BY ANDREA TORTORA
The Cincinnati Enquirer
WILLIAMSTOWN, Ky. -- The American Civil Liberties Union announced it will file a federal lawsuit today on behalf of two Grant County High School juniors who say they were denied National Honor Society membership because of their pregnancies.
ACLU attorneys said Wednesday the lawsuit will charge the Grant County school board violated Title IX of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination against pregnant or parenting adults.
"They penalized two outstanding students for becoming pregnant," said Sara Mandelbaum, senior staff attorney for the ACLU's Women's Rights Project in New York City.
Somer Chipman and Chasity Glass, both 17-year-old mothers, were denied membership in the school's National Honor Society this spring. The girls challenged the school board's decision in May. The board upheld the actions of the honor society's selection committee after an investigation by its attorney found there was no violation of admission criteria or district procedures against discrimination.
The students, Somer's mother, Brenda Jones, and ACLU attorneys will hold a news conference this morning after filing the suit in U.S. District Court in Covington.
"We think this is a very good example of a school district not doing what Title IX says they should," Ms. Mandelbaum said.
Somer, who was pregnant during National Honor Society selection, gave birth to daughter Cheyenne in June. Chasity is the mother of a 15-month-old, Shelby.
"We're thrilled that national legal staff is taking an interest in this case," Everett Hoffman, executive director of the ACLU of Kentucky, said Wednesday. "We think it's an important case."
This is the first such case the ACLU has entered. Ms. Mandelbaum said the group considers it to be of national significance. The ACLU hopes this lawsuit will set a precedent for the treatment of pregnant or parenting students.
"It's not a fact that (the school) surveyed students to see who had premarital sex or not," Ms. Mandelbaum said. "They're taking the easy way out by looking at what is visible."
Somer, her mother, and Chasity were in meetings Wednesday with ACLU attorneys and could not be reached for comment.
Grant County Schools spokeswoman Ruth Odor referred questions to board attorney Don Ruberg, who said he could not comment until he sees a copy of the lawsuit.
In June, Ms. Mandelbaum asked the board to clarify its decision and explain what criteria other than the girls' pregnancies were used to deny them membership in the school's chapter of the National Honor Society.
Mr. Ruberg sent a written response to Ms. Mandelbaum's letter, stating that his office conducted a complete re-evaluation of the honor society's selection process and found that neither girl was treated differently because of gender or parental status.
Admission to the honor society is based on outstanding performance in the areas of scholarship, service, leadership and character.
Somer has a 3.8 grade-point average and Chasity a 3.7 -- above that required for Grant County honor society students. Both girls are in extracurricular and outside activities.
Ms. Mandelbaum said the definition of character laid out by the National Honor Society is multifaceted. "To disqualify students on the basis of having premarital sex is simply illegal," Ms. Mandelbaum said.
Attorney Sue Cassidy evaluated the selection process for the school board in May. She said the students' sexual conduct was not the sole criterion used to deny membership. Ms. Cassidy also said she was confident that if it was known that male students were engaged in premarital sex, they would have been treated in the same manner as the two girls.
