The case was dismissed and the court ordered the district to pay attorney fees and court costs. E. After the court ruled that the school had violated students’ rights, the school decided to allow the GSA and other noncurricular clubs to meet. Represented by Lambda Legal with help from the ACLU and the National Center for Lesbian Rights, a group of students sued the school because the school was still allowing some noncurricular clubsto meet on campus. Here are details on the many federal court cases in which schools have unsuccessfully tried to block or limit GSAs.ġ999: In 1996, a school district in Salt Lake City, UT banned 46 noncurricular clubs in an attempt to get out of having to allow a GSA to form. Department of Education has also affirmed students’ rights under the EAA. GSAs now exist in every state, in thousands of schools. Since then, we know of 19 resolved federal lawsuits addressing GSAs in which the clubs prevailed, and the ACLU was involved in 16 of those victories. In 1998, the first lawsuit defending students’ right to form a GSA at a public school was filed. GSAs started appearing in schools in the U.S. The federal Equal Access Act (EAA) clearly guarantees that students at public schools have a right to form GSAs, and that schools must treat all clubs equally. Gender and Sexuality Alliances or Gay-Straight Alliances (GSAs) are student-organized clubs that aim to create a safe and welcoming school environment for all youth regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.