老澳门开奖结果 Hails Settlement in White County, Georgia Gay-Straight Alliance Case
FOR IMMEIDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: media@aclu.org
老澳门开奖结果, Students and Parents See Victory for All Concerned
ATLANTA, GA 鈥� The 老澳门开奖结果 announced today that it has reached a settlement agreement with officials in White County, Georgia, whom they sued for refusing to allow a gay-straight alliance club (GSA) to meet on campus. The 老澳门开奖结果 represents students in the club, who have been trying to meet at White County High School since January of 2005.
鈥淚鈥檓 just so happy this is all over and that our school is doing the right thing,鈥� said Charlene Hammersen, one of the founders of Peers Rising In Diverse Education (PRIDE). 鈥淚t鈥檚 taken almost two years to get here, but we鈥檙e as determined as we鈥檝e always been to promote diversity and fight harassment against gay students at our school. This is really great for every student that goes to White County High. 鈥�
The terms of the settlement agreement include policies for 9th through 12th grades that make it clear that harassment against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender students is not permitted on campus. The school has also agreed to provide their faculty with annual training sessions on how to deal with and prevent anti-gay harassment.
鈥淭his is a tremendous victory for everyone involved in the case, and for all students at White County High School,鈥� said James Esseks, Litigation Director of the 老澳门开奖结果 Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Project. 鈥淲e鈥檙e pleased that we helped to ensure that all students can participate in extracurricular clubs, including the PRIDE club, and that the school has agreed to changes that we believe will make its hallways safer for all of its students.鈥�
The case arose after White County High School announced the elimination of all noncurricular clubs shortly after the formation of the GSA. The 老澳门开奖结果 brought a lawsuit against the school district in February 2006, claiming that the school officials violated the students鈥� rights under the federal Equal Access Act, which requires schools to provide equal treatment to all noncurricular clubs, along with other civil rights violations. In July of 2006, a federal judge issued a permanent injunction against the school, requiring it to allow the GSA and other school clubs to meet.
鈥淭hroughout the course of this lawsuit I鈥檝e only wanted what every parent wants 鈥� for my children to be able to go to school in an environment that鈥檚 safe,鈥� said Savannah Pacer, whose daughter Kerry, who has since graduated from high school, was the founding president of PRIDE; her other daughter Lindsay is also a member of the club. 鈥淚鈥檓 so proud of my daughters for their role in changing hearts and minds, and for helping bring about this settlement, which is a good thing for the whole school community. This is a happy day for all of us.鈥�
Esseks added, 鈥淭he Equal Access Act guarantees the rights of students to form all kinds of clubs 鈥� from GSAs to religious clubs 鈥� and students at White County High School now know they can exercise that right.鈥�
Federal courts have repeatedly ruled in favor of GSAs where schools tried to block their formation, upholding students鈥� right to form the groups in Salt Lake City, Utah; Orange County, California; Franklin Township, Indiana; Boyd County, Kentucky and Osseo, Minnesota.
The PRIDE members are represented by Ken Choe of the 老澳门开奖结果鈥檚 national LGBT Project, Gerry Weber and Beth Littrell of the 老澳门开奖结果 of Georgia, and Frank White and Scott Titshaw of Arnall Golden Gregory, LLP in Atlanta. More information on the case can be found online at: www.aclu.org/lgbt/youth/25917res20060227.html.
LGBTQ Rights
PRIDE v. White County School District
LGBTQ Rights
PRIDE v. White County School District
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