Court: Lesbian Students Can Be Expelled

A San Diego-based attorney plans to take the case of two girls kicked out of a private school for their "bond of intimacy" all the way to the state Supreme Court.

The 4th District Court of Appeal ruled unanimously that a Lutheran school in Riverside County did not have to comply with state law prohibiting business from discrimination.  The ruling could protect religious schools across California from similar suits.

Kirk Hansen, of Grace, Hollis, Lowe, Hanson & Schaeffer LLP in San Diego, represents the plaintiffs and called the case, "very troubling."

The case surrounds two then 16-year-old girls who were expelled in 2005 from California Lutheran High School for a relationship that was  "characteristic of a lesbian relationship."  Attorneys argued their expulsion was discrimination because the school took tuition, making it similar to a business setting. But Riverside County Superior Court Judge Gloria Trask ruled in January of 2008 that there was no basis for the lawsuit.

McKay also said the girls argued the school invaded their privacy and detained them unlawfully while questioning them about their relationship.

Timothy J. Tracey, litigation counsel for the Center for Law & Religious Freedom, told the Los Angeles Times the ruling "preserves the right of Christian schools in California to make admission and discipline decisions consistent with their religious beliefs."

Read more about this story in the article on LA Times.com.

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