ACLU sues Florida high school

PONCE DE LEON, FL – A Florida high school has been trampling the First Amendment rights of students who support equal rights for gay people, according to a federal lawsuit filed today by the American Civil Liberties Union. In its lawsuit, the ACLU describes an atmosphere of fear and censorship at Ponce de Leon High School, where the school board’s attorney says even expressions like a rainbow sticker may mean students are members of an “illegal organization.” Ponce de Leon High School is located in Holmes County in the Florida Panhandle.

“All any of us wants to do is be able to talk about gay rights issues without having to be scared,” said Heather Gillman, a 16-year-old junior and straight student at the school. “Nobody should have to worry about being kicked out of school just for having a rainbow sticker on your notebook.”

The ACLU sent a letter in November to the school board’s attorney on behalf of Gillman, asking for clarification as to whether a variety of symbols and slogans, such as the rainbow flag or “I support my gay friends,” would be allowed at the school. The school district replied that it would not allow any expressions of support for gay rights at all because such speech would “likely be disruptive.” The district then went even further, claiming that such symbols and slogans were signs that students were part of a “secret/illegal organization.”

“Because the Supreme Court has held that students have a right to free speech at school unless that speech disrupts the educational process, many administrators think they can just slap the label ‘disruptive’ on anything they don’t like and get away with stomping on students’ First Amendment rights. The law doesn’t work that way,” said Benjamin James Stevenson, ACLU of Florida staff attorney who is representing Gillman. . “School should be a marketplace of ideas, where students share new ideas and learn about themselves and others. Just talking about gay rights or any other topic outside of class isn’t inherently disruptive.”

“Schools shouldn’t be in the business of trying to frighten students into silence.”

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