A lesbian student
claims in a lawsuit that Garden Grove,
Calif., school officials suspended her several times
and forced her to temporarily transfer to another
campus because she refused their orders to stop
hugging and kissing her girlfriend on school grounds.
In a federal
court lawsuit, filed Wednesday, 17-year-old Charlene Nguon
also alleges that a school principal told her parents of her
sexual orientation and disciplined her while allowing
similar behavior by heterosexual couples. Her behavior
was not prohibited in the school handbook, she claims.
"It was horrible. I was discriminated against by the
administrators," said Nguon, who is represented by the ACLU
and filed the suit with her mother and the Gay-Straight
Alliance Network club.
Alan Trudell, a spokesman for the Garden Grove
Unified School District, said that "the district does
not engage in discriminatory practices." He declined
further comment, saying officials had not seen the lawsuit.
Nguon alleges that her grades, once straight
A's, fell after she was forced last March to transfer
from Santiago High School to Bolsa Grande High
School--a move that increased her commute from a short
walk to a 4 1/2-mile bike ride. "Unfortunately, for
principal Ben Wolf and other staff at Santiago High,
all of Charlene's accomplishments and exemplary
qualities are overshadowed by one fact: that she is a
lesbian," the lawsuit alleges.
Wolf and other district officials, through
Trudell, declined to comment.
Nguon has been allowed to return to Santiago
High for the current school year. The suit seeks
unspecified damages, an admission that the district
violated Nguon's civil rights, and a policy change
preventing officials from disciplining students
because of their sexual orientation. (AP)
