The bad news:
The bullying by classmates and taunts of "homo" only got worse after Jacob began dyeing his hair and wearing eyeliner in eighth grade. One student scrawled "I hope you die" on his shoe, he said; another drew a pocket knife on him.
Jacob's grades dropped, and he missed school from fear. His father tried repeatedly to get school officials in their working-class village in upstate New York to help protect his son from harassment. The response by the Mohawk Central School District, according to a federal lawsuit, was to do "virtually nothing."
The good news:
The 15-year-old might soon get a measure of satisfaction. The lawsuit filed by Jacob and his father against the school district with the New York Civil Liberties Union could be close to settlement, according to both sides.
The negotiations come as the U.S. Department of Justice seeks to intervene in the case, citing the "important issues" it raises in enforcing federal civil rights laws.
"There is a growing recognition across the country that schools need to take harassment based on gender expression and homosexuality seriously," said NYCLU attorney Corey Stoughton. "If there is a settlement in this case, that's an affirmation of that principle."
....
Mohawk School Superintendent Joyce Caputo said the district denies allegations in the lawsuit, but she stressed they are working with the NYCLU and the Justice Department to settle the suit in a way that benefits everyone.
Well, it's about time Ms Caputo. Nothing like facing a lawsuit with the feds involved to get the powers moving. And it's way past time for the Title IX antidiscrimination law to be applied to harassment of gays.
From the AP.
What is happening to our God-given right to beat the bloody snot out of people who are different from us and who we don't understand?
ReplyDeleteThis just isn't my America anymore!
(irony off)
So many people yearn for the days when ice cream was all one flavor -- vanilla.
Counterlight, the times they are a-changin'. I can barely keep up.
ReplyDeleteWell, thanks be to God. It is well past time for something like this to happen. I wonder how long it will take to filter throughout the other forty-nine states and assorted territories.
ReplyDeleteProbably quite a while, Boocat. Battles were still being fought years afterward to implement the Brown vs. Board of Education decision by the court.
ReplyDeleteHere in the UK the charity Stonewall has got a campaign going to deal with homophobic bullying in schools and has sent a DVD to every school in Britain to educate teachers and kids.
ReplyDelete... among other things - the DVD is not all they have done, I should add.
ReplyDeleteI really like Stonewall, and I think their current emphasis is right - bigotry should be caught and dealt with as young as possible. School is pretty bloody awful anyway without homophobia being given free rein.