Your parent or legal guardian has the power to exclude you from every yearbook photograph and video coverage this year due to a new privacy policy passed by the state legislature. Here’s how it affects our school:
If parent’s sign, the intent is that they do not want their child’s information used publicly in the school.
[/media-credit] The signing of the new Alpine School District privacy policy in action.
In an interview with Gina Tuttle, the yearbook adviser for the past nineteen years, if parents sign, that student’s picture or name cannot be used in any photography, videography, or have their name listed. If a student has their picture taken in the photography studio–even if they’re a Sterling Scholar representative–legally it cannot be displayed. Likewise, if the student is present in a group photo, it’s illegal in the yearbook.
Ms. Tuttle’s goal for the yearbook is to represent as many students in as possible. When asked how the policy will affect the compilation of the book:
“We have to take it back a little. It hurts to exclude people. It’s against what I’m used to.”
According to the law, having a list of such students is illegal; the yearbook staff is expected to know them via facial recognition.
Maddie Reece, yearbook’s photography editor said, “Those kids have the right to not be photographed, so our plan is to […] know who they are to make sure we avoid taking their picture.”
She pointed out that photos go through three groups of people before being published: the students themselves stepping out of group shots, the staff knowing not to place them in, and administration double-checking for accuracy
An anonymous parent was interviewed, “[The state legislature has] great intentions, but very little thinking it through. […] There is a need for a privacy policy. But, it’s too broad of a blanket they’ve thrown throughout the community. This law does not fit all circumstances.”
Emma Jacob
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