High School Principal Rejects Proposal From Students Who Want To Create Anti-Abortion Club
File photo of a classroom. (credit: KAZUHIRO NOGI/AFP/Getty Images)
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College Hoops EditionFREDERICKSBURG, Va. (CBSDC) – A high school principal is facing criticism after rejecting a proposal from students who wanted to create an anti-abortion club.
Maddie Sutherland first proposed to create the “Students For Life Club” at Courtland High School in September. But Spotsylvania County school officials said in a statement that the club couldn’t be officially formed until next school year if it was approved.
Fredericksburg.com reported that school officials stated any club seeking “initial recognition” must submit a request prior to June 1 of the preceding school year. The anti-abortion club application “is in the review process” and “will be considered in the same manner as other applications for student organizations,” the division’s statement said.
Prior to the school system releasing a statement, a conservative law firm sent a letter Tuesday accusing Courtland Principal Larry Marks for violating Sutherland’s constitutional rights.
An initial application for the club was rejected by Marks in a letter on Oct. 6. He wrote that the group did not appear to “bear a clear relationship to the regular school curriculum” which is required by the division’s policies. Marks also added that the student did not provide all of the required information in the application such as the group’s bylaws and a description of its relationship to the curriculum on campus.
In Sutherland’s initial application, the club’s purpose would be to “help end abortion.” It also listed the names of 10 students who would be members of the group and a faculty advisor for them.
Sutherland, who is a senior at the high school, resubmitted the application on Oct. 24 but has not received any formal response.
Fredericksburg.com reported that Sutherland released a statement stating that “Abortion is the greatest violation of human rights in our time, and I believe the pro-life message deserves a voice at my school.”
The Thomas More Society explained in a letter to Marks that they are prepared to take legal action if the principal doesn’t approve Sutherland’s request to create the anti-abortion group on campus. The nonprofit society’s website states that it is “dedicated to restoring respect in law for life, family, and religious liberty.”
“The persistent delay and continued refusal to approve Ms. Sutherland’s club is a violation of her rights and her fellow students’ rights under both the federal Equal Access Act… and the First Amendment to the United States Constitution,” attorneys Jocelyn Floyd and Daniel Carrell wrote in the letter that Fredericksburg.com obtained.
School official said that a final decision on the group will be made in the near feature. .
