Legal Settlement Negates Exclusionary Status of 'All Gay' High School
by Jim Brown
July 11, 2006
(AgapePress) - - A New York high school billed as the first openly homosexual school in the country must now admit heterosexual students. No longer can the publicly funded school cater only to "gay, lesbian, bisexual, or questioning" (GLBQ) students.
Three years ago, Florida-based Liberty Counsel filed a lawsuit seeking to shut down Harvey Milk School in New York City for limiting enrollment to only GLBQ students. Now, as a result of a settlement agreement reached between Liberty Counsel and the New York City Department of Education, the school cannot discriminate against straight applicants, and must allow all qualified students to enroll, regardless of their sexual orientation.
Liberty Counsel founder Mat Staver says the settlement is an important victory for equality. "The settlement as a result of this particular situation will now make this school no longer a school that caters to homosexuals and transsexuals and bisexuals," he explains. "This model of what New York was trying to make has become a model of what not to do," he adds, noting those on his legal team and his clients are pleased the school's plan "has been stopped dead in its tracks."
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of State Senator Ruben Diaz and parents of public school students who did not want tax dollars funding the homosexual-only school. According to Staver, the homosexual-only school needed to be contested to avoid a precedent being established.
"This would have been a pattern around the country where other schools would have sprung up around the country catering to homosexuals," the attorney contends. "And this would be a situation where you would go to school not to learn but to learn deviant sexual activity."
Without the legal challenge, the school would have become "a cesspool of sexual activity," adds Staver. "It would actually create a tangled web and actually damage students in a significant way."
Staver says the school will now be described as a "small transfer school" for at-risk students. Liberty Counsel has launched an accountability campaign to monitor the school and make sure it abides by the settlement and admits all qualified students, regardless of sexual orientation. The legal group is also enlisting the help of students and employees at the school to monitor exactly what is being taught.
Jim Brown, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
