A gay Flagler County teenager and his school district have reached a groundbreaking agreement with the Flagler County School District after the student was harassed for being gay by his fellow students and one of his teachers.
According to Luke Herbert, 15, his shop teacher would joke that â┚¬Å”you can't put Mountain Dew and Pepsi in the same fridge, or they'll turn gay.â┚¬Â Herbert said the joke was repeated several times, and that his teacher would mock Herbert's mannerisms. The student also questioned his failing status in the class.
When he brought the teacher's behavior to the attention of school officials, Herbert said he was told the teacher is â┚¬Å”an older gentleman and would be retiring in a year.â┚¬Â Herbert said a guidance counselor claimed she wasn't able to switch him out of that class, so he was sent to the school's media center each day instead.
â┚¬Å”That was their solution,â┚¬Â he said.
Herbert eventually stopped attending classes, which led to ACLU's intervention.
â┚¬Å”I'm just happy to not be there anymore,â┚¬Â Herbert said. â┚¬Å”I hated going there; I really dreaded going.â┚¬ÂÂ
In a media release, ACLU of Florida LGBT Advocacy Project Attorney Shelbi Day said what happened to Luke was â┚¬Å”inexcusable,â┚¬Â but an â┚¬Å”all-too-common occurrenceâ┚¬Â for LGBT students.
â┚¬Å”Schools have an obligation to ensure that teachers and students understand that bullying and harassment of any student is prohibited and to act swiftly and appropriately to address it when it occurs,â┚¬Â Day said.
According to the ACLU, school officials acknowledged that they made missteps in handling Herbert's situation and should have acted more swiftly. The shop teacher involved has been officially reprimanded and has agreed to make a public apology.
In addition, the ACLU said the school district has agreed to a number of actions, including helping Herbert get back on track academically and giving Herbert options for completing his education in an environment in which he can feel safe.
The school district will also recommend that the school board add protections for â┚¬Å”sexual orientationâ┚¬Â and â┚¬Å”gender identity or expressionâ┚¬Â to the Student Code of Conduct and the district's bullying and harassment policy. The district will also work with the Flagler Palm Coast Gay-Straight Alliance to create a series of public service announcements about bullying and harassment.
Day said the public apology will be the first in that series of PSAs.
â┚¬Å”The Flagler County School District is taking action to make sure that what happened to Luke does not happen again,â┚¬Â stated Flagler County School District Attorney Kristy Gavin in a media release. â┚¬Å”Luke's case made us realize that we need to do more to prevent bullying and harassment and to ensure that district faculty, staff, and students are on notice of what is prohibited and know that bullying and harassment will not be tolerated.â┚¬ÂÂ
The plan now is for Herbert to attend a virtual school.
â┚¬Å”I'm happy that there is a solution in place,â┚¬Â Herbert said after the agreement was announced. â┚¬Å”It's somewhat an end to a long road.â┚¬ÂÂ
He added that he's hoping to be able to put this behind him.
â┚¬Å”For the last month and a half my life revolved around this,â┚¬Â he said. â┚¬Å”I'm satisfied to know my voice was heard. I hope the teacher feels sorry for what he did.â┚¬ÂÂ
Day called Herbert â┚¬Å”courageousâ┚¬Â for speaking out, and both Herbert and Day pointed out that his story ended differently than other students who reach their breaking point and cause harm to themselves.
â┚¬Å”Luke is a good example for kids who feel like they're being bullied and harassed and the school does nothing, that they should get other adults involved,â┚¬Â Day said.
