Gay/Straight Alliances in Public Schools

Saturday, October 7, 2006

In 1984, the Federal Equal Access Act was passed by Congress with the intent to protect first amendment rights as they pertain to students in secondary schools. Ostensibly, the original motivation for the passage of this act came from conservative religious organizations that wanted to guarantee a student's right to the unimpeded formation of clubs that had decidedly religious content. Examples of said content included Bible study groups and prayer groups.

Briefly, the substance of the act states that any secondary school that receives federal financial aid (which would include most, if not all, public school systems) is acting unlawfully if it prevents the formation of groups, by students, "on the basis of religious, political, philosophical, or other content of the speech at such meetings". Additionally, the intent of the act specifically states that, so long as other groups are allowed to form, the school may not deny this right to other prospective groups that students may wish to form. There are a number of other provisions...supervision, the debarring of outsiders, ensuring that the group does not interfere with education of the students, for example. The act does, in no uncertain terms, maintain the existence a student's constitutional rights.

The citation for this act is 52 U.S.C. § 4071 and below is a link from the Cornell Law School website:

http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode20/usc_sec_20_00004071----000-.html

The reemergence of the focus on this act comes as a result of two recent rulings by school boards in the State of North Carolina. The first is in the Rowan County School System, the second in the Currituck County School System. The two high schools are, respectively, Salisbury High School and Currituck County High School. Students from both schools had wanted to start so called "clubs" that would address GLBT issues with respect to gay/straight alliances. The premise, in each case, was to form a group that would be open to both gay and straight students and that would emphasize education and cooperation.

In an AP article, Danielle Smiley, one of the students in Currituck County High School, has said that "it wouldn't be a gay club for recruiting homosexuals and promoting sexual activity, but instead would focus on raising awareness about homosexuality among all students." She goes on to say that "it would provide an opportunity for gay students to talk with their peers instead of their parents or adults". These quotes show Ms. Smiley to be an intelligent and thoughtful young lady.

According to the same AP article, "local pastors and parents have denounced the proposal. They've said the club could help spread AIDS, encourage children to engage in sex and persuade others to become homosexual". One could not imagine a more accurate portrayal of homophobia than this statement. It is an attempt to promulgate untruthful myths that have always separated the straight community form the GLBT coummunity. The fact that these students are desirous of establishing communication, of breaching gaps in understanding and of reaching out in an atmosphere of acceptance and tolerance, lends the air of ignorance and intolerance to the views of their parents and religious guides.

In the case of Salisbury High School, there was no debate nor honest consideration of this issue. The school board made a carte blanche decision, en banc (the vote was unanimous)and it was their expectation that this decision would go unchallenged. Executive director of the Raleigh ALCU office, Jennifer Rudinger, has stated "When a school allows extracurricular clubs, it's all or nothing. They can't discriminate ... They can't pick and choose." She cited the Federal Equal Access Act. Keith Jennings, who is the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network founder and Executive Director, asserted "It is disheartening and painfully obvious that the Rowan-Salisbury School Board does not have the best intentions of its schools and students at heart". My thanks to ©365Gay.com 2006 for the above quotes.

It is particularly interesting that the views of many religious leaders show their hypocrisy, now that the so called shoe is on the other foot. The grounds for their struggle regarding the passage of the Federal Equal Access Act are now modified, or blatantly denied. There can be no other interpretation given these new, and in their eyes, "unacceptable" groups, which want the same access to first amendment rights as those seeking to start a bible study or prayer group. These institutions receive federal funds. They are certainly subject to all of the provisions called for by the law. Their refusal to comply with federal regulations can be seen as nothing but illegal.

There is precedent, in other states, for overturning such school board decisions. One such case comes to us from Washington State. Prince v. Jacoby had been dismissed at a lower court level but the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals held that "the club should be given parity with other student associations and permitted access to school space and supplies." My thanks to religioustolerance.org for the above quote. Although the U.S. 9th Circuits holdings are not enforceable in our district, the 4th District, the above cited case may act as precedent with regard to persuasive authority. It seems likely that these North Carolina cases will be pursued. It also seems likely that the lower courts in this state will not hold for the plaintiffs. It will have to remain to be seen what happens at the NC appellate level or, conceivably, at the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Will these decisions be allowed to stand? Will the efforts of students who want to bridge the gap of ignorance be stymied? Perhaps more to the point, will school boards allow institutionalized hatred and homophobia to be the rule by which they make decisions regarding a student's rights? Of course, parents, civic leaders and persons of a religious bent must speak out against these inequities. School boards need to learn that they are bound by legality if they receive federal funding and all clear thinking and open minded members of the communities involved must fight for their children's right to the unfettered expression of free speech.


trickster108