Carver Middle School Gay-Straight Alliance v. School Board
Carver Middle School Gay-Straight Alliance v. School Board
Opinion of the Court
ORDER
The Carver Middle School Gay-Straight Alliance wants to be recognized by the Lake County School Board at Carver Middle School in order to receive certain benefits that would accompany that recognition. The School Board has declined to grant the Alliance such status.
This action was filed by the Alliance against the School Board on December 19,
The Court scheduled a hearing on the Alliance motion to be held on February 10, 2014 (Doc. 5). The School Board was then properly served (Doc. 8) and promptly filed a motion to dismiss (Doc. 10) followed by a response (Doc. 11) opposing the Alliance motion for preliminary injunctive relief.
Oral argument was entertained at the hearing conducted on February 10, 2014, and all pending motions are ready for decision. The Court will Deny the School Board’s motion to dismiss (Doc. 10), but will also Deny the Alliance’s motion for a preliminary injunction (Doc. 4). Explanations follow.
I. The Legal Basis Of The Action.
The complaint (Doc. 1) states two claims. Count One seeks relief under the Equal Access Act, 20 U.S.C. §§ 4071-4074.
II. The School Board’s Motion To Dismiss.
The motion to dismiss (Doc. 10) asserts five independent grounds for dismissal: (1) that neither of the Plaintiffs have standing to assert the claims alleged; (2) that the complaint fails to state a claim upon which relief can be granted pursuant to Fed. R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6), and does not comply with the basic pleading requirements of Fed. R.Civ.P. 8 and 10; (3) that the Equal Access Act is not applicable to the case; (4) that the First Amendment has been complied with at all times by the School Board; and (5) that the complaint fails to state a claim for relief under 42 U.S.C. § 1983.
In passing on a motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6), the Court is mindful that “[dismissal of a claim on the basis of barebones pleadings is a precarious disposition with a high mortality rate.” Int’l Erectors, Inc. v. Wilhoit Steel Erectors and Rental Serv., 400 F.2d 465, 471 (5th Cir. 1968). For the purposes of a motion to dismiss the Court must view the allegations of the complaint in the light most favorable to plaintiff, consider the allega
In order to avoid dismissal,' a complaint must allege “enough facts to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face” and that rises “above the speculative level.” Speaker, 623 F.3d at 1380 (citing Twombly, 550 U.S. at 570,127 S.Ct. at 1964-65, 1974). A claim is facially plausible “ “when the plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is hable for the misconduct alleged.’ ” Id. (quoting Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 1949, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009)). The plausibility standard requires that a plaintiff allege sufficient facts to nudge his “claims across the line from conceivable to plausible.” Twombly, 550 U.S. at 570, 127 S.Ct. at 1974. However, “the tenet that a court must accept as true all of the allegations contained in a complaint is inapplicable to legal conclusions.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 1949, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009). “Threadbare recitals of the elements of a cause of action, supported by mere conclusory statements, do not suffice.” Id. (citing Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555, 127 S.Ct. at 1964-65).
As the School Board’s motion accurately states (Doc. 10, pp. 2-3) in order for an unincorporated association to have prudential standing to sue for itself and its members, the association must show: (1) that the individual members would have standing to sue in their own right; (2) that the interests at stake are germane to the purpose of the association; and (3) that neither the claims nor the relief requested requires participation of the individual members. Ouachita Watch League v. Jacobs, 463 F.3d 1163, 1170 (11th Cir. 2006) (quoting Friends of the Earth, Inc. v. Laidlaw Envtl. Servs. (TOC), Inc., 528 U.S. 167, 181, 120 S.Ct. 693, 704, 145 L.Ed.2d 610 (2000)). In addition, a plaintiff must have constitutional standing under the case or controversy jurisdictional grant of Article III of the Constitution. This requires a showing that the plaintiff has suffered an injury in fact that is concrete and particularized as well as actual or imminent; and it must also be shown that there is a causal connection between the injury and the conduct complained of, with a likelihood that the injury will be redressed by a favorable decision of the court. Sierra Club v. Johnson, 436 F.3d 1269, 1276 (11th Cir. 2006) (citing Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife, 504 U.S. 555, 560-561, 112 S.Ct. 2130, 2136, 119 L.Ed.2d 351 (1992)).
The minor plaintiff alleges in the complaint (Doc. 1), and avers in her affidavit (Doc. 4-2) filed in support of the Alliance motion for a preliminary injunction, that she is a 12 year old student in the seventh grade at the Lake County Carver Middle School which is comprised of grades six through eight; that she is Vice President of Carver Middle School Gay-Straight Alliance; that she and other students “making up” the Alliance want to have the Alliance recognized by the school administrators as an official student club with the same privileges that are extended to other non-curricular related clubs like the Honor Society and the Cheerleaders (among others); that she participated in the preparation of a written application (Doc. 4-11) to School Board authorities to have the Alliance rec
The School Board argues that these allegations are insufficient to demonstrate that either of the Plaintiffs have suffered a concrete injury. It is asserted that the minor Plaintiff has not been disciplined or reprimanded for any speech or expression; and, similarly, that the Alliance has not been prohibited from meeting at its pleasure on the premises of the school upon compliance with the School Board’s facilities use policy (Doc. 10, p. 3). The School Board’s argument fails, however, not only because it involves assertions of fact going beyond or outside of the complaint thereby becoming a “speaking motion,”
The standing of the Alliance is also justified by the complaint. As just determined, the minor plaintiff, as a member of the Alliance, has standing to sue in her own right through her parent, see Fed.R.Civ.P. 17(c); the interests at stake are germane to the purposes of the Alliance;
Both Plaintiffs have standing to bring this action and the motion to dismiss on that ground will be denied.
The School Board advances three other arguments in seeking a dismissal. The first is that the complaint is too short on facts and too long on legal theories to comply with Fed.R.Civ.P. 8 and 10, and the Supreme Court’s decision in Twombly, supra. This argument is simply unpersuasive. The complaint is well crafted and
The School Board’s motion to dismiss (Doc. 10) will therefore be Denied in all respects.
III. The Plaintiffs Motion For Preliminary Injunction
The law of the Circuit is well settled, and is embodied in the local rules of this Court, Rules 4.05(b)(4) and 4.06(b)(1), M.D. Fla. Rules, that an applicant for preliminary injunctive relief must demonstrate: (1) a substantial likelihood of ultimate success on the merits of the claim; (2) the irreparable nature of the threatened injury; (3) the potential harm that might be caused to the opposing party or others if preliminary injunctive relief is granted; and (4) the public interest in the granting of the requested relief.
The Alliance asserts two independent legal theories or claims of entitlement to relief — the Equal Access Act (Count One) and the First Amendment (Count Two). With respect to the question of the likelihood of ultimate success on the merits, each of these theories presents a free standing claim that must be evaluated separately and individually.
A The Equal Access Act Claim
The Plaintiffs’ attempt to invoke the Equal Access Act is plagued by several large problems. First, the statute expressly applies only to “secondary school[s],” 20 U.S.C. § 4071(a), and a secondary school “means a public school which provides secondary education as defined by State law.” 20 U.S.C. § 4072(1) (emphasis supplied). The problem here is that there is no state law in Florida defining any of those terms as used in the Act. Second, and closely related to that first problem, the Plaintiffs are unable to point to any published decision by any court applying the Act to any school below the high school level. This would be a case of first impression.
The Equal Access Act was passed by Congress in 1984 as an obvious reaction to several Court of Appeals and Supreme Court decisions during the previous three years. See Board of Educ. of the Westside Cmty. Schools v. Mergens, 496 U.S. 226, 239, 110 S.Ct. 2356, 2366, 110 L.Ed.2d 191 (1990). Two courts of appeals had held that student religious groups could not, consistent with the Establishment Clause, meet on public school premises during noninstructional time. Id. See Lubbock Civil Liberties Union v. Lubbock Indep. Sch. Dist., 669 F.2d 1038, 1042-1048 (5th Cir. 1982), and Brandon v. Guilderland Bd. of Educ., 635 F.2d 971 (2d Cir. 1980). At about the same time, however, the Supreme Court decided Widmar v. Vincent, 454 U.S. 263, 102 S.Ct. 269, 70 L.Ed.2d 440 (1981) holding that, at the university level, when a school creates a “limited public forum”
Finding encouragement in Widmar, Congress enacted the Equal Access Act in an obvious effort to create a statutory right in secondary schools akin to the constitutional principles established by Wid-mar at the university.level; and it did this by formulating and specifically defining what it called a “limited open forum”
Congress also took care to limit the scope of the act to “public secondary school[s]” which it defined in 20 U.S.C. § 4072(1) as follows:
The term “secondary school” means a public school which provides secondary education as determined by state law.
Prior to July 1, 2013, the Florida Secondary School Redesign Act contained a provision stating that “[secondary schools are schools that primarily serve students in grades 6 through 12.” Fla. Stat. § 1003.413(1) (repealed effective July 1, 2013, Ch. 2013-27, § 12, Laws of Fla.).
There is, nonetheless, one definitional statute that — by its very nature as a definitional provision — carries more weight in the debate on this issue, and that statute, Fla. Stat. § 1003.01, favors the position of the School Board:
1003.01 Definitions. — As used in this chapter [entitled Public K-12 Education] the term
(1) “District school board” means the members who are elected by the voters of a school district created and existing pursuant to s. 4, Art. IX of the State Constitution to operate and control public K-12 education within the school district.
(2) “School” means an organization of students for instructional purposes on an elementary, middle or junior high school, secondary or high school, or other public school level authorized under rules of the State Board of Education.
The structure of subsection (2) clearly creates three tiers of schools. Elementary schools constitute one tier. Middle or junior high schools synonymously constitute a second tier. And “secondary” or high schools synonymously constitute a third tier. Furthermore, this structure, and the use of these terms to describe that structure, is consistent with the general (but by no means universal) definition given to secondary schools as meaning high schools. Secondary education is most often described as that level of schooling coming after those grades in which a general education is provided — reading, writing and arithmetic — with a “secondary” education
The Plaintiffs argue that “[i]t would be impossible, of course, for a state to opt its schools out of the requirements of federal law simply by not defining a term, and this Court should find that Carver Middle School is a secondary school and thus covered by the Equal Access Act.” (Doc 4, pp. 9-10, n. 10). No authority is cited in support of this proposition, and while the stated premise has some initial appeal, it does not withstand closer scrutiny. Although Congress may not have contemplated that there could be instances in which a given state would be placed entirely outside of the operation of the Act because of the lack of state law defining secondary education, it must be conceded that Congress at the least conferred upon the several states the power to “opt out” with respect to a given school grade or grades. A state could, for example, define secondary schools as consisting of grades 10 through 12, while another state might define its secondary schools as consisting of grades 9 through 12. Or, of course, as Plaintiffs would have it here, Florida could treat grades 6 through 12 as secondary schools. There could well be any number of variations among the states in the way the Equal Access Act applies, or does not apply. In fact, it is conceivable that the Act could have a different application even within a given state from district to district if state law should provide, for example, that “middle schools shall be regarded as secondary schools,” but each district had the autonomy to configure its Middle Schools as consisting of either grades 6 through 8 or grades 7 through 9. In such a case there could be contiguous school districts in which all of the sixth graders in one district would be covered by the Act while those in the other district would not.
The Plaintiffs are thus left in the unenviable position of inviting the Court to fill a legislative void and supply a judicial definition for the term “secondary school” in Florida. No authority is cited for that course of action either,
The School Board’s written policy governing Middle School sponsored clubs is its Policy 4.502 (Doc. 4-1), which states, in pertinent part:
Middle School Student Clubs and Organizations
(1) This policy applies to all school clubs and organizations at all District Middle Schools.
(2) Middle School Clubs and organizations are an extension of the school curriculum. Middle School clubs must be sponsored by the school and are limited to organizations that strengthen and promote critical thinking, business skills, athletic skills and performing/visual arts. Schools may also establish organizations relating to academic honor societies and student government and clubs that are directly related to the curriculum.
(8) All student cubs and organizations must be approved by the Superintendent before they can operate at a school.
(4) All prospective clubs must submit a District approved application. The application shall include a club charter which shall set forth the purposes, qualifications for members, and the rules of conduct and shall be maintained on file for reference by all students and school employees.
The Alliance submitted its application on the prescribed form and attached a copy of its charter. See note 5, supra. There is no claim by the School Board that there was any procedural deficiency in the manner in which the Alliance sought to be a sponsored club. Rather, the application was rejected on substantive grounds by a handwritten notation:
Club is not an extension of the school curriculum. Per policy, Not Approved.
(Doc. 4-11, p. 1).
Clearly, therefore, the rejection of the Alliance application was necessarily a prior restraint predicated upon the content of the speech or associational rights intended
Nevertheless, a governmental restraint on First Amendment rights is not necessarily a violation of those rights in every setting including, in particular, the management of nonpublic fora in public schools.
In Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District, 393 U.S. 503, 89 S.Ct. 733, 21 L.Ed.2d 731 (1969) the Supreme Court gave voice to the oft quoted pronouncement that “[i]t can hardly be argued that either students or teachers shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate.” 393 U.S. at 506, 89 S.Ct. at 736. The Court went on to say, however, that “[o]n the other hand, the Court has repeatedly emphasized the need for affirming the comprehensive authority of the States and of school officials, consistent with fundamental constitutional safeguards, to prescribe and control conduct in the schools.” 393 U.S. at 507, 89 S.Ct. at 737.
As our court of appeals has noted (Heinkel v. School Board of Lee County Florida, 194 Fed.Appx. 604, 609 n. 7 (11th Cir. 2006)):
Since Tinker, the Supreme Court has refined the framework for analyzing First Amendment claims in the public school context. As we have explained, “[wjithin scholastic nonpublic fora, there are four clear categories of expression: vulgar expression, pure student expres*1289 sion, government expression, and school-sponsored expression.” Bannon v. Sch. Dist. of Palm Beach County, 387 F.3d 1208, 1213 (11th Cir. 2004).
In Bannon v. Sch. Dist. of Palm Beach Cnty., 387 F.3d 1208, 1213-1214 (11th Cir. 2004), as noted in Heinkel, supra, the court of appeals synthesized the Supreme Court’s student speech cases this way:
Within scholastic nonpublic fora, there are four clear categories of expression: vulgar expression, pure student expression, government expression and school-sponsored expression.
Vulgar expression is student expression that is lewd, offensive, or indecent and schools may freely curtail it. Bethel Sch. Dist. No. 403 v. Fraser, 478 U.S. 675, 685, 106 S.Ct. 3159, 92 L.Ed.2d 549 (1986). Pure student expression is student expression that merely happens to occur on the school premises, and schools must tolerate such expression unless they can reasonably forecast that the expression will lead to “substantial disruption of or material interference with school activities.” Tinker, 393 U.S. at 514, 89 S.Ct. 733. Government expression is expression delivered directly through the government or indirectly through private intermediaries, and the government is free to make subject-matter-based choices. See Rosenberger v. Rector & Visitors of the Univ. of Va., 515 U.S. 819, 833, 115 S.Ct. 2510, 132 L.Ed.2d 700 (1995). Finally, between the spectrum of pure student expression and government expression is the intermediate category of school-sponsored expression: when “students, parents, and members of the public might reasonably perceive [students’ expressive activities] to bear the imprimatur of the school,” schools may censor student expression so long as their actions are reasonably related to legitimate pedagogical concerns. [Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier, 484 U.S. 260, 271-273, 108 S.Ct. 562, 570, 98 L.Ed.2d 592 (1988) ].
The facts in Hazelwood Sch. Dist. v. Kuhlmeier, 484 U.S. 260, 108 S.Ct. 562, 98 L.Ed.2d 592 (1988) were these. As an adjunct to one of its classes on journalism, a high school in the district sponsored and supervised a student run newspaper — the Spectrum. In one of the issues of Spectrum, routinely presented to the school principal before publication, there were two articles written by student reporters. One of the articles described student experiences with pregnancy. The other discussed the impact of parental divorce on students at the school. Believing these articles to be inappropriate for publication in the school sponsored newspaper due to a number of reasons, the principal directed that the articles be removed.
Not surprisingly, Alliance urges in this case that Tinker supplies the rule of decision; that strict scrutiny is required; and that, in the absence of any basis for reasonably forecasting disruption of, or interference with, the educational mission of Carver Middle School by the recognition of Alliance as an approved club, the rejection of the club because of the content of its speech is a violation of the First Amendment.
The School Board, by contrast, argues that Hazelwood School District should govern this case. It points out that there has been no limitation of any kind upon pure speech activity by Alliance or any of its members, and no discipline or penalty of any kind has been imposed upon the Alliance or any of its members because of speech or speech related activities. Rather, the only deprivation has been the withholding of sponsorship by the school; and, significantly, apart from a prayer for nominal damages, the only relief sought by the complaint is recognition of the Alliance by Carver Middle School as a school sponsored club.
It appears, at this early stage of the case at least, that the School Board has the better of this argument. Hazelwood School District rather than Tinker supplies the governing standard.
Returning to Bannon, supra, the court of appeals observed that Hazelwood School District applies to cases involving school sponsored expression which students, parents and members of the public might reasonably perceive as bearing the imprimatur of the school and where the protected speech or expression occurs in the context of “curricular activities.” 387 F.3d at 1214-15. This creates a basis for some confusion in this case because the stated reason for the School Board’s rejection of the Alliance application was: “Club is not an extension of the school curriculum.” One might well ask, under those circumstances, how Hazelwood School District could apply when the School Board itself declared that the Alliance (and its “speech”) is not an extension of the school’s curriculum? The answer is that the terms curriculum or curricular have two distinct meanings in the context of this case. Here, the School Board used the term curriculum to mean its existing courses of study, and that the goals and stated purposes of the Alliance were not related to or an extension of any of those existing courses or classes. However, as observed in Bannon, the term “curricular activity” as used in Hazelwood School District is a much broader term that encompasses any didactic activity sponsored or supervised by the school whether it is an “extension” of an existing course of study or not. The Bannon court explained:
*1291 Appellant underestimates how broadly the Hazelwood Court defined curricular activities. To be considered curricular, expressive activities need not occur in a “traditional classroom setting.” Hazelwood, 484 U.S. at 271, 108 S.Ct. 562. Instead, expressive activities are curricular so long as they are merely (1) “supervised by faculty members,” and (2) “designed to impart particular knowledge or skills to student participants and audiences.” Id. In contrast to Appellant’s position, Hazelwood never defined curricular activity in terms of whether student participation was required, earned grades or credit, occurred during regular school hours, or did not require a fee.
In this instance, if the Alliance was recognized as an approved club, its meetings would be supervised by a representative of the school,
Having concluded that Hazelwood School District governs this case, the lone remaining question is whether the curtailment of the Alliance speech by the School Board’s failure to recognize it as a sponsored club was reasonably related to legitimate pedagogical concerns. Before embarking upon that inquiry, it is necessary to put aside a matter that is not germane to the question of reasonableness of the School Board’s conduct. The fact that the School Board has granted recognition or sponsorship to other clubs that are arguably not an extension of the school curriculum is simply not relevant to the legitimacy or illegitimacy of the rejection of the Alliance as a school sponsored club. This is a First Amendment case, not an Equal Protection case, and the claim of the Alliance must stand or fall on its own merit under the Supreme Court’s school speech cases meaning, more particularly, Hazelwood School District.
Turning, then, to the reasonableness of the School Board’s action, it must surely be beyond question at this moment in the nation’s history that the subject of sexual orientation and the legal status of those in the LGBT Community is at the forefront of public debate, particularly with regard to same sex marriages. Moreover, it is a very controversial issue. Indeed, and sadly, it is common knowledge that the debate has often turned violent. It seems entirely reasonable, therefore, that those in charge of a public middle school with students twelve to fourteen years of age would want to distance the school and its pupils from a debate best left to more mature educational levels.
The Court concludes, therefore, as it did with regard to the Alliance claim under the Equal Access Act, that the Alliance has not sustained its burden of persuasion that it has a substantial likelihood of success on the merits of its claim under the First Amendment. That appears to be a doubtful proposition at best. It follows that the Motion For Preliminary Injunction (Doc. 4) will be Denied as to both claims in all respects.
Conclusion
Accordingly, upon due consideration, it is hereby ORDERED as follows:
1. The Defendant’s Motion To Dismiss The Complaint (Doc. 10) is in all respects DENIED.
2. The Plaintiffs’ Motion For Preliminary Injunction (Doc. 4) is in all respects DENIED.
3. The Defendant shall file an answer to the complaint within fourteen (14) days.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
DONE and ORDERED.
. Joining the Alliance as a plaintiff is H.F., a minor who sues through her parent, Janine Faughnan. H.F. has waived her privacy (Doc. 1, p. 1, n. 1) but as a matter of convenience, reference to the Alliance should be understood to include the minor Plaintiff individually except where the text clearly reflects that the Plaintiffs are being identified separately.
. The Alliance motion (Doc. 4) and the School Board’s response (Doc. 11) are both supported by accompanying affidavits and exhibits as well as memoranda of law.
.The Equal Access Act, adopted by Congress in 1984, provides that when a “public secondary school,” which receives Federal funds, creates a "limited open forum” by permitting “noncurriculum related student groups to meet on school premises during noninstruc-tional time,” it may not "deny equal access” to other student groups “on the basis of the religious, political, philosophical, or other content of the speech” of such groups. 20 U.S.C. § 4071(a), (b).
. In passing on a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss the complaint, a court cannot consider the facts supplied by a "speaking motion” — facts not found within the four corners of the complaint itself. To do so converts the Rule 12(b)(6) motion into one for summary judgment under Rule 56. See Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(d); Starship Enter, of Atlanta, Inc. v. Coweta County, 708 F.3d 1243, 1252 n. 13 (11th Cir. 2013); Josendis v. Wall to Wall Residence Repairs, Inc., 662 F.3d 1292, 1296-97 (11th Cir. 2011).
. The charter of the Alliance states its purposes this way (Doc. 4-11, p. 2):
Club Purposes and Goals:
(1) to create a safe, supportive environment at school for students to discuss experiences, challenges, and successes of LGBT students and their allies
(2) to create and execute strategies to confront and work to end bullying, discrimination, and harassment against all students, including LGBT students
(3) to promote critical thinking by discussing how to address bullying and other issues confronting students at Carver Middle School
. Heinkel ex rel. Heinkel v. School Bd. of Lee County, 194 Fed.Appx. 604 (11th Cir. 2006) is a case involving a middle school student who wished to distribute anti-abortion materials to her classmates and was prevented from doing so by the principal of the school. However, the case was litigated solely as a constitutional claim. The Equal Access Act was not involved and was not mentioned in the opinion. Additionally, the decision would be of little aid to the Alliance in any event because a summary judgment for the school board was affirmed on the basis that the school principal reasonably forecast substantial interruption of or material interference with school activities, applying Tinker v. Des Moines Indep. Cmty. Sch. Dist., 393 U.S. 503, 89 S.Ct. 733, 21 L.Ed.2d 731 (1969).
. The School Board concedes — indeed, it urges — that high schools are secondary schools within the. meaning of the Act and Florida law, and it has granted recognition of
. See, e.g. Schiavo ex rel. Schindler v. Schiavo, 403 F.3d 1223, 1233 (11th Cir. 2005); Klay v. United Healthgroup, Inc., 376 F.3d 1092, 1101 n. 13 (11th Cir. 2004); Northeastern Fl. Chapter of Ass’n of Gen. Contractors of Am. v. City of Jacksonville, Fl., 896 F.2d 1283, 1284 (11th Cir. 1990).
. The term "limited public forum” in the Supreme Court’s jurisprudence under the First Amendment refers to the use of public facilities for expressive activity during a limited time or for a limited purpose as distinguished from "streets and parks which have immemorially been held in trust for the use of the public, and, time out of mind, have been used for purposes of assembly....” Perry Educ. Ass’n. v. Perry Local Educators' Ass’n., 460 U.S. 37, 45, 103 S.Ct. 948, 955, 74 L.Ed.2d 794 (1983) (internal quotations omitted). See also, Widmar, 454 U.S. at 268 n. 5, 102 S.Ct. at 274 n. 5 (concerning university limited public forums).
. The Court noted that opening university facilities for secular, educational reasons to a student religious group would not be perceived as conferring an imprimatur of state approval of any particular religious group and would not violate the Establishment Clause because:
University students are, of course, young adults. They are less impressionable than younger students and should be able to appreciate that the University’s policy is one of neutrality toward religion.
454 U.S. at 274 n. 14, 102 S.Ct. at 276 n. 14.
. The term "limited open forum” is defined by the Act, 20 U.S.C. § 4071(b), this way:
A public secondary school has a limited open forum whenever such school grants an offering to or opportunity for one or more noncurriculum related student groups to meet on school premises during nonin-structional time.
. There is no suggestion that the repeal of former Section 1003.413(1) had anything to do with the Equal Access Act, nor is there any argument by the Plaintiffs that the State lacks the power and authority to change its definition of "secondary schools” from time to time as it sees fit. (Plaintiffs do contend that the state cannot exempt itself from the Equal Access Act, and that argument will be discussed infra.)
. For example, Webster's Third New International Dictionary (2002 ed.) defines “secondary school” this way:
[A] school more advanced than an elementary school and offering general, technical, vocational or college-preparatory courses Random House Unabridged Dictionary (2d
ed. 1997) defines "secondary school” as:
[A] high school or a school of corresponding grade, ranking between a primary school and a college or university.
And Princeton University’s WordNet online dictionary defines "secondary school” as:
[A] school for students intermediate between elementary school and college, usually grades 9 to 12
Princeton University “About WordNet.” WordNet. Princeton University.2010. <http://wordnet.princeton.edu>.
. At oral argument counsel were uncertain as to whether the Middle Schools in Florida might indeed vary in grade structure from one district to another.
. Moreover, if the Court thought it had the authority to proceed in that manner, then, relying upon Fla. Stat. § 1003.01, quoted supra, and the generally accepted definitions of "secondary school,” see note 12, supra, the Court would define the term “secondary school” to mean high schools, grades 9-12.
. With respect to the Equal Access Act, the Court does not reach the remaining require
. During oral argument the Court inquired of counsel whether sex education classes were a part of the curriculum at Carver Middle School and, if so, whether such classes had advanced to the level of instruction on the sexual orientation of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons. Counsel were unaware and unable to answer at that time.
. Because of the School Board’s motion to dismiss, no answer has been required (Rule 12(a)(4), Federal Rules of Civil Procedure) and none has been filed. However, attached to the Alliance motion for a preliminary injunction are two documents (Docs. 4-14 and 4-15) from which it may be inferred that the School Board is unanimous in the view that the Alliance is an appropriate school sponsored club at the high school level, but the Board is also unanimous that the immaturity of middle school children renders the Alliance "speech” not age appropriate for sponsorship at the middle school level. Further, that argument is specifically advanced by the School Board's memorandum in opposition to the Alliance motion for a preliminary injunction (Doc. 11, pp. 13-16).
. Tinker involved enforcement by school officials of a regulation prohibiting students from wearing black arm bands on school premises in protest of the Viet Nam war. This has come to be known as the pure speech case in which the Court held that the prohibitive regulation was unconstitutional in the absence of evidence of "interference, actual or nascent, with the schools’ work or of collision with the rights of other students to be secure and to be let alone.” 393 U.S. at 508, 89 S.Ct. at 737.
. Heinkel involved a prohibition against a middle school student’s distribution of pro-life literature to her classmates on school premises. The court applied the pure speech precedent of Tinker, but upheld the prohibition because the record supported the findings of the district court that the school authorities reasonably forecasted substantial disruption of, or material interference with, school activities if the distribution of the pro-life literature was permitted. 194 Fed.Appx. at 609-10.
. The principal was concerned about identifying characteristics in the article that would permit personal identification of the pregnant students resulting in invasion of their privacy; and, with respect to the divorcing parents, the principal was concerned that they had not been given an opportunity to respond consistent with good journalistic practice. With greater relevance to this case, the principal also acted, and the district court held such action to be justified — “to avoid the impression that [the school] endorses the sexual norms of the subjects and to shield younger students from exposure to unsuitable material.” 484 U.S. at 264-265, 108 S.Ct. at 566 (quotations omitted). This is not to suggest that the Alliance endorses or does not endorse any sexual "norms,” or that it would produce or disseminate "unsuitable” material. The emphasis here should be upon the concept of shielding younger students from material that may be unsuitable for them because of their immaturity.
. See footnote on the Alliance application (Doc. 4-11, p. 1) reading: "Principal will determine the staff member assigned to supervise and/or sponsor the club/organization.”
. In Bethel Sch. Dist. No. 403 v. Fraser, 478 U.S. 675, 683, 106 S.Ct. 3159, 3164, 92 L.Ed.2d 549 (1986), the lewd speech case, the Supreme Court characterized the audience of the speech as less mature, "... many of whom were only 14 years old and on the threshold of awareness of human sexuality.”
Reference
- Full Case Name
- CARVER MIDDLE SCHOOL GAY-STRAIGHT ALLIANCE, an unincorporated association and H. F., a minor by and through parent Janine Faughnan v. SCHOOL BOARD OF LAKE COUNTY, FLORIDA
- Cited By
- 1 case
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- Published