{"id":359366,"date":"2026-07-31T22:00:09","date_gmt":"2026-07-31T22:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/359366\/"},"modified":"2026-07-31T22:00:09","modified_gmt":"2026-07-31T22:00:09","slug":"ocps-reviewing-media-policy-after-meeting-with-news-coalition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/359366\/","title":{"rendered":"OCPS reviewing media policy after meeting with news coalition\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"OrangeOrange County Public Schools Superintendent Maria Vazquez answers questions from members of the media following the district’s 2026 State of the Schools address on June 2 at Edgewater High School.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Courtesy of Orange County Public Schools<\/p>\n

Orange County Public Schools is reviewing its media relations policy following discussions with a coalition of Central Florida news organizations that raised concerns about employee speech and public access to information.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Representatives from OCPS and the media coalition, led by the Society of Professional Journalists\u00a0(SPJ), met\u00a0this week\u00a0for an\u00a0off-the-record\u00a0discussion\u00a0about\u00a0Management Directive B-5, which governs interactions between district employees and members of the media. The parties agreed to meet again early in the new school year.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In a statement issued after the meeting, OCPS said its\u00a0media\u00a0relations office reviews the directive annually to ensure employees receive clear guidance when working with reporters.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Become A Member<\/p>\n

The Apopka Chief does not have a paywall, but pavement-pounding journalism is not free. Join your neighbors who make this vital work possible.<\/p>\n

See Member Benefits<\/a>Join Our Newsletter<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cOCPS is committed to transparency, upholding the First Amendment, and maintaining a strong partnership with local media to assist in keeping our community informed,\u201d the district said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As part of its ongoing review, the district said it will evaluate its current practices and\u00a0identify\u00a0possible improvements\u00a0based on feedback from SPJ representatives.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe district will address some of their concerns regarding response times and access to schools, personnel, and the superintendent,\u201d the statement said. \u201cProtecting the interests of students, staff, families, and the district will remain a top priority.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The\u00a0meeting stemmed\u00a0from a June 8 letter sent by SPJ<\/a>\u00a0on behalf of 11 Central Florida media organizations, including The Apopka Chief. The coalition asked Superintendent Maria Vazquez to revise Management Directive B-5, arguing that it restricts employee speech, delays\u00a0newsgathering\u00a0and reduces the public\u2019s access to information.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The coalition letter, prepared by\u00a0the First Amendment Clinic at Florida State University College of Law, contended that the policy \u201csuppresses press freedoms, restricts speech, limits the flow of information to the community, and chills First Amendment-protected speech.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Among its proposed revisions, the coalition asked OCPS to allow employees to notify district communications officials about media inquiries without requiring prior approval before speaking with reporters. The organizations also sought improved access to schools, district\u00a0personnel\u00a0and the superintendent.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Vazquez\u00a0promptly\u00a0responded to the coalition letter, saying OCPS recognized the role of a free press and\u00a0employees\u2019 rights as private citizens.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cOur procedures are not intended to suppress speech or limit transparency, but rather to ensure that information shared on behalf of the district is accurate, consistent, and does not disrupt our primary mission of educating students,\u201d Vazquez wrote.\u00a0<\/p>\n

She also said the procedures do not prohibit employees from speaking with reporters but\u00a0establish\u00a0a process for coordinating official district responses.\u00a0In the June letter, Vazquez\u00a0said OCPS would review\u00a0the procedures, providing\u00a0timely\u00a0responses when possible, reinforcing staff training and continuing discussions with media partners.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This week\u2019s meeting marked the next step in those discussions, with both sides planning to\u00a0engage further.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were encouraged by the productive meeting,\u201d\u00a0J.C.\u00a0Derrick, The Apopka Chief\u2019s publisher, said after the meeting.\u00a0\u201cWe are looking forward to continuing the conversation and finding ways to collaborate that will meet the needs and interests of the school district, media outlets,\u00a0and the communities we both serve.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\" <\/p>\n

Teresa Sargeant has been with The Apopka Chief for over 10 years.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Orange County Public Schools Superintendent Maria Vazquez answers questions from members of the media following the district’s 2026…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":359367,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[139,141,140],"class_list":["post-359366","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-orlando","tag-orlando","tag-orlando-headlines","tag-orlando-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/359366","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=359366"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/359366\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/359367"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=359366"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=359366"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=359366"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}