By A. Austin

Eric Gustafson, the journalism advisor at Lowell High School, received an email last spring with the subject line “next year’s schedule” from his principal.

“I came into that meeting thinking that, based on budget cuts, we’re gonna go from two sections of journalism to one,” Gustafson explained. “Instead, what I was told. … was that, based on my handling of a sexual harassment story that came out in October of 2024, and then (another) story that never ran. … I would no longer be the journalism advisor the following year. And that came as a complete shock to me.”

At the time, Gustafson also did not know that he would soon become the first teacher in California to have to use California Education Code #48907 in court.

The law, enacted in the late 1970s, details students’ First Amendment right to exercise freedom of speech in a manner similar to professional journalists.

Section G of the law reads: “An employee shall not be dismissed, suspended, disciplined, reassigned, transferred, or otherwise retaliated against solely for acting to protect a pupil engaged in the conduct authorized under this section, or refusing to infringe upon conduct that is protected by this section.”

Gustafson attempted to resolve the situation directly with the school, citing this section of code as proof that he had acted within his rights as a journalism advisor, but the administration would not retract its decision.

In the following weeks, “they kind of started changing the tune, and said that (the controversial article) was just more or less the tip of the iceberg, and that Mr. Gustafson was overseeing a diminishment of the program.”

The Lowell, the school’s student-run newspaper, has won multiple National Scholastic Press Association awards, including the Pacemaker award that “recognizes overall excellence” since Gustafson started teaching journalism at the school in 2017.

The story in question was published by The Lowell in 2024 and titled “Invasive and inappropriate: Lowell students share their experiences with verbal harassment and inappropriate behavior from teachers.” Highly controversial upon its release, the article voiced student frustration with the administration in their handling of harassment.

Gustafson noted that he supported students’ choice to pursue the challenging story, and ensured that they investigated the subject in a way following journalistic ethics.

“Every semester, at some point early on, we talk about their rights. … they do have a lot of press freedom. … but that freedom comes with a lot of responsibility,” he explained. “With the sexual harassment story. … it took a lot of me telling the students, ‘That’s not enough. You’ve got to have more sources.’ I made them have redundant sources for every one of those alleged perpetrators.”

In response to this story, the principal, Jan Bautista, summoned Gustafson and the three current student editors of the paper to ask for advanced review of The Lowell’s articles. The three students discussed the idea in private, and then declined to provide prior review.

Upon hearing their decision, the students were reprimanded and “felt intimidated” by administrators, according to both Gustafson and an official resolution filed with and approved by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.

In the resolution, supervisors encouraged “the San Francisco Unified School District to uphold its commitment to students’ right to free speech; and to commit to training administrators and educators to ensure that student journalism is being encouraged.”

This is in contrast to what had been Lowell’s administrative practice in the past. In a meeting in 2023, when another controversial article was published about illicit drug use on campus, the previous principal, Michael Jones, asked for advanced review of their articles, which was also declined.

Kelcie Lee was co-editor-in-chief at the 2023 meeting, and said that Jones “was really gracious about (our declining prior review) and just said, ‘Well, thanks for your consideration. …’ And that was it.”

In June 2025, still on track to be removed from his role as journalism advisor, Gustafson filed a writ of mandate to be reinstated.

Seven months later, in January 2026, San Francisco Superior Court Judge Christine Van Aken found Gustafson’s reassignment to be in violation of state law and ordered him to be reassigned to his journalism classes and advisory position at the Lowell newspaper.

“What I’m most happy about is that I think it really does clarify the rights that these students have,” Gustafson reflected.

“But the other big part of it is the students had shown so much courage. You know, them saying ‘no’ to these adults who ask them a yes or no question,” Gustafson said. “And then the way in which they defended me. … that buoyed my resolve.”

Former editor in chief at The Lowell and co-writer of the “Invasive and Inappropriate” article, Ramona Jacobson, stated, “My experience in student journalism at The Lowell was the most valuable part of my high school education, and I do not believe it would have been possible without the instruction, support and inspiration provided by (Mr. Gustafson) as my journalism advisor. I am glad that future generations of student journalists at Lowell will continue to benefit from his advising as I did.”

Because this decision was made by a Superior Court, its precedent is not binding to all California courts, though it can still potentially influence or guide other cases. One such case is at Mountain View High School, where a journalism advisor was allegedly removed from her position due to her handling of an article about sexual harassment at the school. The 2024 lawsuit has yet to go to court.

Editor’s note: Kelcie Lee, who was interviewed in this story, is a reporter for the Sunset Beacon.