School defends
expulsion over kiss
Academy faces student
lawsuit
By LATEEF MUNGIN, The
Atlanta Journal-Constitution, From the Web, January 12, 2006
A private Christian academy is
defending its right to expel a female student for kissing another girl off
campus.
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Jessica
Bradley was expelled from the Loganville school for kissing another
girl at a slumber party in 2005 |
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In court documents filed Jan. 4,
attorneys for Covenant Christian Academy in Loganville say the school has a
constitutional right to expel students for "sexual immorality."
The school filed its statement in response to a lawsuit by former student
Jessica Bradley. The ninth-grader was expelled from the school last April.
That prompted Bradley and her father to file a Gwinnett County Superior Court
lawsuit in December.
In the suit, Bradley alleges invasion of privacy and breach of contract.
The Bradleys are seeking at least $1 million in damages.
According to the suit, Bradley attended a sleepover party off campus with
several other female students April 22, 2005.
At the party, she kissed another student and at an earlier date had kissed a
different female student, according to the suit.
Four days later, Bradley and several other girls were called into the
principal's office.
After being questioned about her "inappropriate relationship" for more than an
hour, Bradley, who had a 3.5 grade-point average, was expelled, according to the
suit.
None of the other girls involved in the incident was expelled at the time, said
David Clark, the Bradleys' Lawrenceville attorney. He said he does not
know whether they were expelled later.
Administrators cited the school handbook when expelling Bradley. The
handbook states that "any behavior, on campus or away which indicates that a
student has disregard for the spirit of the school standards, would be
sufficient reason to ask for him/her to withdraw from Covenant Christian
Academy."
Clark said the guidelines in the student handbook are too vague, are
unenforceable and never specifically talk about a same-sex relationship.
Covenant Principal Anthony Knight and the school's lawyer both declined to
comment, citing the pending suit. But in the court documents, school
attorneys called the lawsuit frivolous and said the private school's decision
was protected by the First Amendment.
The school cited a defense of "ecclesiastical abstention," which prohibits
courts from interfering in the internal politics of a church.
Clark said the defense is not valid.
"The First Amendment gives churches the absolute right to believe what they wish
to believe; it does not give them the absolute right to act how they wish to
act," he said.
"Covenant is not going to get off on a constitutional technicality," Clark said.
"If the jury believes that they treated the Bradleys unfairly and invaded
Jessica's privacy, they are going to have to pay for it."
Posted Jan. 11, 2006.
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