In December I wrote about a lawsuit filed by a lesbian high school softball player, Skye Wyatt, and her mother against the Kilgore, Texas school district. Here is a December news item about the case. In a nutshell the lawsuit alleges that the softball coaches locked Skye Wyatt in the locker room and bullied her about dating a woman who had previously dated the softball coach. The coaches then outed Skye to her mother and kicked her off the team. At that time the school district defended the coaches’ and athletic director’s actions and it seems that they are sticking with that story. The school district has a policy that requires staff to reveal the sexual orientation of students to their parents.
I’d love to hear how the school district defends this policy and the coaches’ and athletic director’s actions. On what planet is it acceptable to lure a student to a fake meeting for the purpose of locking her in the locker room to bully her about what should be none of their business and then reveal personal information about her to her mother for no other apparent purpose than to cause her trouble and then to top it all off by kicking her off of the team . It’s OK on Planet Kilgore, Texas, apparently. I feel sorry for students in this school district if this is what the school district leaders consider appropriate adult behavior for professional educators in the schools.
And some people wonder why we need to address LGBT discrimination in sports. The trial is scheduled for November.
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2 comments:
Hey Pat, Pete from Wide Rights here.
I find this story so fascinating. Recently, a group of students at my law school started putting together a packet to describe the rights of LGBT students. One of them was specifically on this issue.
While it has not been found to be unconstitutional by the Supreme Court, some courts have found it to be so.
The ACLU was successful in challenging a school that outed a student to the parents. I hope the case is successful, and maybe ACLU would get involved to help!
Here's some of the information about the current standing of the law, if you are interested:
Broad overview: http://www.aclu.org/lgbt-rights_hiv-aids/whats-your-problem#2
Letter students can print out to give to schools on the topic: http://www.aclu.org/lgbt-rights/letter-school-officials-regarding-lgbt-student-privacy
Description about the case ACLU won in Arkansas: http://www.aclu.org/lgbt-rights_hiv-aids/aclu-sues-arkansas-school-district-guarantee-gay-students-right-be-out-school
Keep up the great work!
She has their rights and people should respect them even though they don't like it.
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