ACLU sues Missouri school district for blocking gay advocacy sites

The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit Monday against a Missouri school district for using Internet-filtering software that blocks websites aimed at gays and lesbians.

According to the ACLU, the school district blocked the websites of PFLAG National (Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays), the Matthew Shepard Foundation, Campus Pride and DignityUSA, a Catholic gay-rights organization.

“We have made every effort to inform the school district that its filtering software illegally denies students access to important educational information and resources on discriminatory grounds,” said Tony Rothert, legal director of the ACLU of Eastern Missouri. “Unfortunately, it will now be up to the courts to compel the district to grant its students viewpoint-neutral access to the Internet.”

In a phone interview Monday, Tim Hadfield, superintendent of the Camdenton School District, said he was unaware of the lawsuit.

He said the ACLU had previously complained about the district blocking sites including those for the Gay-Straight Alliance and the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education network.

He said the filter was adjusted to allow for access to those sites.

“We do not filter gay and lesbian and alternative-lifestyle websites,” Hadfield said. “We do filter sexuality.”

Missouri school districts also have come under fire from the ACLU for a new law that restricts teachers’ use of social networking sites such as Facebook.

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