Schools

(NEW YORK, Tuesday, April 11, 2000) —The same Salt Lake City school district that gained notoriety by banning dozens of student clubs in order to block the formation of a gay-straight alliance (GSA) is under fire once again. In a lawsuit filed Monday, students charge the assistant superintendent with again violating the law and the district’s own policies in order to keep clubs with a gay perspective off school grounds.

(NEW YORK, March 22, 2000) — The unanimous United States Supreme Court ruling on Wednesday upholding funding systems commonly used by universities to support student activities protects free speech and the rights of all students at public universities, said Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, which represents gay and other student groups involved in the case.

(New York, December 9, 2004) - Concerned that gay youth are increasingly being denied their legal rights at school in the aftermath of last month's election, Lambda Legal said today that it is expanding its ongoing campaign on youth rights to communities where students have faced antigay hostility in recent weeks.

(SANTA ANA, CALIFORNIA, Friday, February 4, 2000) — U.S. District Court Judge David O. Carter issued a preliminary injunction today, ordering the Orange Unified School District to allow the Gay-Straight Alliance Club at El Modena High School to meet on school grounds while their case proceeds.

(SANTA ANA, CALIFORNIA., Thursday, February 3, 2000) — A federal court is set to decide Friday morning whether Orange Unified School District officials must permit students to meet on school property and have equal access to school facilities for the Gay-Straight Alliance Club at El Modena High School.

(Austin, January 13, 2005) ? Against the backdrop of a funding debate on public schools in Texas, Representatives Garnet Coleman (D-Houston), Jessica Farrar (D-Houston), and Rafael Anchia (D-Dallas) filed a bill on Wednesday that could reform Texas schools in another way. The Dignity for All Students Act, HB 376, would protect students in Texas public schools from discrimination based on such things as race, religion, and sexual orientation.

(Orange, CA, January 21, 2000) – To win equal treatment and recognition of their Gay-Straight Alliance club, students from El Modena High School will ask a federal judge for a preliminary injunction ordering Orange County school officials to allow the student group to meet and have equal access to school facilities as its lawsuit continues.

On Monday, January 24, attorneys for the students will argue the motion before United States District Judge David O. Carter. The students’ parents and attorneys will speak with reporters following the hearing.

(NEW YORK, December 28, 1999) —With the new year, momentum toward fairness and equality for lesbians, gay men, and people with HIV has never been greater, Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund said, pointing to major developments that include its unprecedented role before the United States Supreme Court.

(NEW YORK, December 2, 1999) – A federal judge has dismissed a student lawsuit against the Salt Lake City school board because school officials have produced a definitive policy guaranteeing the right to express pro-gay opinions, attorneys for the students said Thursday.

Lead counsel Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, the American Civil Liberties Union of Utah, and the National Center for Lesbian Rights, representing the students, were pleased by the judgment by United States Senior District Judge Bruce S. Jenkins.

(Orange, CA, November 24, 1999) -- Students who have formed a Gay-Straight Alliance Club at El Modena High School in Orange County and are being denied the right to meet are filing a lawsuit Wednesday against Orange Unified School District officials. The students, who see the club as a way to promote understanding and respect, say the school district's months-long delay in approving the club has effectively denied them the right to meet this semester.