Do Students Have a Right not to be Outed?
The ACLU has found itself a strong test case for determining whether a student’s right to privacy is violated when he or she is “outed” to the community by their school. A principal in Memphis, Tennessee, apparently in order to cut down on public displays of affection in school, asked her staff to put together a list of school couples, both straight and gay, and then posted that list publicly, thereby outing an untold number of student romances, including that of a 17-year old gay student, who is now suing for damages. It is a somewhat complex case, from a legal point of view, not only because gay and straight couples were treated equally by the overbearing principal, but because the gay couple obviously was sufficiently public about their romance to broadcast it within the school community and end up on the list. So from the point of view of a complaint for discriminatory treat, and for violation of privacy, they might have an uphill climb. The ACLU took on a similar case in 2005, inv
