|
|
IDENTITY
|
|---|
|
|
|
Lambda Legal Challenges Ind. School District
by Andrew Davis
2008-01-01
|
|
This article shared 4724 times since Tue Jan 1, 2008
|
|
Lambda Legal filed papers Dec. 12 in the Northern District Court of Indiana,
charging that a Gary, Ind., school violated a student's rights when it
stopped a male student from entering his prom because he wore a dress.
Kevin "K.K." Logan attended West Side High School and "expressed a deeply
rooted femininity in his appearance and demeanor," according to a Lambda
Legal press release. During this time ( his junior and senior years ) ,
classmates and teachers supported Logan. However, at the May 19, 2006,
senior prom, principal Diane Rouse stretched her arms across the door when
Logan attempted to enter, blocking his access to the facility. The press
release also stated that classmates and friends "rallied to his defense to
no avail tuxedo."
Rouse has supported a school policy that bans "clothing/accessories that
advertise sexual orientation, sex, drugs, alcohol, tobacco, profanity [ and
] negative social or negative educational statements."
Jim Madigan, a staff attorney in Lambda Legal's Midwest Regional Office,
told Windy City Times said that the plaintiff's case has two facets.
"There's an aspect [ that ] is the First Amendment," Madigan said. "The fact
that they shut him out by virtue of wearing this dress students to wear gender-non-conforming clothing, particularly females in
tuxedos a male to wear a dress ) that the principal didn't like. We think that her
reaction to that message and the challenge to that convention [ are ] why
she shot him down." The other element, according to Madigan, is "an issue of
whether they violated the rules that prohibit sex and gender
discrimination."
He also said that the legal team representing Logan asked the school
district for all of the "reasons and policies [ regarding ] what happened to
[ Logan ] ," and simply received the policy stated above. "They sort of,
quite frankly, gave us the brush-off," Madigan said. "They didn't send any
explanatory letter other than [ the ] policy." Madigan added that subsequent
requests to discuss the situation have yielded no response.
When questioned about what is being sought, Madigan responded that they
are seeking compensatory and punitive damages as well as a declaration from
the court "that the school's policy is in violation of the First Amendment."
The case is Logan vs. Gary Community School Corporation et al.
Madigan is handling the case along with Cole Thaler, staff attorney for
Lambda Legal's Transgender Rights Project and co-counsel from the Chicago
law firm Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal.
Windy City Times contacted the school corporation's superintendent, Dr.
Mary Steele-Agee, but had not received a response by the time the newspaper
went to press. |
|
|
|
This article shared 4724 times since Tue Jan 1, 2008
|
| ARTICLES YOU MIGHT LIKE |
|---|
| 
|  | Hulu's 'Love, Victor' draws to a proud conclusion with season three 2022-07-02
- Love is in the air for Pride Monthas the television show Love, Victor concludes with its third season. The gay rom-com Love, Simon came out in 2018 and inspired the Love, Victor Hulu series two years ...
| 
| | Florida's 'Don't Say Gay' law takes effect 2022-07-02
- Florida's Parental Rights in Education law—which some have nicknamed the "Don't Say Gay" law—went into effect July 1, and some of the state's public school districts have begun rolling out new policies to limit LGBTQ issues ...
| 
| | NATIONAL Biden's proposal, VP Harris, Elizabeth Taylor, outbreak, candidates 2022-06-26
- Lambda Legal issued a press release lauding the Biden administration for issuing proposed regulations that will help protect LGBTQI+ youth against unlawful discrimination. The proposed rules, issued by the U.S. ...
| 
| | Biden's historic executive order strengthens protections for the 2M LGBT youth in U.S. 2022-06-16
-- From a press release - Today, President Biden signed an executive order that includes actions to protect LGBTQI+ youth from conversion therapy, expand LGBTQI+ access to comprehensive health care, support LGBTQI+ youth in schools, end ...
|
| | DCFS enhances training for foster parents, staff; expands resources, housing options for LGBTQI+ youth 2022-06-14
-- From a press release - Illinois DCFS enhances training for foster parents and staff, expands resources and housing options to support LGBTQI+ youth in care during Pride Month CHICAGO — June is Pride Month and the Illinois Department of Children and ...
| 
| | PASSAGES Transgender icon Mama Gloria dies at 76 2022-06-14
-- From a press release - Chicago transgender icon and activist Gloria Allen, who founded and ran a charm school for homeless trans youth and was the subject of the award-winning documentary "Mama Gloria" and the critically acclaimed play "Charm," has died ...
| 
| | Texas court issues emergency stop to Gov. Abbott's anti-trans youth directive 2022-06-10
-- From a press release - AUSTIN, Texas — The Travis County District Court granted a temporary restraining order on Friday to block the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) from investigating PFLAG families ...
| 
| | 300K youth in the U.S. identify as transgender 2022-06-10
-- From a press release - New estimates show 300,000 youth ages 13-17 identify as transgender in the US About 1.3 million adults—0.5% of the adult US population—identify as transgender Approximately 1.6 million people ages 13 ...
| 
| | PFLAG National, ACLU, Lambda Legal file pro-trans youth lawsuit against Texas governor 2022-06-09
- The American Civil Liberties Union, Lambda Legal and the ACLU of Texas, along with Texas-based law firm Baker Botts LLP, filed a new lawsuit in Texas state court on behalf of PFLAG National and three Texas families on June 8, per a press release. ...
| 
| | Howard Brown Health workers announce impending nurses' union membership 2022-06-06
- Non-nurse employees from every Howard Brown Health, Broadway Youth Center and Brown Elephant announced their intentions to join the union that Howard Brown Health nurses previously established in 2019 at a rainy press conference June 6 ...
| 
| | NATIONAL Mysterious death, Tennesee law, lesbians of color, Guam 2022-06-05
- Gay bilingual mental-health counselor Julio Ramirez died in April after he fell unconscious in a taxi following a night out at gay bars in Hell's Kitchen—and then his bank accounts were allegedly drained days later, leaving ...
| 
| | About Face to run immersive comedy about climate-change activism 2022-05-27
- About Face Theatre brings its 27th season to a close with a world premiere comedy created by and starring the About Face Youth Theatre ensemble. Gayme Changers will run June 18-24 at The Den Theater, 1331 ...
| 
| | Trevor Project: 45% of LGBTQ youth considered suicide in the past year 2022-05-26
- The Trevor Project recently released its 2022 survey on the mental health of LGBTQ+ youth. According to an introduction from Trevor Project CEO & Executive Director Amit Paley, the survey demonstrates that rates of suicidal thoughts ...
|
| | Batavia public school rally to call for equity in education 2022-05-24
-- From an Equality Illinois press release - BPS Parents for Equity and Justice and Batavia Public School (BPS) students to host a rally and call to action in response to ongoing inequities in the treatment of all marginalized groups and the district's reluctance ...
| 
| | NATIONAL Idaho groups, Clay Aiken, Radio Milwaukee, Louisville school 2022-05-22
- In northern Idaho, two groups with different agendas plan to hold events on the same day (June 11) at Coeur d'Alene City Park—and both organizations have issued statements, according to the Bonner County Daily Bee. The ...
| | |
|
|
|
|
