My school is being sued

As a student at Indian River High School, Charles P. Pratt says, he was called names, pushed into walls, mocked and often threatened because he is gay.

Other students threw food at him, his locker was vandalized and he was spit on, he said.

When he told teachers and administrators, they "weren't willing to do much," said Mr. Pratt, 20. "There wasn't a whole lot of support behind me. I felt like I didn't really belong there."

When he tried to start a Gay-Straight Alliance at the school in 2004, he said, administrators denied his request.

"It was really important to us because it would bring a more supportive environment to school," Mr. Pratt said. "They told us no because they said it would make parents mad. I was disgusted at that answer. It didn't make any sense to me."

Soon after that, Mr. Pratt, then 15, dropped out of school because the harassment was so intense, he said.

Earlier this year, when Mr. Pratt's sister, Ashley E. Petranchuk, 15, approached her principals about starting the same club, she got the same answer her brother received years before.

It was then that Mr. Pratt and Miss Petranchuk decided to contact Lambda Legal, a national organization that defends the rights of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people.

A federal antigay bias lawsuit was filed Wednesday against Indian River Central School District and several staff and former staff members on behalf of both of them.

Mr. Pratt is suing for unspecified damages and Lambda Legal has informed the school that it will file an injunction on behalf of Miss Petranchuk on Wednesday if the district does not allow her to form the Gay-Straight Alliance before that deadline.

Named as defendants in the lawsuit are James Kettrick, who was high school principal during Mr. Pratt's time there and is now the district's superintendent; Troy W. Decker, principal at the school, Jay Brown, assistant principal, John Davis, former assistant principal, and three cafeteria monitors.

According to the lawsuit, Mr. Kettrick was aware of the harassment but "displayed utter and willful indifference to it."

"School district employees were aware of the rampant antigay and sexist harassment on campus but deliberately refused to undertake even the most basic corrective or remedial measures, despite these employees' clear authority and ability to do so," the suit reads. "Instead, staff members at the Indian River High School whose very job it was to monitor and supervise student behavior in the cafeteria frequently joined in on the harassment, ridiculing Charlie with stereotypically effeminate gestures in front of other students and telling Charlie he was 'disgusting' and 'shouldn't be gay.'"

According to the suit, Mr. Kettrick's actions were blatantly discriminatory and he showed "callous indifference" when he suggested Mr. Pratt "tone it down" and said his safety could not be guaranteed.

Michael D.B. Kavey, attorney for Lambda Legal, said it's illegal for schools to deny certain groups when they allow other, similar groups.

"The school can't bar anyone from forming a group like this, the law is clear on that," Mr. Kavey said. "When schools already have other extracurricular groups that they allow, they can't discriminate against particular students just because they don't like the idea behind the club. There are federal statutes, the federal constitution and courts all over the country that have ruled for Gay-Straight Alliances. They can't discriminate."

Miss Petranchuk said she wanted to start the group because she saw what her brother went through while he was there.

"I've wanted to do this since between seventh and eighth grade," she said. "I feel this cause is very important because of what I saw my brother face. The school should be a safe environment."

In a 2006 article in The Times, Mr. Pratt spoke similarly about the discrimination and harassment he faced.

Mr. Kettrick was unavailable for comment Wednesday, but in 2006 he responded to Mr. Pratt's allegations by saying, "The atmosphere of harassment that they say exists simply does not. Students of alternative lifestyles can get along with other students in all north country schools."

District Business Manager James R. Koch said Wednesday that the district received the paperwork related to the suit earlier that day and will review it with its attorney, Marc H. Reitz, of Ferrara, Fiorenza, Larrison, Barrett & Reitz P.C., East Syracuse. Mr. Reitz did not return phone calls to the firm Wednesday.