Indiana LGBTQ school group scores injunction to promote activities
An LGBTQ school group at an Indiana high school has won a court injunction that will allow them to conduct school activities, including raising money and promoting meetings.
The student-led Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) at Pendleton Heights High School won the court decision with the help of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).
District Judge James Sweeney II ruled in their favor after the ACLU argued on the group’s behalf last September that their free speech rights were being violated, among other laws.
LGBTQ school group seeks protection
The group had filed the lawsuit against the school and and the South Madison Community Schools District after Principal Connie Rickert had barred them from advertising in school boards and school radio.
Ken Falk, ACLU of Indiana legal director, said the school had been “creating additional hurdles” for
the GSA group and thus, “infringing on these students’ rights.”
The school had argued that these areas are limited to group activities that are “directly related to the curriculum of the school.”
Lawyers for the South Madison Community School Corp. had argued that GSA is “asking for special access.”
However, Sweeney said that the GSA should be given the same benefits as other school clubs and that they are “likely to suffer irreparable harm” without the injunction.
ACLU defends LGBTQ groups from schools
In an emailed statement, ACLU Indiana noted that this isn’t the first time they’ve taken on a public school for treating a GSA group different than other student-led organizations.
However, they said that “we hope that public schools throughout the state will take notice and forgo future challenges by providing equal treatment to all student groups.”
Kit Malone, advocacy strategist at ACLU of Indiana, said the GSA group at Pendleton Heights High School “must be treated in the same manner that all other student groups are treated.”
The ACLU said the differential treatment of the high school violates the Equal Access Act, the First Amendment, and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
School district targets LGBTQ students
The South Madison Community Schools District has declined comment in the wake of the court decision.
Previously, district officials had ordered faculty members at Pendleton Heights High School to remove Rainbow Pride flags from classrooms because they were “political paraphernalia.”
Rickert had said the reason for the removal of these flags was that, “Teachers are legally obligated to maintain viewpoint neutrality during their official duties,” so as to ensure students can focus on learning.
The Pendleton high school principal also has the authority to determine what student groups are allowed to meet at school, and what activities are considered as official.
Rickert had allowed the GSA group to meet, but had banned the group’s announcements and notifications in school