Lawsuit challenges gay high school
NEW YORK (AP) -- A New York state senator and a conservative legal group have filed a lawsuit charging that a public high school for gay, bisexual and transgender students violates laws against segregation.
Bronx state Sen. Ruben Diaz and the Liberty Counsel filed the lawsuit Wednesday in state Supreme Court in New York City, arguing that the school breaks education rules barring discrimination based on sexual orientation.
School officials have said the school, Harvey Milk High, will be open to all students, regardless of their sexual orientation. Supporters say the school is needed to protect students who have been harassed.
Paul Rose, a spokesman for schools Chancellor Joel Klein, told the Daily News that the lawsuit was "a frivolous attack on a program that has helped children for many years."
The school is an expansion of a two-classroom program that began in 1984 and has been managed and financed by the Hetrick-Martin Institute, a gay-rights youth advocacy group.
Renovations are expected to be completed in the fall.
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