West Career and Technical Academy in Las Vegas, NV is facing litigation for rejecting a student's application to start a pro-life club at the high school.
A federal lawsuit has been filed against a Nevada high school and the school district, on Thursday, for denying a student’s proposal to start a pro-life club at her high school.
West Career and Technical Academy (WCTA) student Angelique Clark submitted an application to start a pro-life club chapter at her school in December 2014. Three months later, in February 2015, she was informed that her proposal had been rejected by WCTA Vice Principal Allen Yee.
Clark met with Yee and was informed that her club had been rejected on the basis that “abortion was controversial, a pro-life club would make pro-choice people feel left out, and there were others ‘more qualified’ to speak on the issue than a high school student,” according to a press release.
Clark contacted Students for Life of America, an organization that provides support to pro-life clubs, for support.
"When I first applied to form a pro-life club, I never imagined I would have to sue my school to be able to exercise my free speech rights," said Clark.
Thomas More Society, a law firm that advocates for religious freedom, filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court in Las Vegas on behalf of Clark against WCTA and Clark County School District, asserting that the administration’s denial of the club violates the Equal Access Act and Clark’s right to free speech under the First Amendment.
"High school administrators should not censor students, but rather they should encourage them to exercise their free speech rights,” said Thomas More associate counsel Jocelyn Floyd.
"We hope that the court will quickly recognize the illegal and unconstitutional denial of Angelique's Students for Life club; and require West Career and Technical Academy to respect the rights of all its students under both the First Amendment and Equal Access Act,” she added.
