Equal Access Act provides protection for all non-curricular clubs

Federal District Judge William C. Kelley ruled the club, called PRIDE or Peers Rising in Diversity Education, has the right to meet even though its activities are not tied to school classes or curriculum.

It all began in February 2005 when three high school students tried to form a Gay Straight Alliance (GSA). The school board initially approved the club but later administrators recommended eliminating all non-curriculum-related clubs.

Represented by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the three students filed suit against the district claiming it violated the federal Equal Access Act, which says if any non-curriculum-related clubs are allowed to form on campus, then all other student-initiated, non-curriculum clubs, including GSAs, merit the same status.

The judge’s definition of non-curriculum-related clubs and the school system’s definition was different, said Shaw.

Beth Littrell, the ACLU attorney who argued the case, called this a significant ruling because it permanently upholds the students’ right to meet under the Equal Access Act and the U.S. Constitution.

“Time and time again, judges have ruled that students have the right to meet on campus whether they are a GSA, Bible Club, or Science Club. Some schools are wasting time and money by making unsound decisions based on prejudices. Equal Access means equal access,” said Kevin Jennings, a former teacher who founded the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) 11 years ago. 

The first GSA was formed by a straight student in 1988 at an independent school in Concord, Mass., where Jennings was teaching. Today, there are more than 3,000 GSAs registered with GLSEN across the county.

“This obviously is a very sensitive matter for a lot of people,” says GLSEN spokesperson Daryl Presgraves. “GSAs have nothing to do with sexual relations; rather they allow people who often are bullied and harassed a safe space to talk about respect and tolerance. Many straight students start and participate in GSAs.”

The network says its mission is “to assure that each member of every school community is valued and respected regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity/expression.”

According to a 2005 National School Climate Survey conducted by GLSEN and Harris Interactive, more than four out of five of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) students experience verbal, physical, and sexual harassment frequently or often in their schools.

Sixty-five percent of America’s students reported experiencing bullying with the most common reason being students’ physical appearance and their real or perceived sexual orientation.

The same study found that inclusive anti-bullying and harassment policies, a supportive faculty, and GSA clubs result in safer schools, better school performance, and higher student aspirations.

The Los Altos (Calif.) High School has had a GSA for seven years, and Ruth Gibbs, the adviser for the club, said all of that is true at her 1,700-student school, where 20 students are in the club.

“Students are far more tolerant of each other now. They feel safe now, and they speak up more. Even kids who aren’t in the club, will speak up” against prejudice and homophobia, she said. “The students believe in who they are, they accept who they are, and they perform better in school.”

On May, 5, Georgia Gov. Sonny Purdue passed a law requiring public schools to inform parents about what extracurricular clubs are available. The law says if parents want to decline permission for their child to join any club, they can opt out and file it with school officials.

The law also says clubs started during the school year “shall require written permission from a parent or guardian prior to a student’s participation.” This is what GSA proponents are calling a “veiled attempt” to keep GSAs out of public schools.

Boyd County Public Schools in Ashland, Ky., has been embroiled off an on for more than four years in legal struggles involving gay and straight students and their supporters who wanted to form a GSA, and students, parents, and others who opposed the club.

Because the district is currently in litigation, officials there could not comment, but its attorney, Winter Huff, said the community has become very polarized and distracted by the issue.

Basically, the district was sued by a now defunct gay-rights club. Part of the district’s settlement was to conduct anti-harassment training.

Now the district is in litigation with a student and several parents who are claiming that the district’s anti-harassment polices and training violate the student’s right to his religious beliefs because it prohibits the student from telling people it is wrong to engage in homosexuality.

“It’s become a matter of the tail wagging the dog,” said Winters. “The district is eager to return its focus to academics.”

In advising district officials, NSBA staff attorney Tom Hutton said: “You just have to make the decision whether to have non-curriculum-related clubs or not. If you do, equal access for the Gay Straight Alliance applies. If you’re not, that means you’ve got to be able to argue very persuasively that the clubs you are still allowing are directly related to courses offered in the curriculum because courts tend to be skeptical of this argument.”

NSBA and a number of other education organizations have produced Dealing with Legal Matters Surrounding Students’ Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.