For the second time in two years, the U.S. Court of Appeals has ruled against the Osseo Area Schools in their efforts to keep a student-run gay rights group from having the same privileges as those extended to other clubs. The ruling affirmed a September 2007 decision by U.S. District Judge Joan Ericksen, who issued a permanent injunction that put Straights and Gays for Equality (SAGE) on equal footing with other student groups and Maple Grove High School.
Ericksen ruled that the school gives access to the public address system and school bulletin boards to groups such as the Spirit Council, synchronized swimming and Black Achievers while denying the same access to SAGE -- violating the federal Equal Access Act.
The school district had argued that the other groups were given access because they are labeled as "curricular" in nature -- in other words, having a connection to school curriculum. SAGE, the school district said, is not.
But, in its ruling released Friday, the appellate court sided with Ericksen and found that those other student groups are not curricular, but are non curriculum-based. It is the second time the school district has been dealt a defeat by the federal appeals court.
Osseo schools lose a round in court
Minneapolis Star Tribune, MN
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