Ethics

Another School Violates Equal Access Act

By Ed Brayton

I've written about this in more detail for the Michigan Messenger, but here's the Cliff's notes version: the ACLU of Michigan is threatening to sue Ann Arbor Pioneer high school because they are refusing to grant recognition to a student club formed to oppose the school's plan to put 53 surveillance cameras around the campus. The club is called Students Against Surveillance and the school principal is refusing to give them recognition as an official student club.

The school principal says he doesn't want "political clubs" at the school, but the school already recognizes such student groups as the Society for Stem Cell Research and the World Crises Awareness Club. The Equal Access Act is quite clear on this: if you allow any non-curricular clubs to form, you cannot refuse to treat them equally "on the basis of the religious, political, philosophical, or other content of the speech at such meetings."

Full post as published by Dispatches from the Culture Wars on March 27, 2008 (boomark / email).