Gay Student Sues School For Expelling Him

February 15, 2004 Judge rules no arbitration in expulsion case
Saturday, October 25, 2003 Story Update
Sunday, October 26, 2003 Jupiter Christian disputes claims in student's lawsuit

An 18-year-old student is suing a private Christian school in Florida, alleging he was expelled three days after he told a teacher he was gay.

Jeffrey Woodard said a teacher pulled him out of Bible class at Jupiter Christian School (or send email) in West Palm Beach and asked him in confidence if he was gay. Woodard said that when he answered "yes," a school official called his mother and told her that Woodard couldn't attend an upcoming school retreat unless she and her son met with the school to talk about his homosexuality.

His mother said the school told them that Woodard could get counseling for his problem, voluntarily withdraw from the school or be expelled.

A gay rights activist in Tampa conceded that the school didn't break any law by expelling Woodard, since discrimination based on sexual orientation isn't illegal in Florida.

This story reminds me of the many cases against the Boy Scouts of America. In that instance, after years of law suits, it went all the way up to the Supreme Court. They decided that since the Boy Scouts of America are a private organization, they have the right to discriminate against anyone they choose.

I suppose I can see the logic of that, although it's not easy to say that if you are on the receiving end of the discrimination.

This student was basically "outed" by a teacher who asked him if he was gay (in confidence). He told the truth and said he was. Since the student would not consider counseling for "his problem", he was expelled.

There are a lot of ethical issues involved here. If you ask someone for information in confidence, you keep your mouth shut. Gaining someone's trust by telling them that it will be kept secret, and then turning around and making it public is, at the very least, despicable. Beyond that, and the bad press this school will hopefully receive, there's probably not much the student will be able to do from a legal point of view.

I'm no lawyer, but I will bet that the Boy Scout ruling will at some point come into play with this case.

And, what lessons did this teach the student who was expelled for being honest? If you go to their website, you will see the following message displayed on the front page:

October 22, 2003

Dear Parents, Friends, and Supporters of JCS:

As has been reported by various media, a breach of contract claim has been filed against our school by a former student and his mother. Unfortunately, due to the possibility of legal action, comments about the complaint, or any issues directly or indirectly related to it, cannot be made at this time. However, please know that we dispute many of the “facts” in the claim, as some of this information contradicts our records and timeline. We have faith that the ministry of Jupiter Christian School will be exonerated. Thank you for your prayers and support.

Sincerely,

Rich Grimm
President