Gay-straight club to be allowed at Florida school

Update: Gay-straight club to be allowed at Fla. school (Original story posted 9:41 am May 2)

OCALA, Fla. (AP) — A Florida school board will allow the formation of a gay-straight alliance club at middle school a day after it was sued by the American Civil Liberties Union.

Lake County Schools agreed on Thursday to a consent order issued by a federal judge, allowing the club to be established at Carver Middle School. The school is located northwest of Orlando.

The ACLU sued the school board on Wednesday on behalf of eighth-grader Bayli Silberstein who had been trying since last November to get approval to form the club. The lawsuit said repeated delays by the school board in granting approval was tantamount to a denial.

The school board still plans to hold a workshop on Monday to discuss what type of clubs should be allowed at schools.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.

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Original story: Thursday May 2 - 9:41 am. ACLU sues Fla. school board over gay-straight club

OCALA, Fla. (AP) — The American Civil Liberties Union sued a Florida school board Wednesday, claiming its delay in allowing the formation of a gay-straight alliance club at a middle school is a violation of free speech and equal access.

The ACLU filed the lawsuit against the School Board of Lake County in federal court in Ocala.

Efforts by eighth-grader Bayli Silbertstein to form a student club for gay students and their straight allies at Carver Middle School have been repeatedly delayed by the school board. The board's failure to give her a definitive answer on whether the club can be formed is tantamount to a denial and that denial violates the U.S. Constitution, the lawsuit said.

"This non-response amounts to a de facto denial," the lawsuit said.

Also named in the lawsuit were the Lake County school superintendent and the principal of the middle school.

When Silberstein applied to start the Gay-Straight Alliance at Carver Middle School last November, the school's principal told her she needed to consult the school board. Last February, the school board held a public workshop on whether clubs without a direct tie to the curriculum could be held at middle and high schools, and in March the board gave tentative approval to the measure, a decision which would have given the green light to the gay-straight club, the lawsuit said.

A vote to give final approval to the measure was tabled at a school board meeting last week.

A spokesman for Lake County Schools said he couldn't comment on a pending lawsuit. But Chris Patton said the school board wanted to review the policy again after a change was made to state law defining which schools are subject to a federal law prohibiting discrimination of clubs based on what they may discuss. Another workshop is planned for Monday.

"This has been an ongoing process," Patton said.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.