Corpus Christi school district says it will ban all clubs rather than allowing Gay Straight Alliance

[The Straight Story]

Corpus Christi school district says it will ban all clubs rather than allowing Gay Straight Alliance

The other day, we told you how Flour Bluff High School in Corpus Christi is refusing to allow 17-year-old student Nikki Peet (right) to start a chapter of the Gay Straight Alliance. The school’s decision not only violates federal law, but it also signals that officials care nothing about the safety of LGBTQ students.

The federal Equal Access Act, originally designed to protect student Bible study groups, dictates that if a school allows one non-curricular club to meet on campus, it must allow any non-curricular club to meet on campus. In other words, if a school allows a chess club, it must also allow a Gay Straight Alliance.

In this case, Flour Bluff High School has been allowing the Fellowship of Christian Athletes to meet on campus. But rather than simply allowing the GSA, the district has apparently decided to kick the Fellowship of Christian Athletes off campus, and bar all other other non-curricular clubs. Wow.

The Corpus Christi Caller-Times reports:

Superintendent Julie Carbajal said she has asked the Fellowship of Christian Athletes to meet off campus while the district studies the legality of allowing the club while disallowing a club supporting homosexual students. She said there is no chance the district will approve the proposed Gay-Straight Alliance, but she will make sure all other school clubs are following the district’s policy.

http://www.dallasvoice.com/corpus-christi-school-district-ban-clubs-allowing-gay-straight-alliance-1066780.html

[Cirque du So-What]

1. Astounding levels of stupidity on the part of the school district

Do public schools in Texas operate under the direction of a school board? I found no mention in the article - just the pronouncements from an imperious superintendent. I'm assuming schools in Texas are no different from any other place where money is concerned, i.e., it's tight, right? A lawsuit could really drain the budget for this school system; even if the idiotic superintendent doesn't care, surely there's at least one voice of sanity on the school board?

[closeupready]

7. No, they apparently operate under the direction of religious fundamentalists.

nt

[Horse with no Name]

8. They operate on a district by district basis

That is one reason for the huge school budget crises that has been around for over 30 years.

To actually give you a grasp of what that means...in the county that I live in (with less than 13,000 people). There are FOUR completely different school districts. In my simplistic mind, it seems smart to consolidate those schools, consolidate those four tax bases so that students benefit. BUT, it will never happen here.

[Cirque du So-What]

11. School districts are operated as petty fiefdoms in other places as well

In one area where I lived, the school system was a major employer, dispensing jobs & contracts to the 'chosen ones.'

[Trekologer]

19. New Jersey is even worse

There are more (much more) school districts than there are municipalities, each with their own paid staff. Yet Mr. Christie goes after the teachers to save money.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

18. There are locally elected school boards for each district

It is not possible to tell if this is being done with board concurrence or not. A student or parent should bring it up at the next school board meeting and force them to take a public stand.

While the culture changes from district to district, most boards seem to defer to the superintendent

[Smarmie Doofus]

2. "A foolish consistency.....

>>>>We feel like we need to follow the policy in place,” she said. “If we’ve made any wrong judgments then we have to fix that because we are not looking at changing our policy.”>>>


... is often a by-product of psychotic thought processes.

[WhaTHellsgoingonhere]

3. Oh boy, I wonder who will get scapegoated for that...

Everything is bigger in Texas, including stupid.

[surrealAmerican]

4. Confusing article.

Does this mean they have no sports teams, since those are non-curricular?

[closeupready]

5. Because similarly, Jesus hated prostitutes and thieves, and condemned them to hell.

:sarcasm: Isn't that what's known as heresy?

[av8rdave]

6. IOW....

It is SO important for them to show their bigotry, homophobia and hate that they will make sure ALL students suffer if they have to.

It's enough to make one ashamed of the human race!

[coffeenap]

9. What about cheerleaders and JROTC?

Their website lists all extracurricular clubs. If they all must be related to curriculum, then these two must go, right?

[dsc]

15. JROTC is a class

not a club. You have to be in the JROTC class to participate in any of the other activities it does.

[tammywammy]

27. The same with cheerleading or any other sports

We didn't have JROTC at my high school, but all the sports (including cheerleading) were actual classes, not extra-curricular.

[Democat]

10. Even ROTC?

Why does Corpus Christi hate America?

[dkofos]

12. Sue them. I'm sure they can afford it.

[Trekologer]

20. The administrators make these decisions without consequence

So what if they spend money (that could have gone to books or facility maintenance) to defend against a lawsuit that they would almost certainly lose? It's about the principle!

What if the administrators who cause the school district to have to defend a lawsuit because of a petty, bigoted decision actually had to pony up the money for the legal costs that would be expended? I don't think that you would see these stories much because when it comes down to it, these "principles" are only worth perusing if they aren't the ones paying for it.

[Jokinomx]

13. This happened years ago in Utah. It's sad the fear they have for gays

:toast: to all good gay/lesbian people everywhere.

[DavidDvorkin]

14. I think more precisely, it's the belief

that every child is a blank slate until well into adulthood, and the fear that the merest mention of homosexuality (or socialism or atheism or ... ) will cause the child to head off in that direction.

[Jokinomx]

16. well that is fear of gays and lesbianism ....

They fear their child will "become" gay.

[DavidDvorkin]

17. Sure, no argument there

I just wanted to pinpoint their fear of exposing the young to anything they disapprove of (or fear or hate).

Entirely apart from the issue of hatred, their belief that the young mind is a blank slate is dangerous to young minds.

[Jokinomx]

22. understood thanks... :-)

[closeupready]

21. That makes sense because, as we know, if gay were legal, everyone would turn gay.

:crazy:

[DavidDvorkin]

29. That's another weird one

Connected to their insistence that homosexuality is a learned behavior.

It's also connected to their belief that everyone is born sinful (because of course homosexuality is a sin in their view). Children are a blank slate, but at the same time they're naturally inclined toward sin.

[ReggieVeggie]

23. Christians can be really screwed up people

I'm starting to think that whole "Jesus is Love" thing just went over their heads.

[Snoutport]

24. Their aim is to turn the student body against the gay students.

The sick thing about this is, they are educators. Their job is to watch out for ALL the students in their district. What they are doing, and they know it, is putting all the blame and pressure on the gay student. They are basically saying: "You can't have chess club or math club or Christian Athletes Club or anything fun because of the gay student." They full-well know that this student will now take the brunt of the anger from everyone involved.

But it is a lesson that every gay person learns early on. No matter how good a person you are, there are a lot of people who flat out hate you no matter what. I hope this student has the will and courage to make it through the hell this district is putting him or her through.

[appleannie1]

25. Nothing like cutting off your nose to spite your face. Bigots extraordinaries.

[Buns_of_Fire]

36. Unfortunately, they're also cutting everyone ELSE'S nose off to spite their face.

There are some sick, sick puppies who have risen (or been elected) to positions of "authority" in this country. (Not that I'm telling anyone something they don't already know.)

[Dappleganger]

26. GL with that, get the ACLU involved. Here's what happened when a school denied GSA in North FLorida.

http://www.aclufl.org/news_events/?action=viewRelease&emailAlertID=3768

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida has reached a partial settlement with the School Board of Nassau County in a lawsuit filed against the school district earlier this year challenging the district’s refusal to permit Yulee High’s Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) to meet on campus.

Pursuant to the terms of the agreement, approved by federal judge Henry Lee Adams, Jr. this past Friday, a permanent injunction has been entered against the district prohibiting discrimination against the high school’s GSA and forbidding retaliation against students and faculty who are associated with the GSA. The school district will also pay about $40,000 in attorneys’ fees and court costs associated with the litigation thus far to the ACLU.

The ACLU of Florida also sued the district on behalf of Plaintiff Hannah Page for the denial of her request to form a GSA at Yulee Middle School during the 2007-08 school year. The district still maintains that it may permissibly deny access to a GSA at Yulee Middle School, so the claims related to that age group will proceed.

The lawsuit was filed on February 10, 2009 after Yulee High School administrators repeatedly denied student requests for permission to form a GSA and to hold meetings at the high school, and previously at Yulee Middle School in the 2007-2008 school year. On March 11, 2009, Judge Adams entered a preliminary injunction ordering the school district to allow the GSA to meet at Yulee High School while the case made its way through the courts. The settlement agreement makes permanent the terms of that preliminary injunction.

******************

The bottom line of what happened is that after the suit was filed, the school district realized it was BROKE and had little money to continue the defense of their bigoted ways so had to relent and settle, as well as allow the GSA to meet on campus.

[jpak]

28. Texans are afraid of Teh Gay but want guns in college classrooms

WTF

[Dont_Bogart_the_Pretzel]

30. That's one way to get rid of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

:hide:

[WolverineDG]

31. Flour Bluff is *NOT* CCISD

Flour Bluff is its own little town, with its own district. It is between Corpus & North Padre Island.

I just love how those on this thread who profess to be against bigotry commit it themselves, with broad brush statements against people who live in Corpus in particular & Texas in general, as well as against Christians. A simple google search of the local paper would have blown a hole in those statements & obviously, we can't have truth getting in the way of a good old fashioned Texas & Christian bashing now, can we?

For example, anyone who bothered to search the local rag would have found this:

PROM NIGHT: The Islander Cultural Alliance and the Gay-Straight Alliance at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi will hold "A Night Under the Stars Prom" from 7 p.m. until midnight today in the University Center, Bayview Room. Donations will be collected throughout the night for the Coastal Bend AIDS Foundation. Free with proper ID or SandDollars ID. Information: 825-2539 or e-mail [e-mail].

A&M, btw, ain't exactly a liberal bastion.

And this LTTE from an ordained minister:

http://www.caller.com/news/2011/feb/27/letters-editor-022711/

dg

[Shandris]

32. How ironic. I'd rather ban Corpus Christi than allow necromantically-named cities. (n/t)

[backscatter712]

33. Shit like this is why I'm an atheist. n/t

[Posteritatis]

34. Cowardice. (nt)

[Manifestor_of_Light]

35. Instant lawsuit.

They keep doing the wrong thing over and over again and it gets re-litigated.

They don't learn. Only thing that gets their attention is lawsuits and settlement money.


:banghead: