District Allowing Newspaper To Publish Controversial Article About Student In Porn

STOCKTON (CBS13) — A spokesperson for the Lodi Unified School District said Wednesday that the district will allow the publication of a controversial article about a student working in adult entertainment.

This comes after a tense battle of freedom of speech. The Bear Creek High School Bruin Voice wanted to publish a story about an 18-year-old student who works in adult entertainment, but the district attempted to halt the publication, saying the article could be obscene.

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In early April, the paper's advisor, Kathi Duffel, received a letter from the district saying she could be dismissed if a copy of the story was not provided to the district before publication. She refused to give the district a copy of the article and said the story does not contain obscene material.

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Instead, the school district and the head of the journalism program agreed to have an independent attorney review the article to ensure its content is legal.

On Wednesday, district spokesperson Chelsea Vongehr confirmed the article will go to print this week providing the following statement from the district:

"The District has determined that it will rely on the promises Mrs. Duffel's personal attorney has made on her behalf regarding the content of the article and on that basis will not prevent its publication. However, the District does not agree with all aspects of the legal opinion provided by the attorney and is disappointed that an independent review was not provided as agreed to by the District and Mrs. Duffel. Moreover, because the District has been denied an opportunity to preview the article, the District does not endorse it. Because we are charged with the education and care of our community's children, we will always be diligent in our efforts to provide a safe learning environment for all students, while complying with our obligations under the law."

The article is set to be published and distributed Friday.