October 30, 2003
Christian love
An 18-year-old student has sued a Christian school, alleging he was expelled three days after he told a teacher he was gay.Posted by Norwood at October 30, 2003 08:57 AMJeffrey Woodard said a teacher pulled him out of Bible class at Jupiter Christian School in August and asked him in confidence whether he is gay.
When Woodard answered ``yes,'' a school official called his mother, Carol Gload, and told her Woodard could not attend an upcoming school retreat unless he and Gload met with the school to talk about Woodard's sexual orientation, according to the lawsuit.
Gload said the school told them Woodard could get counseling for his ``problem,'' voluntarily withdraw or be expelled.
......Karen Doering, an attorney with the National Center for Lesbian Rights in Tampa, said the school broke no law.
``Unfortunately, in the state of Florida, discrimination based on sexual orientation is not specifically prohibited by any law,'' Doering said. ``When it comes to public schools, it is clear the Constitution protects youth based on sexual orientation; however, that does not apply to private schools.''
