School Settles Lawsuit After Deleting Pro-LGBTQ Quotes From Yearbook

Students Mikayla Garaffa and Steven Madrid

The Chawanakee Unified School District in central California agreed to assure compliance with state law requiring an LGBTQ-affirming environment.

Trudy Ring

Trudy Ring is The Advocate’s senior politics editor and copy chief. She has been a reporter and editor for daily newspapers and LGBTQ+ weeklies/monthlies, trade magazines, and reference books. She is a political junkie who thinks even the wonkiest details are fascinating, and she always loves to see political candidates who are groundbreaking in some way. She enjoys writing about other topics as well, including religion (she’s interested in what people believe and why), literature, theater, and film. Trudy is a proud “old movie weirdo” and loves the Hollywood films of the 1930s and ’40s above all others. Other interests include classic rock music (Bruce Springsteen rules!) and history. Oh, and she was a Jeopardy! contestant back in 1998 and won two games. Not up there with Amy Schneider, but Trudy still takes pride in this achievement.

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Trudy Ring

November 27 2019 3:47 PM EST

May 31 2023 6:39 PM EST

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The American Civil Liberties Union has reached a settlement agreement with a California school district in a lawsuit over the removal of students' pro-LGBTQ quotes for their high school yearbook.

The ACLU Foundation of Northern California filed suit in March against Chawanakee Unified School District, in the state's central valley, on behalf of two students who were then seniors at Minarets High School, Steven Madrid and Mikayla Garaffa. An adult adviser had removed their quotes from the yearbook, deeming them "political" and "sexual" in nature -- wrongly so, according to the ACLU.

Under the settlement agreement, reached Tuesday, the district "agreed to ensure that teachers are trained in the current law requiring schools to create a welcoming and inclusive environment for LGBTQ students," says a press release from the ACLU Foundation of Northern California. The district also agreed to create an anonymous online complaint system for students to use in reporting on-campus bullying and harassment; train all district staff about students' free speech rights; review relevant policies to assure they comply with state law banning discrimination against LGBTQ students; and add language to the parent-teacher handbook affirming students' rights to be free from discrimination in school-sponsored activities.

"We are happy that we were able to reach an agreement with the district that reflects the need to reexamine the needs of LGBTQ students in the district and tangible next steps to ensure they get the support needed by staff," said Abre' Conner, staff attorney with the ACLU Foundation of Northern California, in the press release. "Our clients have been zealous advocates since first notifying the district of their rights to include the yearbook quotes and reaching this settlement is a testament that schools must listen to students and parents when they speak up regarding fair treatment in schools."