- The entrance to Paloma Valley High School, Menifee, Calif.
CALIFORNIA – Students and teachers at a Menifee high school have revealed there is a pattern of bullying, harassment and discrimination against gay and lesbian students, and that the school district has not done enough to alter the campus culture.
Teachers and students at Paloma Valley High School in Menifee are so concerned that they have taken their concerns to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).
“We are troubled by what we are hearing and are looking into what we’ve been told is an anti-gay and homophobic environment,” said James Gilliam, an attorney and deputy executive director for the ACLU of Southern California.
The Riverside Press-Enterprise has reported one instance, where a student alleged a teacher wrote an “S” on her hand and called her “a sinner.” In another, a student group says it was barred from doing an activity for gay and lesbian history month, though an ethnic student group could. In a further incident, an openly gay senior said he was unfairly disciplined after a dispute with a classmate who he says harassed him.
