Administration at a middle school in Virginia allegedly banned all clubs from meeting just so that they could stop an LGBTQ+ club from meeting. Now the students are suing, saying the ban violated their First Amendment rights.
On Tuesday, the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia and Potomac Law Group filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of two King George Middle School students and their parents accusing the King George County School Board of illegally barring the LGBTQ+ club in violation of the studentsâ rights under the First Amendment and the federal Equal Access Act.
According to the complaint, last August one of the two plaintiffs, identified as Z.J.W., sought to establish a GSA club at King George Middle School. Z.J.W. secured a faculty sponsor and the support of the schoolâs principal, Dr. Casey Nice, who is named as a defendant in the lawsuit. By mid-September, Z.J.W. completed all the requirements to form a student organization, Nice approved them, and 17 students at the school expressed interest in joining the GSA.
Almost immediately, news of the clubâs formation sparked backlash from parents on social media. According to the complaint, the clubâs sponsor, Becca Boe, was doxed, harassed, and accused of âgroomingâ on social media. In response, King George County Schools superintendent Dr. Jesse Boyd and Nice put the clubâs formation âon pause.â
At school board meetings during the following months, community members argued for and against the club, with the board expressing support for student organizations generally, but moving to adopt more restrictive policies around their formation â including approval by school principals and the district superintendent, and securing a list of at least 10 students who wished to join.
What a joke! King George Middle School in King George County, Virginia banned all clubs just to prevent an LGBTQ+ club from forming, yet it allowed Fellowship of Christian Athletes to meet.