GSA

Club picture
FCHS Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA)

 

Over 30 years ago, in 1984, President Ronald Reagan signed into federal law the Equal Access Act.  Under the auspices of this Act, the Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) at Franklin County High School was founded in 2016.

In a 2011 advisory letter from the Office of the Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan writes:

The Act requires public secondary schools to treat all student-initiated groups equally, regardless of the religious, political, philosophical, or other subject matters discussed at their meetings.  Its protections apply to groups that address issues relating to LGBT students and matters involving sexual orientation and gender identity, just as they apply to religious and other student groups.  (http://www2.ed.gov/policy/elsec/guid/secletter/110607.html )

The FCHS GSA will foster a safe environment for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) students and their allies.  The FCHS GSA will offer a space where LGBT students and their allies can speak freely and honestly with their peers about issues specific to LGBT students without fear of rejection or harassment.