School Board Rejects Parental OKs for Clubs

GLENDALE — The school board Tuesday rejected a proposed rule that would have required high school students to get parental permission to join campus clubs, which gay and lesbian students charged was designed to prevent them from establishing Hoover High School’s first official homosexual club.

Instead, the board chose a compromise that it said furthers the school district’s objective of improving parents’ awareness of extracurricular activities, but stops short of forcing students to tell their parents what clubs they plan to join and obtain their OK.

Under the new policy, parents would merely receive a list of all clubs and activities open to their children at the start of the school year, with information on fees and other commitments required to join, and the purpose of each group.

“Obviously it’s a middle-ground solution, but it’s better than what we had on the books before, which was nothing,” board member Lina Harper said.

About 10 to 15 gay, lesbian and heterosexual Hoover students have been meeting informally once a week at lunchtime for about two years, dubbing themselves the “Project 10 Group” after a program for homosexual students in the Los Angeles Unified School district.

The group meets under the supervision of an openly gay math teacher, and members say the discussions range from sexuality issues to politics.

But last year, when the group applied to the principal’s office for official club status, members said they were informed that the new parent-consent rule was in the pipeline.

The student group’s opposition to the proposed school board policy has attracted the support of the American Civil Liberties Union, Lambda legal Defense and Education Fund, a nonprofit legal aid organization for gay civil rights issues, and the liberal group People for the American Way.

Some religious activists, including members of the Traditional Values Coalition, have urged the board to restrict gay clubs.

More than 100 people jammed the school board’s chambers Monday night to show their support or opposition for the parent-consent rule. Several Hoover students said their lives had been changed by the support group and pleaded with the board to respect their privacy, while some parents and religious activists asked the board to require parental consent.

Sandy Wilson, mother of two sons who graduated from Hoover, said she opposes having a student group supervised by a gay teacher. Instead, she said gay and lesbian students should be exposed to “reformed” homosexuals who are now straight.

“Give these kids a chance, by showing someone who has found a way out of this perverted lifestyle,” Wilson said. “Not someone who’s going to use our kids as a target for homosexuality.”

Alex Spada, a 1995 Hoover graduate, said her parents forced her to leave home on her 18th birthday, after learning she is a lesbian. “I am the prime example of what happens when you implement parental consent,” Spada said.

School board members differed over having a gay and lesbian club on campus. Harper and board member Jane Whitaker said a high school campus is the wrong place for students to discuss sexuality.

But all agreed that the policy as originally proposed would have violated students’ privacy.

“This group has been meeting at Hoover for two years. That’s a well-known fact to us,” board member Lynda Rocamora said. “They have nothing to be ashamed of. They have every right to organize, every right to an open forum and to apply for club status.”

Javier Hernandez, an 18-year-old senior who is a founding member of the group, said he was cautiously optimistic about the board’s decision.

“If you had to get your parents’ permission, there’s just no way this group could continue,” Hernandez said. “The whole purpose is to provide a place where kids can discuss these things in a supportive environment. We shouldn’t force them to come out before they’re ready.”