Columns
Legal Briefs
The
Legal ABCs of GSAs
by
Susan Murray & Beth Roginson
Schools haven’t always been the safest or most comfortable environment for GLBT youth.
But thanks to courageous youth leaders throughout our state and country working to build gay-straight alliances within our schools, that’s beginning to change. These groups can provide vital peer support to GLBT youth, who can all too often feel isolated and alone through one of life’s more difficult times. In many cases, they can also play a valuable educational role in the school community.
For students interested in forming such an organization, but fearful that the school will not support you, the good news is that the law is on your side. First of all, Vermont’s anti-discrimination laws, which we’ve discussed at length in past columns, prohibit discrimination against such groups.
In addition, a Federal law, the Equal Access Act, protects students’ rights to form clubs and organizations and to meet on school premises. This law, which was passed primarily to protect the rights of religious student groups, applies to any public high school that receives federal money. The law provides that if the school allows any “non-curriculum related” student clubs or organizations to meet on school premises after hours, the school must provide the same access to any student group.
For example, if a school let students form a chess club or service organization, it would be required to provide the same access and resources to students forming a gay-straight alliance. However, if the only student organizations at the school are related to school courses, such as a French club or a school band, the school might not have the same obligation.
That’s why some particularly homophobic schools across the country have abolished student clubs altogether; they are so opposed to providing a safe space for GLBT youth and their allies that they would rather can the chess club, the scuba diving club, and even the student volunteer service organization, than open the door to a gay-straight alliance.
If you are thinking about forming a student group to deal with GLBT issues, you should keep a few things in mind in order to ensure that your organization falls within this law’s protections.
First, the law only applies to voluntary, student-initiated groups. Although you are free to seek guidance and support from teachers or people outside the school, the impetus for the group, and the organizational work, has to come from students.
Second, you should be careful to limit the participation of non-school persons. Non-school persons are free to come in as guest speakers, and you can seek their guidance; however, they may not “direct, conduct, control, or regularly attend” the organization’s activities.
Third, the school obviously retains its authority to maintain order and discipline. Although the school cannot use this authority to prohibit gay-straight alliance groups simply because school officials believe that such groups are “disruptive,” or because homophobic students react negatively to them, the school can prevent any student group from doing things that interfere with the orderly conduct of educational activities.
So good luck! If you have further questions about your legal rights to organize student groups, please feel free to contact us.
Susan Murray and Beth Robinson are attorneys at Langrock Sperry & Wool in Middlebury. This column features timely information about legal issues of interest to our community. If you’d like to see us cover a particular topic, please feel free to write OITM or call us at 388-6356.