Posted on 04/11/2006 1:17:20 PM PDT by Between the Lines
The Rowan-Salisbury School Board denied permission Monday night for the Gay-Straight Alliance to form a club at South Rowan High School.
The decision came in a meeting that drew more than 100 spectators at the board office in Salisbury. Television video taped at the meeting showed much of the crowd erupting into cheers after the board made its unanimous decision.
A large group of people held a rally outside the board offices Monday evening, voicing opposition to formation of the club.
According to its national Web site, the Gay-Straight Alliance serves to help members create a school environment in which all students and staff feel safe, regardless of their sexual orientation.
The issue had come before the school board at its March 27 meeting, and the board had decided to delay a decision and get more information about the club.
During the March 27 meeting, board member Jim Shuping told fellow members that he had received a number of complaints from parents about the club. Several board members also said they were concerned that the club could become a distraction at South Rowan High.
According to a recent publication by the National Education Association and several other organizations, the Equal Access Act of 1984 allows organizations such as the Gay-Straight Alliance the right to form and meet at schools -- provided school systems permit other clubs to do the same.
In a number of cases, including Kentucky and Utah, federal courts have supported the right of students to form clubs such as the Gay-Straight Alliance..
Several Charlotte-Mecklenburg high schools have similar clubs, which operate the same as other extracurricular clubs and organizations.
At last! Some good news.
Bad news for the S&M Club, the Bondage Club, the Bestiality Club and the Student Affiliation of Necrophiliacs.
Except the school district will be sued under the Equal Access Act, it'll lose, it'll owe large amounts in legal fees to the litigants, and the school will still have a gay/straight alliance. It looks like a lose/lose proposition.
I understand schools in San Francisco also rejected this club because of the "straight" part.
Not if we start demanding jury trials for this stuff as opposed to judges making these types of decisions.
You forgot the FFA...Future Fruitcakes of America!
No bias there.
Not actually BE safe, mind you, FEEL safe.
"the Bestiality Club "
Bah. There's always the 4-H club.
Too bad for the students.....they will wind up being hurt in the end....well, at least the ones who get trapped in the bathroom with one of these, "club members".
So you're saying you want someone to make a decision contrary to clearly established federal law? If so, that would be judicial activism & we need less of that, not more.
You beat me to it but you are exactly correct. If the schools are to give their approval to hosting groups based upon sexual preferences and behaviors, how can they ban the S&M Club or the Future Prostitutes of America?
NOt to worry, the ACLU will be arriving to push their interests in a day or two. /s...or perhaps no /s?
I want people in the community directly affected by these decisions to have the say in any lawsuit.
The Crepitating Booger-eating Bedwetters Club expressed their dismay as well, after school superintendant Chalmers stated, "You can pick your nose and we
encourage our students to pick their friends. But we draw the line at students picking their friends' noses. It's just too gross."
OK, that's stoopid. But I went to the troube of typing it.
That last club was pretty dead, anyway.
The plaintiff gets to demand the jury or bench trial.
Moot point...the plaintiff in a civil case demands jury or bench not the defendant (ie school board).
This precedent doesn't bode well for the Math Club/Cheer Leader Squad Alliance.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.