says Watermark gets anti-LGBTQ+ complaints. But he’s thankful his publication doesn’t have to modify what it does. Supportive advertisers allow it to continue reporting news the way other publications can’t.
“They cover the story, but it’s important to get the story from people in the community, and to hear those stories from people who are in the community,” said Williams. “So, we do a little more deep-dive, and just giving that visibility is super important.”
And with what some student journalists are facing, Williams says Watermark’s mission moving forward is more important than ever.
“Just hearing them talk about the stories, it’s just really hits home that what we do here is more important than any time I’ve been here,” said Williams.