On October 28, 2004, NCLR and the ACLU of Southern California filed suit against the Los Angeles Unified School District and Washington Preparatory High School for discriminating against students based on their sexual orientation. The students alleged that administrators, teachers, and staff repeatedly called students derogatory anti-gay names and made anti-gay comments, threatened to out students to their families, and failed to protect students from anti-gay assaults.

On June 28, 2005, the parties reached a settlement that includes a comprehensive series of mandatory training sessions for Washington Prep teachers, staff, and students, and for middle school students who will attend the South Los Angeles high school. NCLR and the ACLU of Southern California were joined by the law firm of Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP. The Gay-Straight Alliance Network was also a plaintiff in the lawsuit.