LAKESIDE, Calif. (KGTV) - El Capitan High School seniors will get their yearbook quotes after all.
First-year principal Carrie Gaier reversed her decision to cancel the decades-old tradition, sending an email to students and families announcing the quotes would be included in the yearbook following a rigorous review process. The reversal came less than two weeks after two First Amendment attorneys sent the school a warning letter on behalf of two nonprofits, saying the school was violating state laws protecting student free speech.
I first reported on the story in mid-February, after an online petition asking that senior quotes be reinstated collected more than 1,400 signatures.
Yearbook Editor in Chief Raegan Hudson said the email came as a welcome surprise.
“It’s amazing to see our voices were heard," Hudson said.
Yearbook staffer Madie Smith described the moment she read the principal's email.
"I read it to friends who were nearby, and they started jumping and high-fiving each other," Smith said.
Hudson and a yearbook team of 5 staff members and one adviser had vetted nearly 300 quotes before Gaier informed them in late January that the quotes were being removed. In a letter sent to students and families, Gaier pointed to the difficulty of vetting modern slang and the liability and risk of publishing inappropriate content.
First Amendment attorney David Loy was among those who watched our initial story. Days later, he and another attorney sent a letter on behalf of two nonprofits warning the school it was violating state laws protecting student free speech.
"What the administration may not do, is ban speech in advance on the off chance it might be off bounds," Loy said in a Feb. 20 interview.
Hudson reflected on what the reversal means for her and her classmates.
"It's definitely a win for free speech. Just because we are students doesn't mean we shouldn't have free speech. Our story with 10 News really put our voices out on a public scale… we were able to really get the ball rolling," Hudson said.
For Smith, the news was deeply personal.
"Super excited. That’s something we've been looking forward to since freshman year, thet we have back," Smith said.
The Grossmont Union High School District issued a statement on the decision.
"This issue has never been a matter of one side versus another. Principal Gaier's letter reflects a thoughtful approach to ensure the El Capitan yearbook continues to celebrate student voices while maintaining professional journalistic standards and preserving the integrity of the permanent historical record. It also demonstrates her openness to listening to the community and collaboratively addressing issues, even when they are difficult," the district said.
Under the principal's new plan, a committee of school staff will join the yearbook staff in re-vetting the quotes over the next few weeks before the yearbook is finalized. The yearbook is due out in May.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
