(Indianapolis, IN, August 31, 2012)—Today, the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) and the law firms of Kirkland & Ellis LLP and Waples & Hanger filed a federal lawsuit challenging Indianapolis Public Schools’ (IPS) discriminatory treatment and failure to protect an openly gay former student who faced severe and relentless harassment at Arsenal Technical High School (Tech) throughout the 2011-2012 school year. Rather than address the constant harassment and abuse suffered by...
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gay youth
(Indianapolis, IN, August 7, 2012)—On Monday, Indianapolis Public Schools (IPS) ended the expulsion of Dynasty Young, a former Arsenal Technical High School student who was expelled after school leaders failed to protect him from relentless anti-gay bullying, but refused to permit him to return to the school or any traditional high school in the district. Instead, in a letter signed by Chief of Staff Dexter Suggs, the district assigned Young to the New Horizons Alternative School, which...
All students should be able to receive an education in an environment that is safe and inclusive. Unfortunately, many schools in the Anoka-Hennepin School District in Minnesota presented a frightening and harmful toxic environment for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) students. Many students in the district had been harassed every day by their peers because of their actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender expression. NCLR joined the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC),...
Student Plaintiffs to Hold Press Conference Tuesday (Coon Rapids, Minn. March 5, 2012)—Tonight, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR), and the law firms of Faegre Baker Daniels LLP, and Culberth & Lienemann LLP announced an agreement on behalf of six students who filed two federal gender and sexual-orientation harassment lawsuits against Anoka-Hennepin School District. The student plaintiffs, the federal government, and the district have...
By Liz Seaton NCLR State Policy Director Yesterday, the Virginia Board of Juvenile Justice voted 5-1 to ban discrimination based on sexual orientation in the juvenile correctional facilities over which it has broad oversight. Eight percent of boys and 23 percent of girls in juvenile detention identify their sexuality as other than heterosexual, so this is an important step forward to protect their rights. This is the second time that the Board has voted this way over the advice of Virginia...
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...
On February 7, 2005, a member of the Pinellas County Juvenile Welfare Board issued a written memo stating that that the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) and Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) “endorse unhealthy sexual practices among youth, including sex between underage youth and adults.” NCLR, acting on behalf of GLSEN and PFLAG, issued a demand letter insisting that the statements be retracted. In response to NCLR’s demand letter,...
