www.aclu.org/LesbianGayRights/LesbianGayRights.cfm?ID=12082&c=106
Legislative Documents 10 Additional Resources 11 Resources 12 Fact Sheets 13 Lesbian & Gay Rights : 14 Youth & Schools ACLU Warns Arkansas School to Stop Persecuting Gay Student 15 Printer-Friendly Version 16 Send this article to a friend! March 13, 2003 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE JACKSONVILLE, AR -- The American Civil Liberties Union is challenging officials at Jacksonville Junior High School over repeated punishment of a 14-year-old student for being openly gay. In a letter to school officials sent today, the ACLU demanded that the school stop violating the student's rights and remove all unconstitutional disciplinary actions taken against him from his record by March 21 or face legal action. In its letter, the ACLU said that school officials "outed" the gay student, Thomas McLaughlin, to his parents against his wishes and have since told him he must not discuss being gay while at school, forced him to read from the Bible and disciplined him for being open about his sexual orientation. And now the school has been trying to shove me back into it ever since," McLaughlin said. McLaughlin, who at that point had only come out to a handful of close friends at school, wasnt ready to tell his parents yet. To "out" a young person to his or her parents is more than a mere overstepping of boundaries -- it can have tragic consequences, such as when a Pennsylvania youth heard a similar threat from police officers in 1997 and committed suicide rather than face what he feared would be rejection from his family. In that case, a federal appeals court has held that threatening to disclose private information violated the teenagers constitutional right to privacy. Fortunately for McLaughlin, his parents were accepting and understanding, avoiding such tragedy. During the meeting, the principal concurred that she was opposed to McLaughlin talking at school about being gay. The principal and assistant principal also told McLaughlin that if he told any of his friends why he was suspended, they would recommend that he be expelled. The following is the text of the ACLU letter to school officials: March 13, 2003 By Facsimile and Federal Express Dr. Box 8601/925 East Dixon Road Little Rock, Arkansas 72216 (Fax- 501- 490-0483) Re: Thomas N. McLaughlin ("Thomas"), a 9^th grader at Jacksonville Junior High School, and his parents, Delia and Thomas W. We have been advised by our clients that Thomas, who is gay, is being prohibited by school officials from being open to his peers in school about his sexual orientation, and that he is being subjected to a range of unconstitutional conduct aimed at silencing him. Specifically, our clients have advised us: i) that Thomas has been prohibited by school administrators and teachers from discussing his sexual orientation with others and that he has been disciplined for doing so; These acts on the part of school administrators and teachers amount to violations of myriad constitutional rights, including Thomas rights to free speech, equal protection and privacy. And of course the establishment clause prohibits public school personnel from requiring students to read the Bible and listen to religious preaching during school time. Moreover, preaching religious views inconsistent with the religious values his parents seek to instill in him violates their right to parental autonomy protected by the 14^th Amendment. Pursuant to the school districts appeal procedures, we appeal to you all the restrictions on Thomas speech, the discriminatory discipline that he received, the unwanted religious preaching, and the unauthorized disclosure of facts that were private. Moreover, we demand that Thomas school record be expunged of all disciplinary records resulting from these unconstitutional acts. We further demand that this unconstitutional conduct cease immediately. We require assurances that the responsible officials will act to prevent any further violations and instruct all school personnel that such conduct will not be tolerated. Specifically, we demand your assurance that: i) students will not be prohibited from discussing their sexual orientation during non-instructional time; We request expedited consideration of the internal appeals. But rectifying the actions of the teachers and administrators involved in these constitutional violations cannot await the outcome of those appeals. If the school district has not assured us by March 21, 2003, that its teachers and administrators will cease violating students constitutional rights as detailed above, and that Thomas disciplinary records have been corrected, we will commence a court action seeking preliminary injunctive relief, and all other relief available to our clients. We are fully prepared to discuss this matter with you or your designee but need a prompt response. Sincerely, Leslie Cooper ACLU Foundation 125 Broad Street, 17^th Floor New York, NY 10004 Rita Sklar ACLU of Arkansas 904 West Second Street, Suite One Little Rock, AR 72201 cc: Board of Education, Pulaski County Schools Karl Brown, Assistant Superintendent for Equity and Pupil Services Principal Brenda Allen Assistant Principal Emanuel McGhee Assistant Principal Sharon Hawk Ms.
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