
GAY-STRAIGHT ALLIANCES
(GSAs) IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Attempts to organize GSAs

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Quotation:
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"Regardless of a child's ethnic, socioeconomic, religious,
sexual orientation, or physical status, all children have a right to
safety. When victimization through bullying, verbal abuse, and physical
violence is prevalent in a school, the entire school community
experiences the consequences. " Center for Disease Control and
Prevention. 1 |

Topics covered in this essay:
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Organizing GSAs in:
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Note:
The sections below discuss school districts that have opposed the
formation of gay-straight alliances. It is important to realize that these
are the exceptions.
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Year 2000: Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund reported
on 2000-OCT-6 that "more than 700 student-organized GSA's" had
been organized in the U.S. |
 |
Year 2003: The Houston Chronicle has reported on
2003-JAN-22 that "some 1,700 high schools nationwide have GSAs."
2 |
The vast majority have been organized without serious
opposition from the local school board. In fact, the pioneering cases
described below have firmly established the right of students in most
districts to organize GSAs. However, the right is not granted
automatically. Many student clubs have to go through many hurdles before
they obtain permission to organize. According to the ACLU, a common
technique of school boards is to delay decisions until the end of the
school year in the hopes that the problem will simply go away. 2 Few school boards will want to experience the
disruption and expense that has happened as a result of court battles in the locations
described below. Klein, TX is an apparent exception.
There is speculation that the Klein Independent School District has
refused to authorize a GSA in its high school because they want to be
forced by a court order to give permission. This way, they could explain
to irate taxpayers that they had no choice but to comply with the law.
2 
Salt Lake City, Utah:
According to AANEWS: In 1995, students at East High School in Salt Lake City, Utah petitioned to form
a Gay-Straight Alliance club. The state legislature, dominated by
the Mormon Church, responded the following year by passing a law banning any
school clubs that supposedly encourage criminal or delinquent conduct, bigotry,
or sexual activity. Similar standards were incorporated in a 1997 set of
guidelines adopted by the Utah State Board of Education. High school officials in Salt Lake City went even further. Rather than
permit the Gay-Straight Alliance group to meet as a sanctioned
organization, the school board ordered all 46 non-curriculum clubs to disband. This
was their only other financially-viable option under the Equal Access
law.
Victims of the ban included the Students Against Drunk Driving, Young
Republicans and Young Democrats, and even a Bart Simpson fan club. When asked about the selective bias against the gay club and in favor of
Bible study groups, Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) said that when the
Equal
Access Act was approved, it wasn't for "those sorts of groups." 3 In the resulting lawsuit, 4 U.S. District Judge Bruce S.
Jenkins ruled that the board violated the Equal Access Act. However,
because the board announced that their policy and a new state-wide regulation
prohibited discrimination based on sexual orientation and censorship of
gay-positive viewpoints, he ruled that the violation was not ongoing and that
the First Amendment was not violated. The students appealed. Since the board's new policy did not applied to non-curricular clubs
like the GSA, the students decided to apply for approval of a
school-sponsored curricular club. Called PRISM, it would discuss
curricular subjects in terms of the experiences and contributions of
lesbians and gay men. As expected, the board denied PRISM's application.
This resulted in a second federal lawsuit, 5 and an
injunction which required that the board allow the PRISM club to meet. The
District filed its own appeal against the injunction. In 2000-SEP-5, the Salt Lake City School Board reversed its
decision and decided to allow all student clubs, including the GSAs, to meet
at their schools. Stephen Clark of the ACLU's Utah branch said: "We applaud the school
board for putting students first again and recognizing that banning these
clubs has harmed all students. Now everyone wins - all the student
clubs are back, the gay-supportive clubs are free to express themselves and
help make a safer school environment, and education is back in the front
seat." The principals settled the two lawsuits, and withdrew the
appeals. 6 In its press release on this case, the Lambda Legal Defense and
Education Fund (Lambda) stated, somewhat optimistically, that: "...the
last remaining court battles over groups like GSA's have ended on the
national scene." Lambda Staff Attorney David S. Buckel said: "The trend in schools is
to recognize that gay-supportive student groups promote better and safer
schools. The lesson from Salt Lake City is in big block letters on the chalk
board: do not harm your students to block a gay-supportive club and do not
spend hundreds of thousands in education dollars defending that harm. Do the
right thing from the beginning." 6 We suspect that during the five years when all extra-curricular clubs
were banned in the school district, that animosity against gays and lesbians
-- and perhaps even gay bashing -- probably increased at the schools. School
board, municipal government, and legislatures act as a type of moral guide
to the public. When one of them announces that their policy is to
discriminate against lesbians and gays, hatred and violence against sexual
minorities will probably increase. 
Anchorage, Alaska:
The Gay/Straight Alliance, was formed on 1996-NOV-13 at the Dimond
High School, in Anchorage, AL. It is a support group for gays, lesbians and
their straight friends. Controversy immediately broke out at the school. A
varsity hockey player was caught tearing down a club poster. His playing rights
were suspended for one game. Controversy spread to the community, largely as a
result of an "outpouring of vitriol"
by local radio talk show hosts. Finally, debate surfaced at the next school
board meeting. Member Kathi Gillespie asked the board to review the types of
clubs that are allowed in the high schools. Another board member, David
Werdal, wondered if the club could be banned under a school board policy that
prohibits clubs that distract students from learning.Twenty one people, all adults,
signed up to make presentations at the meeting. Only a few were allowed to speak
in the time allotted. As expected, speeches ranged from full support to outright
condemnation. A parent, Gary Horton, said "This particular club could stir things up to the detriment of the
entire community...This is displeasing to God. Listen with your hearts
to a real sensitive issue." A board member of Parents, Families and
Friends of Lesbians And Gays, Fred Hillman, recommended that a 3 year old
Massachusetts state education policy be adopted: "They're making schools safe for
gay and lesbian students...Massachusetts is a pioneer in this area. Alaska,
a state of pioneers, should be leading this issue."
The Anchorage Daily News came out in support of the club: "Take all
those adolescent pressures and apply them to a teenager who's having some
doubts whether he or she conforms to our culture's heterosexual ideal, and
you have the recipe for real psychological torment. It's no wonder gay teens
generally are considered to be a high risk for suicide...The federal 'Equal Access' law was passed to accommodate conservative religious groups that
wanted to host Bible club meetings on school property. Those Bible clubs have
a legitimate place in the extra-curricular school scene - and so do those who
want to promote understanding and tolerance for gay people. The Dimond High
Gay/Straight Alliance should be left to do it's work in peace."
Steve Williams, an Anchorage resident, wrote a letter to the editor which was
titled "HATRED JUSTIFIES GAY CLUB". He writes in part: "The venom
that has been spewing forth on local radio stations concerning students who
wish to be associated with the Gay/Straight Alliance at Dimond High
School is positive proof of the absolute need of just such a club."
He expressed concern that some adults want to limit students' rights of free
assembly. He referred to a recent finding that 30% of teen suicides are by gays
and lesbians. Williams wrote "This is fully indicative as to why this club should
not only be allowed, but encouraged. The school district should take a
pro-active role in helping the group to hang in there and stand strong
against this incredible meanness."
On 1997-FEB-10, the school board held a meeting at which the public could give
input. The topic was "should all clubs be allowed, or just
academic clubs? And if all clubs are OK, should students be required to get
permission from their parents to join them?" As expected, the only
club that received attention from the public was the Gay/Straight
Alliance. Frank Murphy, a youth pastor at a local church said: "Keep the
non-academic clubs open, but shut the Dimond club down." Alice
Lawrence, the head of a local charity, said "I'm appalled at what
the devil is trying to bring into the school system." Elliott Dennis
and Norman Schlitter, co-chairman of Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays and
Bisexuals said that support groups like the one under discussion are
important for young teens, and that they shouldn't have to get parental
permission to join. Dennis said: "If you pass this [resolution], some of those [gay]
students will continue to lead a lonely life."
The Anchorage School Board voted to continue allowing non-curriculum clubs,
including the Dimond High Gay/Straight Alliance. However, students will
have to have parental
permission slips signed before they can join. These forms must include the club's
statement of purpose. 7 [Author's note: It
seems obvious that the students who are most in need of the support from a
gay/lesbian group are those who come from homophobic families. These are the
ones who would be least likely to get permission from their parents to attend.]

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Orange County, California:
The El Modena High School in Orange County, CA has at least 38
student-led groups which enjoy full privileges. They include the "Asian Club, Black Student
Union, Christian Club, Earth Club, Eighties Club, Equestrian Club, Gentlemen's
Club, Girls' League and Juggling Club." 8 They are
allowed to meet in rooms on campus, to use the school's bulletin boards, to
appear in the Yearbook, and to be present in the annual club recruitment night. The student-led Gay-Straight Alliance had unsuccessfully tried to get
permission to hold meetings on campus since the beginning of the school term in
1999-SEP. The school officials continually stonewalled the students' requests. On NOV-18, Kendra Huard of the People For the American
Way addressed the board, asking that the club be authorized immediately.
"We also call on the board to begin healing the wounds they have created
in the community by their handling of this matter. Heal the wounds by explaining
to the community that every student in this school district has the right to be
treated with respect and dignity. Heal the wounds by explaining that every high
school non-curricular club has the legal right to meet, whatever some members of
the community may think about a particular club. And heal the wounds by setting
an example of tolerance and mutual respect for others to follow." 9 On 1999-NOV-29, members of the club filed a lawsuit "Anthony Colin, et al. v. Orange Unified School District, et. al, case no. SA
CV 99-1461" in the United States District Court for the Central
District of California, Southern Division. 10 They asked the judge for a preliminary injunction which would require the Orange Unified School District
to allow the group to meet.
The students are being represented by attorneys with People For the American
Way Foundation, Lambda
Legal Defense and Education Fund, and Irell & Manella, LLP, a California law firm
with offices in Los Angeles and Orange County. Myron Dean Quon, staff attorney for Lambda's Western Regional Office in Los
Angeles commented: "It is unfortunate that it is going to take a court order to get the
school board to stop playing politics with their students' rights. But,
apparently, these school officials need to learn the lesson that they are not
above the law." Carole Shields,
president of People For the American Way Foundation said: "The students have been denied their First Amendment and other legal
rights throughout the fall semester. That time can't be recovered. We are
asking the court to act now so that no more time is lost and the students'
rights aren't denied for an entire school year." On DEC-7, the school board voted 7 to 0 to deny the Alliance recognition as a
student club. 11 The school board violated their own policy
which states: "The board shall not discriminate or deny access to
any student initiated group on the basis of religious, political, philosophical
or any other content to be addressed at such meetings." U.S. District Court Judge David O Carter issued the injunction in 2000-FEB.
He wrote:
"Plaintiffs have been injured not only by the board's excessive delay
but also by the inability to effectively address the hardships they encounter at
school every day.'' 12 The attorneys for the school
district have asked that the injunction be stayed so that it can be appealed to the state Supreme Court. Judy Anderson, mother of plaintiff Heather
Zetin, said: "It's about who these kids are. It's about who they love.
It's not about sex.''
The first meeting of the Alliance was scheduled for 2000-FEB-9. In the
meantime, an unknown person or persons stuffed fliers into the lockers of some
students. They showed two nearly-nude men embracing. A caption read "Come
on El Mo, Don't be shy! Your either gay or you're bi!" Officials
believe that the perpetrator is not an El Modena high school student.
On FEB-11, the school board cancelled all non-curricular club clubs at
elementary and middle schools. According to AANEWS, "Ironically, thanks
to a federal judge's preliminary injunction on behalf of the Gay-Straight
Alliance, that group is meeting while other clubs are technically in violation
of school board regulations." 13

The East Baton Rouge Parish School Board has a policy to
encourage high school students to participate in clubs. But "such
organizations must be sponsored or approved by appropriate personnel at
each individual school." In 1999-SEP, Martin Pfeiffer of the Gay
Straight Alliance applied for recognition and the right to meet in
high school campuses. In a clear violation of the Equal Access Act,
his request was turned down. On 2000-FEB-10, the school board met:
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They voted on a new policy which would have given all clubs,
including the Gay Straight Alliance the right to meet. The vote
was 6 to 4 in favor, but 7 affirmative votes were required for
approval. |
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They voted on a motion to ban all extracurricular clubs, including
service and religious groups. This would be the only constitutional
method to prevent the Alliance from meeting. It was also turned
down. |
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They voted on a motion to delay any action. The petitioner wanted to
investigate the possibility that the Alliance could be prohibited on
the basis of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that limits free speech in
high schools if it would "encourage imminent lawless action."
|
Several students testified:
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McKinley High senior Leslie Spillman said: "As a student in
the school system ... I have been called dyke by cowards in the
hallway, pushed into lockers, spit on, you name it...That is harmful
to me. |
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Alysia Chambers said: "I would rather have no noncurricular
clubs and go with God than have all clubs and go against my God," |
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"Several other students cried when they held up copies of
the Bible and said that God says homosexuality is wrong. They argued
such clubs shouldn't be allowed at schools at any cost." |
Vice President Jackie Mims later said that she believed that a school
could turn down the Alliance by stating that it might incite a crime
against nature. State law criminalizes "the unnatural carnal
copulation by a human being with another of the same sex or opposite sex
or with an animal." The law had been declared unconstitutional as it
pertains to consenting adults who are not engaged in prostitution. But the
legality is unclear with reference to high school students. 14 
IN 2002-OCT, Marla Dukler, a student at Klein High School, applied for
permission to found a Gay-Straight Alliance at her school. Klein is
located just north of Houston, TX. It would have been about the 1,700th
GSA in the U.S. . In her application, she stated that the purpose of the
group was: "to work toward ending anti-gay bias and homophobia in our
school and to make our campus a welcoming, supportive, and safe
environment for all students regardless of sexual orientation and gender
identity." Her request should have been routinely approved, because
the school has dozens of non-curricular student groups including clubs
for: "bass fishers, bowlers, chess players, Christian athletes, and
water skiers." Under the federal Equal Access law, the school
is required to either approve the GSA or to shut down all student clubs.
Dukler's request went unanswered. Three months later, Marla's father,
Malcolm Dukler, spoke before the school board, but it also refused to
authorize the alliance. Malcolm Dukler speculates that the board is
waiting until it is ordered by the court to authorize the club so that
they will be able to explain to irate taxpayers that it had no choice but
to comply. With the help of the ACLU, Marla is suing the Klein
Independent School District, Superintendent Jim Surratt and Principal
Pat Huff, This is the first such lawsuit in Texas. Four other GSAs have
been organized in the Houston TX area without lawsuits. The complaint
states that the board's decision: "violates the First Amendment to the
United States Constitution and the Equal Access Act because their
prohibition of the club is based on the content and the viewpoint of the
speech of the clubs and its members." David George, president of the
Houston chapter of the ACLU's said: "This law is crystal clear -- you
have to allow the club. These are not clubs where illegal activity is
going on, where anyone is engaging in any disruptive behavior. It is just
students talking about issues." An interesting aspect to this case is
that although no illegal activity would occur at the club meetings, there
might well be advocacy in favor of illegal activity. Gay and lesbian
sexual behavior is illegal in Texas. The law's constitutionality is
currently being challenged in the U.S. Supreme Court. Dave Feldman,
attorney for Klein ISD, complained that the ACLU's action in filing a
lawsuit is premature because the school district has not yet made a
decision about the GSA and because there was no attempt to resolve the
issue out of court. Ken Choe, staff attorney for the ACLU's National
Lesbian and Gay Rights Project said: "We want to send a
strong message to schools and school districts across the country that
lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth do have rights under
federal law and those rights should be respected. The Constitution does
not allow the school to pick and choose the kinds of speech that students
can engage in. We find that the most common way schools try to defeat the
attempts of students like Marla Dukler is just drag it out and eventually
the school year will end." Meanwhile, students at two nearby
Cypress-Fairbanks ISD high schools (Cypress Falls High School, and
Jersey Village High School) are also asking for permission
to start alliances . 2 
Boyd County, Kentucky:The teacher-parent council at Boyd County High School had made two
requests to the school board to allow the formation of a local GSA. Both were
refused. During 2002-OCT, they voted 3-2 in favor of making a third request. By
this time, the council had received a letter from the American Civil
Liberties Union which explained that they had violated the Equal Access
Act, which requires all extracurricular clubs to be treated alike. The
Boyd County School Board changed its position, and allowed the GSA to meet.
Scott Lively, president of Abiding Faith Ministries and an attorney
from the Fundamentalist Christian Pro-Family Law Center said that adults
in the county would prefer to have no clubs at all on campus rather to allow a
gay-straight alliance to meet. In early 2002-NOV, more than 400 of the 990
students in Boyd Country stayed away from school as a protest the board's
decision. On 2002-NOV-10, more than 2,000 people rallied to oppose the GSA in a
church parking lot. The demonstration was organized by Rev. Tim York, pastor at
the Heritage Temple Free Will Baptist Church in Cannonsburg KY, and
president of the Boyd County Ministerial Association (BCMA). People
signed petitions and donated money in support. York said "we are concerned
about homosexuality being promoted in school time as a normal lifestyle."
According to the homosexual-positive Gay and Lesbian Political Action and
Support Groups, "Members of the alliance did not attend the rally. Some
have said they have been spat on, subjected to slurs, and threatened with
violence. 'Homosexual kids always have it toughest. They're the ones who are
ostracized for being different,' said Tim Dail, 20, a Boyd County High graduate
who attended the rally even though he opposed its message." Addressing the
gathering, Scott Lively suggested that a conspiracy of pro-gay groups were
promoting the GSA, but had miscalculated by coming to Boyd County. He said: "Normally
you see these clubs only going in where the homosexuals already have significant
political power and where the population has already been indoctrinated with
their propaganda." According to PlanetOut.com, the GSA was not organized by
a conspiracy of adult gay groups; it was formed by about 30 gay and straight
students. Students Douglas Duncil and Bretnie Hall said they are considering a
transfer to another school because of the alliance's existence. Duncil said: "It's
very unfair...The homosexuals, or whatever you want to call them, seem to get
more rights throughout our school." The GSA released a statement saying:
"We understand that some students may not agree with our viewpoints. We ask that
they simply respect our right to meet. We ask for tolerance if acceptance is not
part of other's belief systems." Matt Coles, spokesperson for the ACLU's
Lesbian and Gay Rights Project, said: "If Boyd County High School needed any
more proof that its students need a safe space to be themselves and talk about
sexual orientation issues, the hostility and fear behind these actions has made
it abundantly clear." Eliza Byard, deputy executive director of The Gay, Lesbian and Straight
Education Network (GLSEN) has begun "seeing focused efforts by right-wing
groups to scare school districts away from providing support to GLBT students in
their community...We hope they will try and learn more about why this GSA was
necessary, and understand that some of their fellow classmates need the kind of
support that a GSA can provide." As a temporary expedient, the Board has banned all extra-curricular clubs on
campus. Teresa Cornette, a member of the school board, said that the clubs had
become a barrier to student learning. She explained: "[We are] temporarily
putting on hold all clubs until they can come up with a definition, a mission,
and a goal, and show how it's aligned to the curriculum. I don't think we had
any other choice but to do that... I would hope that we can reinstate all
of our curriculum clubs and that all the other clubs -- for instance the GSA,
the Bible Club, the Pep Club, whatever -- they could have their club. I'm hoping
that it's outside of our school district [and] they can meet somewhere else and
have their clubs, because these things are important." Scott Lively has recommended a novel approach by which the school board might
reinstate the clubs while legally banning the GSA. He suggested that the school
adopt a pro-civility curriculum that discourages bullying and harassment, but
which teaches that homosexual behavior is wrong. That way, the GSA would lose
its non-curricular status. It would become a curricular club and lose its
protection under the Equal Access Act. Lively said: "Our strategy of
going forward with this curriculum [is] a novel legal strategy that potentially
would be challenged by the left. I believe it would prevail in court and set a
model for the whole nation to follow, but nevertheless this school board is
trying to protect its budget." Meanwhile, a church across the street from
the high school has offered to host the school's Bible Club. 15 to 19 
-
"School Health Guidelines to Prevent Unintentional Injuries and
Violence," Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2001-DEC-7,
at:
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/
-
Lucas Wall, "ACLU sues Klein school on behalf of lesbian student,"
Houston Chronicle, 2003-JAN-22, at:
http://www.chron.com/cs/
-
"Gay club in California focuses debate on Bible groups,
Equal Access Act," AANEWS, 2000-FEB-13
- East High Gay/Straight Alliance v. Board of Education, No. 2:98CV193J
- East High PRISM Club v. Seidel, No. 2:00-CV-0311K
-
Lambda news release, 2000-OCT-6, at:
http://www.youth.org/loco/
- News reports from the Anchorage Daily News, on 1996-NOV-26, 27 & 29;
and 1997-FEB-11
- News release from the People for the American Way (PFAW), 1999-DEC-29
-
"Statement in Support of Gay-Straight Alliance at El Modena High
School," 1999-NOV-18, at:
http://www.pfaw.org/news/press
-
The legal complaint of 1999-NOV-19 is at: http://www.pfaw.org/courts/orangecountybrief-991124.pdf
This is an Acrobat PDF file. You can obtain a free software to read
these files from Adobe.
-
"School Board Votes Against Student Gay-Straight Club at El Modena
High," 1999-DEC-8, 1999 at:
http://www.pfaw.org/news/press//show.cgi?article=944680196
-
"Gay-Straight Alliance Students Sue Orange County High
School,"1999-NOV-24 at:
http://www.pfaw.org/news/press//show.cgi?article=943483300
-
"Gay club in California focuses debate on Bible groups,
Equal Access Act," AANEWS, 2000-FEB-13
-
Articles in the Baton Rouge Advocate at:
http://www.theadvocate.com/
and
http://www.theadvocate.com/
-
David Alexander, "Kentucky GSA Protested Again (KY)," The Gay,
Lesbian and Straight Education Network, 2002-NOV-11, at:
http://www.glsen.org/templates/news/record.html?section=12&record=1459
-
Jim Brown, "Opposition Strong to Pro-Homosexual Club at Kentucky
School: Christian Attorney: Opportunity for Pro-Family Activism to Make a
Difference," Agape Press, 2002-NOV-12, at:
http://headlines.agapepress.org/
-
"Kentucky GSA protested," Gay and Lesbian Political Action and
Support Groups, 2002-NOV-12, at:
http://www.gaypasg.org/
-
Jim Brown, "No Student Clubs, No Lawsuits ... No Problem,"
Agape Press, 2003-JAN-14, at:
http://headlines.agapepress.org/
-
Jim Brown and Allie Martin, "ACLU, Kentucky District Square Off on
Issue of GSA Clubs in Schools," American Family Association,
2003-JAN-29, at:
http://headlines.agapepress.org/

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Copyright © 2000 to 2003 incl., by Ontario Consultants on
Religious Tolerance
Originally written: 2000-FEB-10
Latest update: 2003-APR-2
Author: B.A. Robinson
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