Monday, October 25, 1999
NHS-mom suit leaves mark
N.Ky. girls gain spot in honor society and future rulings
BY SUSAN VELA
The Cincinnati Enquirer
COVINGTON — Increased awareness probably will be the most lasting legacy of a federal lawsuit settled last week between Grant County Schools and two young moms who fought to get into the National Honor Society (NHS).
Somer Chipman Hurston and Chasity Glass were turned down in spring 1998 by the high school organization known for scholarship, service, leadership and character.
Mrs. Hurston, then unwed, was several months pregnant.
Ms. Glass already had given birth.
Both had grade point averages well above the honor society's 3.5 minimum and were involved in extracurricular activities.
They said they were victims of discrimination and rejected because they became pregnant.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) backed their lawsuit, which sparked national debate.
In December, U.S. District Judge William O. Bertelsman in Covington said there was a high probability Mrs. Hurston and Ms. Glass would win. He issued a preliminary injunction assuring them of NHS membership while their case was pending.
Settlement terms announced Friday included awards of $999 to each young woman and the school's promise to report to the ACLU for the next five years when students are excluded from NHS and sexual activity is part of the consideration. That information will include reporting the gender of the excluded student.
Some lawyers said school officials and NHS chapters nationwide will think twice before rejecting young women because they are pregnant or mothers.
The court case, the lawyers said, could encourage girls in similar situations to sue.
“Just the publicity of the case will make school administrators stop and think before they stop and make a decision like that,” said Jason Meyer, president of Lawcast, a legal news service based in New Jersey. “The more you hear about cases like this one, the more (similar) cases are brought by new people.”
Suzanne Cassidy, the Covington attorney for Grant County Schools, acknowledged that Judge Bertelsman's injunction could affect how educators in Grant County handle future NHS applicants.
“This case will be known to the decision makers,” she said.
Northern Kentucky University law professor Martin Huelsmann said NHS nominations might not be the only ones affected by the power of a suit being held under the spotlight.
“Can you withhold an honorary degree based on something not in the criteria?” he asked. “The mere fact that it was filed and we've seen the reaction, it will soon have an effect. High schools will think twice.”
He said the possibilities could be similar to the Ten Commandments debate now raging in this state. Some Kentucky school boards have voted to post the commandments although the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a 1980 Kentucky case that posting them violated the Constitution's ban on government-established religion.
That prompted the Kentucky School Boards Association — which insures 150 of Kentucky's 176 boards — to state that it will not pay for any consequent legal costs.
Carlin Meyer teaches employment law, family law and feminist jurisprudence at New York Law School. She said the Grant County case delved into moral issues: pregnancy and questions of character.
“I think it's extremely important not only for students joining the NHS and young women in jobs where employers have notions about apparent morality,” she said. “Becoming pregnant is not a sign of immorality.”
Mrs. Hurston wants to be a nurse and is in community college. Ms. Glass is at Morehead State University, where she plans to study elementary education or public relations.
Past NHS cases include:
• In 1983, Arlene Pfeiffer of western Pennsylvania became pregnant while she was a member of her school's chapter. The faculty council learned of her pregnancy and dismissed her from NHS, saying she did not uphold required qualities of leadership and character.
She sued, claiming civil rights violations. Courts sided with educators, saying premarital sex was the factor and not gender, pregnancy or failure to marry.
• In the 1985 Wort vs. Wierling case, a federal judge in Illinois ruled against a school district's dismissal of a pregnant NHS student, deciding that she had been dismissed from the chapter because of her pregnancy rather than for having premarital sex.
The court said the dismissal was a violation of Title IX of the Civil Rights Act prohibiting discrimination against pregnant or parenting adults and the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment since only women can become pregnant.
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