In Minnesota, the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR), the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) and the law firm Faegre & Benson, LLP, filed a federal lawsuit challenging what they call "the pervasive anti-gay harassment in schools within the Anoka-Hennepin School District" in addition to the district's "gag policy" that prevents teachers from discussing LGBT-related issues, according to a press release.
The suit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota after the complainants said the school district did not address the abuse or repeal its policy.
The lawsuit charges that students who were or were perceived as LGBT were subjected to slurs daily and were physically threatened or attacked by peers. The lawsuit contends that the district's gag policy and its alleged failure to protect these students violated the students' rights under the United States Constitution, Title IX and the Minnesota Human Rights Act.
Earlier this year, the SPLC, the NCLR and Faegre & Benson filed a federal suit against the Anoka-Hennepin School District and Champlin Park High School on behalf of two lesbian students, Desiree ("Dez") Shelton and Sarah Lindstrom. The school stopped the students from participating as a same-sex couple at a school assembly. The matter was eventually resolved, with the students allowed to participate.