L.A. school
district settles antigay discrimination lawsuit

The Los Angeles school district and the American Civil Liberties Union on Wednesday announced the settlement of a federal lawsuit that accused employees at a high school of harassing gay and lesbian students and staff members. The settlement will require antidiscrimination training for students and staff at Washington Preparatory High School in South Los Angeles as well as for middle school students who will attend the campus. Additional details about the settlement were not released. The suit, filed in October, accused administrators and teachers at the Los Angeles Unified School District campus of creating "a climate rife with hostility toward and discrimination against students and staff based on their actual or perceived sexual orientation." On Wednesday, ACLU of Southern California attorney Christine Sun said she was pleased with the settlement, calling the mandatory training "a model for the rest of the state." Deanne Neiman of LAUSD noted that the district has already had antidiscrimination training programs in place. "At Washington Prep, this settlement agreement augments the comprehensive training and activities already under way at the school," she said. (AP)