The more things change, the more they stay the same...

In the ninth year of a competition designed to identify and recognize high schools that actively support and protect First Amendment rights of their students and teachers, the honor continues to focus heavily on press freedoms.

Schools recognized at the 2010 Spring National High School Journalism Convention in Anaheim will be cited as First Amendment Press Freedom Schools with an award co-sponsored by Columbia Scholastic Press Association, Journalism Education Association, National Scholastic Press Association and the Quill and Scroll society.

While we continue to honor and recognize those who support and practice all 45 words of the First Amendment, we return to our roots and our strengths with this version of the award.

As in previous years, high schools will compete for the title by first answering questionnaires directed to an administrator or an adviser and at least one editor; those who advance to the next level will be asked to provide responses from the principal and all publications advisers and student editors.

In addition, they will submit samples of the publications and their printed policies.

While the deadlines in recent years have allowed for summer judging and fall recognition, the application deadlines have been shifted to avoid issues involving spring and summer school schedules, and to allow for recognition of the schools at the spring convention each year.

We welcome you to the revised First Amendment Press Freedom Award for 2010 and hope you will download the first round of questions available from this site and return them to us by Dec. 1, 2009. Waiting to submit your Round 1 responses until that time enables you to have a full year of activities on which to base your answers.