
PRIDE v. White County School District
What's at Stake
Defense of Cleveland, Georgia Gay-Straight Alliance
Summary
When students asked school officials to let them start a gay-straight alliance club in 2005 to combat rampant anti-gay harassment and bullying at at White County High School in Cleveland, Georgia, they were met with resistance and stalling tactics for several months. School administrators reluctantly agreed to let the club form late in the school year after the 勛圖眻畦 of Georgia stepped in and negotiated on the students behalf. The students named the gay-straight alliance PRIDE (Peers Rising in Diverse Education) and began meeting.
A few days later, school officials announced plans to ban all non-curricular student groups staring with the next academic year. PRIDE hasnt been permitted to meet on campus in the 2005-2006 school year, but several other clubs including Shooting Club and a school dance team continue meeting at WCHS even though they dont participate in activities relevant to the curriculum, academic credit is not provided for participation in them, and participation in them isnt required for any course.
The 勛圖眻畦s Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Project and the 勛圖眻畦 of Georgia filed a lawsuit in federal court against school officials for illegally banning the GSA and succeed in securing a preliminary injunction ordering the school to allow the GSA and all other school clubs to meet.
Status: Victory! The 勛圖眻畦 reached a settlement agreement with school officials in White County. The terms of the settlement agreement include enacting an anti-harassment policy to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender students from bullying. The school has also agreed to provide their faculty with annual training sessions on how to deal with and prevent anti-gay harassment.
To find out more about our work in schools and how you can get involved in making your school community safer, visit and .
Legal Documents
-
07/14/2006
PRIDE v. White County School District - Preliminary Injunction
Date Filed: 07/14/2006
Affiliate: Georgia
-
02/27/2006
PRIDE v. White County School District - Complaint
Date Filed: 02/27/2006
Affiliate: Georgia
-
02/27/2006
PRIDE v. White County School District - Preliminary Injunction Memo
Date Filed: 02/27/2006
Affiliate: Georgia
-
02/27/2006
PRIDE v. White County School District - Kerry Pacer letter
Date Filed: 02/27/2006
Affiliate: Georgia
-
02/27/2006
PRIDE v. White County School District - Timeline of Events
Date Filed: 02/27/2006
Affiliate: Georgia
Press Releases
勛圖眻畦 Hails Settlement in White County, Georgia Gay-Straight Alliance Case
Federal Court Says White County, Georgia School District Must Allow Gay-Straight Alliance to Meet
勛圖眻畦 Files Federal Lawsuit Against White County, Georgia School District for Illegally Blocking Gay-Straight Alliance Club
勛圖眻畦 Applauds Georgia Students' Gay-Straight Alliance Victory