Constitutional Law

Court Issues Preliminary Injunction Forcing Fla. High School To Recognize Gay Rights Club

A federal judge has ordered a Florida high school to officially recognize a student Gay rights club and treat it like other student organized groups. U.S. District Judge Henry Adams issued the order, a preliminary injunction, in a case involving a legal challenge to a decision by Yule High School officials to ban a Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) student group from meeting on school grounds.

Frank Sheppard, the Nassau County school district's attorney, defended the officials' refusal to recognize the group, saying its name violated school policy and that the group would likely prove disruptive. Represented by the ACLU of Florida, Yulee High School students Hannah Page and Jacob Brock argued that the school districted had violated their First Amendment rights. The GSA, the students noted, is intended to combat antigay harassment and discrimination.

Judge Adams concluded that the school district's policy was 'not well founded' and that the students had 'established a substantial likelihood of success on the merits.' Moreover, Adams said that the school districts' 'argument that allowing the Alliance [GSA] to meet may cause ‘harassment and safety problems' and that it is ‘at risk of incurring the costs of damages associated with litigation arising out of the additional harm and injury to the students …' is not well taken.

'Indeed, the stated goal of the Alliance is to prevent the harassment of gay students,' Adams continued. 'It strains logic to assert that granting recognition to an anti-harassment group will expose' the school officials to liability.

School officials must abide by the injunction within 72 hours, and it will allow the GSA to meet on campus until the case goes to trial, which could take two years, the Associated Press reported.

Robert Rosenwald, ACLU of Florida LGBT Advocacy Project director and lead counsel for the students, lauded the court's order, saying, 'Time and Time again, we've seen discrimination and intolerance struck down by the courts in these cases, and for every school that wishes to cross the line, we'll be here to defend the students.'  

Full post as published by ACS Blog on March 12, 2009 (boomark / email).