West High School’s Gay-Straight Alliance’s president is prepared to sue the Tracy Unified School District if teaches are not forced to take a course on homophobia.

The president of West High School’s Gay-Straight Alliance is threatening to sue Tracy Unified School District if teachers aren’t forced to take a training course on homophobia.

It’s the latest in a series of demands that student Justin Daley and the GSA have made of the TUSD, extra pressure that’s forcing the district and residents to grapple with homosexuality in a way that’s never happened before.

“I’m giving them time to redeem themselves,” said Daley, an Institute for Global Commerce and Government junior. “If the problems are fixed, then I won’t move any further with it.”

Daley is talking to the American Civil Liberties Union about harassment of gays on campus, though the ACLU hasn’t made a commitment to represent Daley if he decides to file a lawsuit, said Tamara Lange, a lawyer with the organization.

“We help school districts comply with anti-harassment laws both by referring them to trainers and doing training ourselves,” she said. “We also do the same thing of protecting students when school districts fall down on the job, and when a lawsuit is the only approach to ensure that students are not harassed on campus.”

Superintendent Jim Franco wouldn’t say whether the district would embrace teacher training. Instead, he said the district plans to continue providing diversity training for employees.

Continue reading Small town takes on a taboo subject.