An 8th Grader's Determination Pays Off

It took awhile, but a Gay-Straight Alliance is coming to Carver Middle School.
 
Bayli Silberstein has been working to establish a GSA at her school in Florida since 2011. She wants to start the club to combat bullying at her school, but administrators have put up unnecessary (and unconstitutional) roadblocks at every corner. The school board even went so far as to propose a ban on all non-academic clubs for all middle schools in the county, just to stop Bayli from starting hers.
 
Frustrated by more than a year of inaction, Bayli and her mother reached out to the ACLU in January of this year. Later that month, the ACLU of Florida sent a letter to the school board explaining the legal right of the club to form as well as the benefits that a GSA would have for all students. When nothing changed, the ACLU organized an online petition and over 55,000 people from across the country signed, urging the school board to support Bayli’s effort to establish the GSA.
 
Even in spite of all the uproar, the board voted 4-1 last month to table a proposed club policy, effectively leaving their ban in place through the remainder of the school year. With it clear that the board was not going to give in, and with all other options exhausted, the ACLU of Florida took the only step it could.
 
On Wednesday, a lawsuit was filed against the school board on Bayli’s behalf. On Thursday, the board gave in and agreed to let Bayli have her club.
 
Thankfully, most school administrators don’t react this way to the prospect of a Gay-Straight Alliance, so legal action like this is rarely needed. However, Bayli is not the first student to face pushback when attempting to start a school club and she won’t be the last. Under the law, if a public high school allows students to form any non-curricular clubs at all, then it must allow students to form any non-curricular club they want, and it must treat them equally. This is why the school board’s denial of Bayli’s request wasn’t just a misguided decision; it was against the law. 
 
If you're trying to start a GSA at your school and your administration tries to stop you, the ACLU has your back. Check out these helpful tips for starting a GSA at your school. It’s highly unlikely you’ll face the pushback that Bayli did, but thanks to her brave determination it’ll be even tougher for schools to say ‘no.’