Remember those dejected Tennessee teens from Sequoyah High School whose school wouldn’t allow them to set up a gay-straight alliance? Well now there’s a petition telling their school’s administrators to allow it… and if they don’t, the ACLU is likely to get involved. Fun!
Jamie
The problem is not that the school is disallowing it to be formed. After speaking with the principal and the superintendent, I can say with most certainty that they are fully aware that the club is legally allowed to be formed. The problem is that the kids cannot find a faculty sponsor for the group.
Whether or not that is because a bigoted principal is bullying teachers into not sponsoring it is another issue. But the petition is not asking for the right thing.
Nathan
The matter of the sponsor is immaterial. The SCOTUS found in Board of Education of Westside Community Schools v. Mergen that at most, the Equal Access Act permits the appointment of a sponsor, and that the requirement of a sponsor amounts to de facto discrimination against clubs with unpopular opinions.