High School Newspaper Editors Sue to Print Articles on Gay Issues

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May 24 - A group of California students and their parents sued their school Thursday, asking a court to override the administration's decision to censor articles about homosexuality in the East Bakersfield High School campus newspaper.

Student editors of the Kernel had planned to publish a series of five articles, including photos and personal stories, about students' perspectives on gender identity and sexual orientation. The writers had gone so far as to gain written permission from interviewees and from parents of those who were minors.

The school's principal nixed the publication, however, citing concerns over student safety.

Five students and their parents filed the suit in Kern County Court, with the help of the American Civil Liberties Union and the Gay-Straight Alliance Network, which supports 38 school clubs in central California. The suit calls for the student newspaper to be allowed to print the articles in its last issue of the year, which is scheduled for publication at the end of the month.